Upload
jennifer-stevenson
View
217
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
NARRATIVE WRITING
THE ASSASSIN
AIMS• To find out the
structure of our narrative piece.
• To find out what happens in our narrative piece.
• To begin writing it.
After all the preparation we have done, you are now ready to begin writing your
Assassin story.• Read through your notes again,
reminding yourself of the techniques you used to make your writing interesting and powerful.
• Make a checklist of your use of these techniques by using key words i.e.
• Senses • Imagery• Show don’t tell
The PlotThis is what will happen in your story
An unnamed killer waits on a hillside above a lonely house
His victim, again anonymous, arrives and is shot.
The Assassin makes his escape
Or you could choose to write a different structure after the initial introduction
Paragraph 1This will deal with the killer’s
wait. He should be lying down
as comfortably as he can manage in
heavy rain. Every now and then, he is
alerted by a car passing down the
road. Try to suggests his cold
blooded lack of nervousness. Do not
say why he is there until the last
sentence; this builds up tension. Then
you could write something like “He
lifted the rifle to his eyes and sighted
down to the house.”
Paragraph 2
This paragraph will deal with a
description of the house and
its immediate surroundings.
Use this paragraph to make
the atmosphere more
depressing. Use descriptions
of the weather. Use the
shabbiness of the house and
its surroundings, and use
colour descriptions to help you.
Paragraph 3
Use this paragraph to describe the
arrival of the victim by car. Do not
waste time getting the car to the
house. Start the paragraph with a
sentence like “He watched as a blue
car turned off the road onto the
muddy, rutted path leading to the
house.” Keep the assassin cool and
unhurried; use the technique of
observing small, seemingly
irrelevant details such as a faulty
brake light, mud streaks on the car
etc.
Paragraph 4
In this paragraph, deal with the victim and the killing. How would the victim move from house to car? – remember, there are muddy puddles to avoid and it is raining. Delay the killing until the end of the paragraph – its harshness should be in sharp contrast to the cool calmness of the rest of the paragraph, i.e. “She paused at the door. He knew she would pause at the door. Before the echoes could catch the shattering sound, the shell had ripped the life from her in a flurry of blood and splintered bone.”
Paragraph 5
The Assassin moves away from the scene. He needs to pack away his rifle, remove evidence of his presence (cigarette ends, cartridge case), and move away towards the car. The atmosphere to aim for is calmness. He is unmoved, even casual, about the episode. He is a professional killer who remains
calm no matter what.
What’s next?Begin reviewing your story. Edit the story paragraph by paragraph. Remember – the grade you will get is for the quality of your writing, so make sure that you take your time and write exactly what you want to write, to achieve the desired effect. Go back to the work we did on figures of speech and insert a few of the similes and metaphors that you wrote. Check that there’s lots of ‘SHOW’ not ‘TELL’.
Finally, you should…
• Check that it is technically accurate: spelling, grammar, tenses, punctuation
• Make sure that you’ve included everything that needs to be included, to make it powerful and effective writing.
• Make sure your plot has logical flow.• Re-read your story to make sure that it’s
interesting and up to standard. Award yourself a grade. Then, ask someone else to read it and ask them for a grade, and why they decided on that grade. If there’s a difference in grades, try to discover why.