FEAR AS A STORY ENGINE WORKSHOP: How to Write Fear that Sticks to the Bones

Discover the techniques and philosophies behind writing moments in literature that keep readers up at night.

We're thrilled to welcome Erin Crosby Eckstine, the award-winning author of JUNIE to The Twisted Spine!

About FEAR AS A STORY ENGINE: HOW TO WRITE FEAR THAT STICKS TO THE BONES:

Fear is more than what goes bump in the night– it’s a powerful driver of character motivations and actions in fiction. Dive into terror as creative fuel in this writing workshop inspired by the ghost story competition that gave rise to Frankenstein, in which we will explore both visceral and intangible horrors to add depth to characterization, emotional complexity, and conflict to your stories. Writers will walk away with:

• A set of raw, generative free-writes capturing physical and psychological fears to use in their own work
• A practiced technique for deepening characterization and description by digging past surface-level feeling into more nuanced, often contradictory emotional truths
• A short original scene showing how fear, suspense, and anticipation shape perception, description, and tension

About the instructor:

Erin Crosby Eckstine is an author of speculative historical fiction author and creative writing instructor. Her debut novel JUNIE was selected for the Good Morning America book club. JUNIE was selected as a Goodreads Choice Award 2025 nominee in both historical fiction and debut novel, an Audie Award Finalist in Fiction, and longlisted for the Crook's Corner Prize.

Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Eckstine grew up between the South and Los Angeles before moving to New York City to attend Barnard College. She earned a master's in secondary English education from Stanford University and taught high school English for six years. She lives in Brooklyn with her partner and their cats, where she teaches creative writing with Sackett Street Writers.