.png)
1.png)
Week 8: Writing Relationships Under Strain (Horror Edition)
- darkholmepublishing
- Jul 16
- 3 min read
Because the scariest stories start with love—and end in silence.
We all know horror loves its monsters. The fanged ones. The clawed ones. The ones hiding under the bed.
But let’s be honest: the most disturbing horror often starts in the spaces between people.A conversation that spirals into something jagged.A glance that used to mean “I love you” now meaning “I don’t know who you are.”The soft unraveling of something once solid.
Welcome to Week 8 of the Dark Holme Workshop, where we dig our claws into one of the most devastating tools in a horror writer’s kit: relationship breakdowns. Not the “shouting in the kitchen” kind. We’re talking slow rot. Emotional erosion. Grudges that linger like ghosts.
This week’s PDF workshop is all about Writing Relationships Under Strain—and why fractured connections create the most haunting kind of fear.
Because when love curdles, when trust splinters, when two people should be allies but suddenly aren’t?That’s the moment your reader’s stomach twists.
What You’ll Learn (Without the Boring Bits)
How to weaponize emotional tension so it drives your plot forward naturally (no soap-opera scenes here)
Why silence and miscommunication are sometimes more terrifying than screams and chainsaws
How power shifts, buried resentment, and betrayal play out when characters can’t walk away
How to apply these dynamics across genres, from horror to psychological thrillers to literary fiction with teeth
Plus, you’ll get structured writing exercises that help you twist emotional tension like a knife—exploring everything from shifting POV to body language breakdowns to dialogue laced with things left unsaid.
This isn’t about writing fights. It’s about writing fractures.
A Taste: 💥 Quickfire Exercise — The Last Thing They Said
Here’s a little preview of what our subscribers are working on inside the Shadowsphere this week:
Write a short scene (under 300 words) between two emotionally close characters—partners, siblings, friends—where one of them says something unforgivable… and walks away. No violence. No raised voices. Just one moment that breaks everything. 🔪 Bonus challenge: Only show one character’s point of view. Let the emotional aftermath come through in what’s not said.
🖤 Think you’re up for it? Post your scene in the comments—let us feel the sting.
Why This Week Matters
It’s easy to think of horror as big. Loud. Bloody. But the stories that stay with us? They’re the ones rooted in emotional truth.
We remember the lover who became a stranger.The child who lost faith in their parent.The best friend who didn’t flinch when the lights went out—but did when they were asked a simple question.
By focusing on the emotional fallout between characters—not just external threats—you create stories that cut deeper. And in this week’s workshop, that’s exactly what we’re teaching you how to do.
How to Join In
If you’re already subscribed to Dark Descent, this week’s full workshop PDF is waiting for you in your member dashboard. Download it, grab your pen, and get ready to ruin some fictional lives (with emotional accuracy, of course).
📥 Not a subscriber yet? You’ve got two options:
Subscribe to Dark Descent (£2.99/month): Get this workshop plus access to our entire webzine archive, weekly writing prompts, ShadowSphere access, and more.
Buy the full 20-week course for a one-time fee of £29.99: All lessons, forever. No deadlines. Just horror-fuelled writing goodness whenever you need it.
💬 Drop your response to The Last Thing They Said below—and let’s see who can break our hearts with just one line.
Just remember:
You don’t need a demon to haunt your characters.You just need someone they once trusted… who stops looking back.
Comments