20 Ways To Show Extreme Fear In Your Writing

20 Ways to Show Extreme Fear in Your Writing

As I dive into researching signs of fear for my horror WIP, I wanted to share some of the most compelling and visceral reactions I’ve come across. Whether you’re writing a chilling scene or crafting a character’s panic, these 20 signs of fear can help bring tension and realism to your story.

Physical Reactions

Hyperventilating — sucking in air but never feeling like it’s enough

Chest tightens — feels like a weight or hands pressing down

Limbs shaking violently, knees buckling

Complete loss of muscle control — collapsing or unable to stand

Cold sweat soaking through clothes

Heart hammering so hard they feel it in their throat or head

Tunnel vision — the world narrowing down to one terrifying focal point

Ringing in the ears or sudden deafness, like the world drops away

Dizziness / feeling faint / vision blurring

Dry mouth — unable to speak or even scream

Uncontrollable Behavior

Screaming / sobbing / gasping — involuntary vocal outbursts

Panic run — bolting without thinking, tripping over everything

Clawing at their own skin / chest / throat — like trying to escape their body

Begging / pleading out loud even if no one’s there

Repeating words or phrases — “No, no, no” / “This isn’t happening”

Hiding instinctively — diving under tables, closets, or corners

Desperate grabbing — reaching for someone, anything solid

Loss of bladder or bowel control (for extreme terror)

Total mental shutdown — frozen, slack-jawed, staring blankly

Memory blackout — later can’t recall what happened during the worst moment

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Friendly reminder that you should

Write that fic

Draw your OC

Redesign that blorbo

Plan that comic how you want

Create the content you want to see

Be cringe

Be free

The only thing that matters is you having fun! Not what others think!

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2 months ago

i like to tell myself that marinette didn’t ask chat noir to be the next guardian in case anything were to happen to her because she wanted to spare him of the burden that came with the role and to let him keep part of his freedom.

I Like To Tell Myself That Marinette Didn’t Ask Chat Noir To Be The Next Guardian In Case Anything

frankly it does make sense that marinette asked alya to be the next guardian since she knows her secret identity and has been by her side through a lot of the hardships that marinette had to go through in seasons 4 and 5, which in a sense could serve alya as a learning experience? but the main reason i think marinette didn’t choose chat noir as the next guardian is because she doesn’t know him 100% she only knows chat noir, she doesn’t know him outside of “work” which doesn’t mean she doesn’t trust him it just means that she needed someone that knew her secret identity, someone that she knew their secret identity, and someone that she knew she could truly entrust the miracle box to and all the teachings of being a guardian.

honestly i was one of the people that also thought she should’ve chosen chat noir but after thinking about it for a bit it made sense, but then i started thinking that a better option than alya would’ve been luka. this is just a silly opinion so don’t take it seriously, but i thought luka would’ve made a lot more sense than alya since he also knows marinette is ladybug and he literally trained with that other master, plus we know he can definitely keep a secret and he also knows chat noir’s identity in case of an emergency.

I Like To Tell Myself That Marinette Didn’t Ask Chat Noir To Be The Next Guardian In Case Anything

anyway these were just some thoughts i had, so please don’t take any of this seriously, and if there’s anything i missed or got wrong please kindly let me know in the comments (^^)

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An amateur and very shy writer who loves looking at other people's fanart, especially YuKa and TyKa (Beyblade) and Klance.

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