How To Describe Fear In Writing

32 Ways To Write About Fear

In this post, we have included 32 things for you to consider when you write about fear.

One of our most popular posts on Writers Write is37 Ways To Write About Anger. We thought we would look at interesting ways to write about other emotions, including:

43 Ways To Write About Love
29 Ways To Write About Happiness
40 Ways To Write About Empathy

In this post, we look at writing about fear.

How do we write about fear in an authentic way?

Fear is a vital response for human beings. If we didn't feel fear, we couldn't protect ourselves from threats. Our bodies and brains are wired to treat threats as life-threatening. This triggers an extreme fight-flight-or-freeze response.

Our fears are not solely dependent on instinctive responses. They are also shaped by our societies and cultures, which teach people when to fear and how much to fear.

Sometimes, our fear is unnecessary and we avoid doing things that could be beneficial to us. Sometimes, facing danger can result in lingering responses that trigger us to act in a certain way, even when the risk is gone.

The same is true for the characters we create. When we write about fearful characters, we should remember to write about them in a realistic way.

Here are 32 things to consider when you write about fear:

A) Physical Reactions

When we are afraid, we have these reactions:

An accelerated breathing rate
An accelerated heart rate
Increased muscle tension
Goose bumps
Sweating
Increased blood glucose
Increased white blood cells
Sleep disturbances
Butterflies in the stomach
Difficulty concentrating
Difficulty swallowing
Dizziness

All of these responses help us to survive by either running away or fighting. Use these physical reactions to show your character is afraid.

B) Body Language

In your body language,signs of fear include:

Hunching shoulders
Shrinking away
Open mouth
Wide eyes
Shaking
Trembling
Freezing
Wrapping arms around oneself
Shaking hands
Rocking from side to side

C) Rational Or Irrational?

Fear is rational. It is a reasonable response to danger.
Phobias are irrational. They are persistent, irrational fears of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it. Read:Writing About Characters With Phobias

D) Ways To Create Conflict With Fear

There are three classic ways people respond to fear. They fight, flee, or freeze. Use these responses to create suspense in your book.

Fight – choose when your characters would reasonably stay to confront the danger.
Flight – choose when your character would reasonably choose to run away.
Freeze – choose when your character would realistically become paralysed with fear.

Use these three responses at different times to show different aspects of your character. Use them when they suit your plot.

[TOP TIP: Use our Character Creation Kit to help you create great characters for your stories.]

E) The Importance Of Fear In Plotting

As a writer, you can use fear to move the plot forward in many ways:

You can create a fearful situation to move a plot forward.
You can literally change the setting by making characters move to avoid a threat.
You can increase or decrease the pace of a story by introducing a threat.
You can show another facet of the character in the way he or she reacts to fear.
You can use it to show growth. Characters can look at the way fear made them act and change their behaviour.

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If you liked this article,you may enjoy

37 Ways To Write About Anger
29 Ways To Write About Happiness
43 Ways To Write About Love
Why You Need A Premise In Fiction
7 Ways To Create Suspense In Your Memoir

Top Tip: Find out more about ourworkbooks andonline courses in ourshop.

Posted on 4th January 2019
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