calamaroo

[calamaroo]

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

[calamaroo]

Hi again :3 I love you

Ma'am!! Staawwwwppp 🫣😩

I love you too xoxo TwT 🩷🥰✨️

[calamaroo]

Writing Grief Without Romanticizing It

Grief is raw, messy, and deeply personal. It doesn’t follow a neat arc or fit into tidy narrative beats. While stories often use grief as a dramatic device, romanticizing it can cheapen the emotional reality. Writing grief authentically means embracing its discomfort and unpredictability, not sanitizing or idealizing it. 

What Romanticizing Grief Looks Like

Characters who seem emotionally wrecked but always manage to look graceful in their suffering.

Overly articulate monologues that sound more like a eulogy than a real moment of loss.

Depictions of grief as a singular, cathartic event instead of a long, jagged process.

Romanticized Grief:

“Every day without you is like a piece of me fading away into a tragic, beautiful void. I’ll carry this pain forever, for it’s all I have left of you.”

This might be poetic, but it lacks the authenticity of how most people actually process grief.

Realistic Grief:

“I forgot your birthday. I didn’t mean to, but when I remembered, it was already too late. And then I hated myself because forgetting felt like erasing you.”

Writing Grief Authentically

1. Show the Physical Toll

Grief isn’t just emotional—it’s physical. Insomnia, headaches, exhaustion, or even the inability to move can be part of the experience.

“She woke up in the middle of the night again, choking on the air. Her chest felt like a cinderblock had been wedged inside, heavy and unmoving. It was three days since the funeral, and she still hadn’t slept longer than an hour.”

2. Let Grief Be Messy

Grief isn’t a perfectly linear journey. There’s no logical progression from denial to acceptance—there are setbacks, breakdowns, and even moments of denial long after healing has started.

“He yelled at his mother for throwing out the cereal box. ‘It was his favorite,’ he said. She didn’t remind him that it had been expired for months. She just handed him the trash bag and walked away.”

3. Avoid Glossy Sentimentality

Sometimes grief isn’t poetic; it’s ugly, blunt, and devoid of grandeur. Characters might lash out, shut down, or isolate themselves.

Romanticized: “I’ll cry every day, but I’ll keep going because you’d want me to.”

Realistic: “They said time would heal it. But it didn’t. Time just put more space between me and the life I knew before.”

4. Let Grief Manifest in Small, Unexpected Ways

Grief isn’t always about sobbing—it can show up in mundane moments: hesitating to delete a voicemail, holding onto an old sweater, or instinctively setting the table for someone who’s gone.

“She turned to tell him the joke, the one about the broken lamp, and stopped halfway through. The silence hit harder than the punchline ever would.”

5. Highlight the Absurdity of It

Grief can be absurd and disorienting. Characters might laugh inappropriately, obsess over trivial details, or feel disconnected from reality.

“At the funeral, all she could focus on was how crooked the flowers were arranged. She kept wanting to fix them. If she didn’t, she thought, none of this would feel real.”

6. Explore How Grief Changes Relationships

Grief doesn’t happen in isolation—it affects relationships, often in unexpected ways. Some people pull closer, others drift apart.

“Her friends stopped asking how she was doing after the first few weeks. She didn’t blame them; she didn’t have an answer. ‘Fine’ wasn’t a lie—it was just easier than saying, ‘I still can’t breathe when I see his empty chair.’”

7. Show the Longevity of Grief

Grief doesn’t end when the funeral does. Let it linger in your story, showing how it ebbs and flows over time.

“It had been five years, but she still called his number when something exciting happened. She didn’t know why. Maybe it was just habit. Or maybe it was hope.”

8. Allow for Moments of Respite

Grief isn’t constant agony. People still laugh, find joy, and go about their lives—sometimes feeling guilty for it.

“She smiled for the first time in weeks, and then immediately hated herself for it. It felt like betrayal, like forgetting.”

[calamaroo]

TW: Blood

RIP Random Branch

Part 36:

Save for later

[calamaroo]

Just dropping by to say I love you and you are wonderful and I love you and you’re great and deserve the world and I love you 🩷

HRJGKGJ4HRUDJGHRH4HAJFG I LOVE YOU TOO YOYRE ALSO GREAT AND DESERVE THE WORLD SOBBB 😭😭😭😭🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷✨️✨️✨️✨️💖💖💖💖💘💘💘💘💘✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[calamaroo]

Hello my darling <3 how are you?

Hii :3 🩷✨️

Im doing pretty good for being sick as a dog ;u; I think I had the flu and it's taking its sweet time to go away 😩

Other than that, octo-lore projects have been slow, which is a little saddening, but I'll get back to em eventually TvT i am also FREE FROM SCHOOL 🗣🗣🗣 (for two months 😩)

[calamaroo]

I also have my very own team of OCs if y’all are interested in learning about them! They’re just like the Octonauts, but on land. Someone recommended me to share it with Meomi, but I’m too shy.

[calamaroo]

oh tweak you can say that

[calamaroo]

THAT'S ME BTW HABSBFJSNDHAHEHSBAN EHEHEEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHAHRHEHAHAHAHABABABAABHEBEBE

#1 DADDY FISHIE FAN AWWOOOOooooo

Half the people that see this won't realize that's me though T^T

♡click for higher quality♡

Featuring @animalsalvationassociation 's darling Father Finlee from her au <3

Hope u enjoy cookie >:3

Also I gave him luscious locks because I can 👍

[calamaroo]

He’ll have to run for both of them

[calamaroo]

yes, officer, my moot who lives across the world from me and is always reblogging stuff and being unhinged on tumblr hasn't been online in 18 hours. I'd like to file a missing person report

[calamaroo]

Gotta learn to be quiet smh

Tw-suggestive, nothing explicit but is implied

[calamaroo]

Seemed to have caught an acute fascination with the local cult leader so-

I made a lovely little portrait of him :]

Hope ya like it! Also love your work and your designs and I think they’re so cool and I hope ya have a good rest of your day :]

I’M LIKE ACTUALLY FREAKING OUT YOU MUST’VE WORKED SO HARD ON THIS!!!

I DON’T GET VERY MUCH FANART SO THIS IS VERY PRECIOUS TO MEEEEE 😭

UGH I LOVE HIM SO MUCHHHHH AND THE COLORSSSSSS UGHHHHHH SOBBING 😭❤️‍🩹

HE’S SUCH A BEAUTIFULLY EVIL MANNNN 🔪❤️‍🔥

[ Finlee Ref ]

[calamaroo]

You’re not depressed. You just need $250,000 in your bank account.

[calamaroo]

If your 13 or older and still sleep with a stuffed animal please rb this im tryna prove a point to my friend.

[calamaroo]

First meeting after a year

This one’s for you @calamaroo

[calamaroo]

Howdy hey! Do you have any pictures of my dearest Ranger Marsh 👁w👁 ? 💚

Yes 👹