This topic's genre of choosing: Horror.
I must say that I've always found two genres lacking in quantity, mostly because of the difficulty in writing. One of those is Horror. It's a genre that comes out much more easily when you want to make a movie than a book, because as Ryan Sohmer eloquently puts it...
Yeah. Comes easier with images, but it's not impossible as proven by people as Sir Poe and Sir Lovecraft. So, have you ever tried horror? What did you find worked more in making a chilling story?
Tip from: Meinos
Here's my two cents. I don't know if it's a one-trick pony or not but I found that it worked like magic, at least on me. I found this in a Love Hina fanfiction. Yes, a horror Love Hina. With scenes that chilled me to the bone. This one in particular.
"How could I what?" Shinobu wailed. "What did I-"
"You killed her!"
Shinobu's eyes went wide. "No!" she breathed. "No, I would never do that!"
"Stay back, I said!" Motoko growled, retreating a few more steps as Shinobu held out her arms and tried to embrace her. "I'm so blind – I'm so blind! How could I have missed it – you waxed the floor! You broke Naru's things! Kitsune was right – you were always right there!"
"No, I-"
"Stay back!"
Motoko took another step, stumbling over the shovel Shinobu had been using and falling flat on her rear. Holding her blade forward, she stared up with open fear at the girl in front of her.
"You killed her," she whispered, "you killed her and you buried her right here!"
Shinobu tilted her head to the side. "No," she said emphatically, "I buried her in the side yard."
Motoko's hand landed on the soft, earthy mound Shinobu had been covering when she arrived… and for a moment, her mind did not register what the younger girl had said. "You… what?"
Walking forward, Shinobu earnestly said, "I buried her in the side yard. The dirt's a lot softer there, since I've been working on the vegetable patch. It's coming along nicely, by the way – we should have some really nice pumpkins for Halloween."
"Then what-" Motoko began, scooting back as Shinobu broke into a wide, sunny grin.
"Back here I was covering the ten foot sinkhole I found when I was gardening the other day."
Motoko tried to shift her weight – to throw herself forward as a sharp crack sounded under her… but she was not fast enough, and the makeshift cover of sticks and dirt covering the sinkhole gave way, sending her down into its narrow confines with a scream of terror.
She landed hard on her side, wincing as the breath exploded from her lungs. Sword, she thought quickly, fighting the pain as she groped around for her blade. Have to get out of here before -
Her breath caught in her throat as dirt rained down on her silky black hair.
"I'm sorry about this, sempai, I really am," Shinobu apologized, driving the shovel again into the side of the sinkhole and raining more dirt down on the other girl. "I'll make sure your sister gets your sword… I know how much it meant to you. Bye now!"
Motoko could only watch in horror as Shinobu bent down and began working at the sides of the sinkhole, her intentions clear as more and more moist earth began to rain down.
"No," the swordswoman gasped. "NO!"
Desperately, she scrambled at the sides… but the earth was too loose, and she only succeeded in filling the hole more.
No, no, no, NO, NO,NOOOOO!
Shinobu worked industriously, shoveling dirt into the hole as the girl below her began to scream for help. After several minutes, she placed the hose at he mouth of the hole, turning it on full blast and watching in satisfaction as the hole quickly began to fill with dirt and water.
She hummed as she resumed her shoveling, and when Motoko's screams finally dwindled away with a wretched, muddy gurgle, Shinobu was thankful for the silence.
Smiling to herself, she continued to work.