Great question, Claudia. Writing a horror climax is similar to any other story climax – follow your characters, get inside their heads and find the unusual actions that make them unique. And, in the case of horror, make the audience cringe.

Like any other conflict-driven plot, horror relies on a fundamental crisis: the main character (let’s call her Carrie) has a crisis (she’s constantly picked on for being different and faces the ultimate humiliation: she’s not invited to the prom) and chooses an unusual — and psychologically cathartic — path to resolve her crisis (she kills everyone at the prom).

Carrie “works” because it calls out the fallacy of the prom mythology: it’s hyped as a time of fun and happiness, when in reality it’s a maelstrom of emotional tension.

So look for society’s false idols and get ready to knock ‘em down. That’s where you’ll find your climax.

Just my two cents. But I hated my prom, too.