Imaginative Writing THE BIG PICTURE

w rit in g a s to ry

se tt in g ch arac te r on e even t tu rn in g p o in t

th e e lem en ts

Your task at the end of this unit is to write

A GHOST STORY.   

In your story you will entertain the reader by

Describing a strong sense of setting Use language to create a convincing atmosphere Describe the main character to interest the reader Have a turning point which brings your story to a

climax

To create a setting for your reader you need to describe

1. what the place looks like2. if the place is light, dark, or

has certain colours3. what the weather is like4. what sounds there are5. any other impression made on

the senses – touch,taste, smell All writers let their readers know WHERE and WHEN the story takes place by describing the setting. This usually happens at the beginning of a story. (but not always!)

A. Read the passage B. List the elements used to describe the setting.C. Decide which of the elements are most effective

1. a strange and rambling house, 1. full of old oak stairways. 1. long and narrow corridors 1/2. dark and evil secrets. 3. no warming sunlight, 1/2. gloomy views of shadowed

courtyards1/2. blank, blind faces of houses 2. a shroud of darkness 4/5 blazing log fires 5. hissing gaslight was strangely

dimmed.  

It was a strange and rambling house, full of old oak stairways. Long and narrow corridors seemed to hold dark and evil secrets. Windows gave no warming sunlight, only gloomy views of shadowed courtyards at the back and the blank, blind faces of houses at the front. After sunset a shroud of darkness seemed to wrap itself around the house before creeping slowly inside. Blazing log fires hardly seemed to warm the rooms and hissing gaslight was strangely dimmed. But the house was cheap. ‘Spooks’ by Terry Deary p.32

Now read the passage which was written by a pupil. The two paragraphs come near the beginning of his ghost story, BEN’S

JOURNEY 

• The car engine seemed to cough a few times before it finally shuddered to a halt. Ben sighed in frustration. Fifty miles from home, in the middle of nowhere, half past midnight. His choice was simple: stay put in the icy darkness till the morning or leave the car and see if there was any sign of human life nearby.

• The moonlight glimmered on the white frost which covered the road like a gossamer sheet and on the tussocks of grass standing stiffly and blackly along the roadside. The bushes cast strange shaped shadows in his path and a solitary owl hooted from a nearby wood. He felt the skin at the back of his neck prickle with cold sweat. The clouds momentarily cut off the moonlight and the shadows melted into general darkness. The air was thick with darkness, so thick that he could almost touch it. His breath seemed to materialise into something solid in the icy air, and he could hear his heart beat like a drum. Something touched his face, something as cold as the grave and his teeth clacked and chattered uncontrollably.

The setting in Ben’s Story

• The car engine seemed to cough a few times before it finally shuddered to a halt. Ben sighed in frustration. Fifty miles from home, in the middle of nowhere, half past midnight. His choice was simple: stay put in the icy darkness till the morning or leave the car and see if there was any sign of human life nearby.

• The moonlight glimmered on the white frost which covered the road like a gossamer sheet and on the tussocks of grass standing stiffly and blackly along the roadside. The bushes cast strange shaped shadows in his path and a solitary owl hooted from a nearby wood. He felt the skin at the back of his neck prickle with cold sweat. The clouds momentarily cut off the moonlight and the shadows melted into general darkness. The air was thick with darkness, so thick that he could almost touch it. His breath seemed to materialise into something solid in the icy air, and he could hear his heart beat like a drum. Something touched his face, something as cold as the grave and his teeth clacked and chattered uncontrollably.

Decide which of the words in the red print works best

 The road up to the castle was littered with/covered with/full of stones that were so big/sharp/uneven that they caught the traveller unawares and cut/tore/sliced through his shoes or threw him off balance so that his ankles were sore/tender/racked with pain.

Around the castle there ran a deep river whose surface was covered with green weeds/slime/vegetation. A wild raven floated hopelessly/uneasily/sadly in it, their feathers dull and drooping.

Overhead grey/stormy/cloudy skies cast a dull/dark/dead light over the castle. It seemed that the thick clouds would perpetually stop any sun from reaching/warming/touching the castle with its rays.

The walls of the castle were hidden/entwined/covered with tangled creepers which seemed to be trying to choke the life out of it. The creeper had

pulled/dragged/wrenched stones from the wall so that the whole building threatened to/was about to/might

fall on anyone who entered and kill/crush/hurt him.

 THINKING ABOUT AND CHOOSING EFFECTIVE WORDS

Read the extract where Jamie has been dared by his friends to pay a midnight visit to a grave that is supposed to belong to a vampire. With your partner, CHOOSE

words to fill in the blanks, trying to create a frightening atmosphere. All the words should be verbs.

A half-moon ----1----- in the sky amid scudding clouds; the slight breeze ----2----bushes, making dim shadow patterns ----3----along the gravel path. Jamie ----4----his fists, willing his feet to move steadily forward, one in front of the other. White stone angels appeared to be watching him with sightless eyes from between the serried rows of crosses and granite headstones.

No matter how carefully he tried to walk the gravel ---5----noisily underfoot. Jamie----6--- off the path, tripping on a cornerstone. Gritting his teeth he made himself ---7---doggedly onward to where the foreign graves stood. Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! The church bell ---8--- out the midnight hour as he arrived trembling at his destination.

The green-bronze door of the tomb ---9----cold and forbidding in the moonlight. Wind ----10---- mournfully through the rhododendron bushes and clouds ---11----across the night sky like shrouds torn from long ago corpses. James ----12--- to the steps trying to keep his mind off the next ten minutes.

The Weather

A half-moon ----1----- in the sky amid scudding clouds; the slight breeze ----2----bushes, making dim shadow patterns ----3----along the gravel path. Jamie ----4----his fists, willing his feet to move steadily forward, one in front of the other. White stone angels appeared to be watching him with sightless eyes from between the serried rows of crosses and granite headstones.

The Place

No matter how carefully he tried to walk the gravel ---5----noisily underfoot. Jamie----6--- off the path, tripping on a cornerstone. Gritting his teeth he made himself ---7---doggedly onward to where the foreign graves stood.

Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! The church bell ---8--- out the midnight hour as he arrived trembling at his destination.

The green-bronze door of the tomb ---9----cold and forbidding in the moonlight. Wind ----10---- mournfully through the rhododendron bushes

and clouds ---11----across the night sky like shrouds torn from long ago corpses. James ----12--- to the steps trying to keep his mind off the next ten minutes.

Crunched, sounded, squealed

Raced, hurtled, bolted,

Push, plod, continue,

Rang, sounded, tolled, growled

Looked, was, seemed, stood,

Rustled, howled, screeched

Floated, drifted, stretched

Rushed, raced,

You are to create a WORDBANK based on the five elements.In your group BRAINSTORM useful words for your story under these headings.       

• Describing words• Light/Dark/Colour words• Weather words• Sound words• Words to describe

impression made on the senses

Make these word banks into

posters for the classroom.

A Wordbank• LIGHT/DARK/COLOUR WORDS• Dim dark dull gloomy shadowy Moonlit dead faded jet

rusty Black dusky gleam glow sinking sun•  • WEATHER WORDS• Frosty cold cloudy icy Grey stormy breezy chilly• Rain hale downpour torrential Wintry frozen snow mist fog•  • SOUND WORDS• Howling thundering beating sighing Grinding scraping

blowing shuffling Clanking creaking groaning crashing Gasping tapping screeching shrieking Wailing screaming yell blood-curdling

• Yelp moan swishing rustling Whimper cry•  • SENSES• Mouldy damp decayed musty Slimy trembling dazed

stench• Mildewed clammy stale shudder Slobbering dewy creepy

panic-stricken Breathless shivering stuffy swaying Dusty odour

Atmospheric Words

• STRANGE UNNERVING

• RAMBLING SHADOWS

• SOLITARY SLIME• EERIE SHIVERING

• MATTED GRASS DISUSED

• OVERGROWN SHUTTERED

• RUSTY SLIPPERY• BARE WEEDS• ASHES FERN

• DERELICT HAUNTED• DEBRIS VAULT

• UNCANNY CRACKED• DIRTY

WHITEWASHED• TRAMPLED GATES• WRECKED WEIRD• BROKEN BARREN

• HOLLOW THORNY

What do you think?I entered the room and closed the door behind me. The room was big with bay windows and there were lots of dark corners. The blinds were drawn as were the curtains but I could hear the wind and rain outside. The bedside lamp was lit and there was a fire in the grate. Two large mirrors were hung high on the walls and on a wooden shelf stood two large brass candlesticks. I could hear the ticking of the grandfather clock.

We have learned HOW to describe the setting for our story (how to provide the backdrop against which events take place). But good writers do a bit more than this.

They use their description to suggest a certain mood or atmosphere and to raise the reader’s expectations and

emotions. They also use their description to show us what their characters feel about their surroundings.

To create atmosphere and make your setting convincing you need to

choose words or phrases which

create a mood use figurative language –

simile use personification use metaphor use sound techniques –

alliteration, onomatopoeia

The two paragraphs match each other with the pleasant description in the first becoming the unpleasant in the second.Look at the phrases in bold in the first paragraph and write down the unpleasant phrases which match them from the second paragraph.

Overhead the trees arched, and water birds, becoming used to my harmless presence, called out softly. Once or twice a kingfisher flashed. There were trout in the warm water. I could feel them brush gently against my bare legs every now and then as I waded knee-deep along the course of the brook.

And then – suddenly: fear. Where did it come from? I had no means of knowing. Menace. Cold fear was all around me – in the dark arch of the trees, the tunnel they made (into which the stream vanished), the sharp croak of birds, the icy grip of the water on my calves, the gritty scour of mud on my grimed and scraped hands. But most of all, in my own mind, as if down at the back of it, stood something hidden, watchful, waiting.