5 Bone-Chilling Writing Tips from Alfred Hitchcock

Hitchcock,_Alfred_02In 1960 Alfred Hitchcock was already one of the most celebrated filmmakers in history. With well over forty films to his credit, including The Man Who Knew Too Much, Secret Agent, and North by Northwest, Sir Hitchcock’s place in cinematic history was both deserved and secure.

That is precisely when he set the movie world on fire.

Nobody took horror seriously in 1960. It was gratuitous through and through, seen as irredeemable nonsense. So when Hitchcock pitched a film by the name of Psycho to Paramount Pictures, he couldn’t have been surprised at their reaction. They told him no. Adamantly.

He made the picture anyway, and the world thanked him by making it his most profitable film by far. Some believe Psycho to be the best film ever made. Although its initial reception was mixed at best, most critics today would easily rank it in the top fifty films in history.

I watched the recently released film Hitchcock, in which Anthony Hopkins plays the title character. It’s an enjoyable movie, not nearly as heavy as I expected. And it brought to mind these five tips for writers everywhere.

1. Do the unexpected.

If you want your work to be ignored, do the same thing everyone else is doing. If you want to be exceptional, you’ll have to take some risks.

2. Don’t settle.

Nobody would have blamed Hitchcock if after the success of North by Northwest he quietly faded into retirement. He did just the opposite.

3. Be in touch with your dark side.

Hitchcock tapped into darker places within his own soul to make the films he did. Our shadows have something to teach us if we are not afraid to listen to them.

4. We all need a creative partner.

Alma Reville, Hitchcock’s wife, was a brilliant editor. It is not an exaggeration to say Hitchcock would not have accomplished nearly as much as he did without Alma. When accepting the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Award, he remarked, “I share my award, as I have my life, with Alma.”

5. Don’t take no for an answer.

Hitchcock was determined. He knew Psycho was the right film for him to make, and he invested his own money to make it. If you have a project in mind, and you know it’s right, stop at nothing to get it done.

Tweetables:

“If you want to be exceptional, you’ll have to take some risks.” #Hitchcock #writetip #askeditor via @chadrallen http://wp.me/p2FgGq-e4 [Tweet this!]

Bone-chilling writing tips from the master himself, Alfred Hitchcock. #Hitchcock #writetip #askeditor via @chadrallen http://wp.me/p2FgGq-e4 [Tweet this!]

“If you have a project in mind, and you know it’s right, stop at nothing to get it done.” via @chadrallen http://wp.me/p2FgGq-e4 [Tweet this!]

Which of these tips is most helpful to you, and why?

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Categories: Creativity, Inspirations, Life, Publishing, Writing

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18 thoughts on “5 Bone-Chilling Writing Tips from Alfred Hitchcock”

  1. #3 is my favorite. Our nature is to avoid dark places and so it’s difficult and even painful to watch a dark movie moment. Our instinct is to turn away. Stop watching. Now imagine trying to write that.

  3. Tip #1 is my favorite. Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine is the only place I ever got a check instead of a rejection letter. But I have been told in writing class that nowadays you can’t have “twists” in your stories. Which I think is nonsense! So #1 make me feel a little better. Thanks for posting this.

  4. Hi Chad,
    I googled “blog headers for writers” in search of inspiration to gussy up my site abit…and your site was one of my hits. Total fun! Hope you and yours are well!!!!!!!

    (and yes, we are planning to camp THERE again this summer!!!! you have to bring your family some time!)

  5. These are five great tips to take to heart. I just re-read Stephen King’s On Writing. His dark side and sometimes irreverent perspective for sure has set his work apart. I need to tap into the risk factor more. I’m kind of a play it safe and serious writer.

  6. “Our shadows have something to teach us if we are not afraid to listen to them.”– so very true. The works I’ve read that have impacted me the most have explored the difficult issues, sometimes at the cost of the author having to re-visit something painful in his or her own life. But the hope they give through their writing as a result… is priceless.

    • In a TED talk Brene Brown says the way to happiness is in sharing the things about which we feel shame. The key to this, she says, is believing we are worthy of such happiness. I think she’s spot on. It’s hard, but it’s important.

  7. Hi Chad – I like “be in touch with your dark side.” To me, the dark side is the part of who we are that we don’t want others to see because it doesn’t match who we want to be. In blogging, I continually find that the posts where I expose the dark side – with insights on Godly transformation – resonate most strongly with readers. A friend told me recently that he thinks it is “brave” that I share so much of myself in my writing, and that he could never put himself out there like that. I told him that my confidence to do so has come from realizing that every single person reading has their own set of weaknesses, and when you connect with the reader from a point of mutual humility, the opportunity for impact is many times greater. It moves you from preacher to teacher. 🙂

  9. I love #1. We have to be willing to take risks in life. If it was easy, then everyone would be doing it. Right? At least, this is what I keep telling myself… 🙂

  10. Although I am no fan of modern horror, Hitchcock clearly stretched and broke the norm. He also had a very creative on air persona. i guess he was the total package. (Sorry for the cliche’)

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