A Sense of Dread

Book excerpt: A Sense of Dread features three main sections.1) A detailed examination of the biological, psychological, and cultural bases of fear. What fears do we share with animals? What fears are uniquely human? What fears have we learned from our culture? From our families? From our experiences growing up? And what, exactly, is the difference between fear and dread?2) Author Neal Marshall Stevens explores the fundamentals of storytelling and scriptwriting, including the basics of story structure, creating effective protagonists and antagonists, exposition and set-ups, and advice on writing dialogue.3) A Sense of Dread then combines these ideas to explore the roots of human fear and apply them to storytelling for the screen. "The Toolbox of Dread" outlines the techniques for creating terror on the page. A wide array of horror subgenres are also explored, including why they exist, and what challenges each presents to the horror screenwriter. It also offers guidance on adding horror elements to non-horror movies.Finally, we seek to answer the question many people ask: What are you afraid of?