Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-26581765-20150707055637/@comment-26007602-20150707074852

I'm glad I'm making sense.

Jeff the Killer isn't exactly the best example of a well written story. It's been removed from the wiki because it fell to the same tropes it inspired. It really is only popular because it had the chance to say "First!" Sure, it had a creepy picture, but the story itself wasn't too good.

I know you want to include backstory on him, but there really doesn't seem to be any need for it. Does this backstory make the character creepier? Does it drive the plot forward? Is it necessary? If the answer to any of those is yes, then include it. Otherwise, I'd leave it out entirely. If you need to include it, then I'd do it through journals, notes, verbal speeches, stuff like that. It's kind of cliche, but if it's done well enough, people won't care.

Horror is the most difficult genre to write (except maybe comedy). It's difficult to pull off and frustrating. I know you want to tell the story of this character, but the way you want to tell it may not work in a horror genre. I get why that's frustrating: you can't tell the story exactly how you want to. Practice makes perfect. I wrote four stories before any of them were good enough to publish here. Keep honing the craft and reading what makes other horror literature successful. Don't be too hard on yourself; it's route first creepypasta after all.