ALISON WILCOX
is the author of the Descriptosaurus series of books on supporting creative writing (Routledge)
Share AlisonWilcox’s tips for more
descriptive writing with your pupils,
and see their creativity soar
Oh, whatan
atmosphere!
58
TEACH READING & WRITING
O
ne of the areas of creative
writing that pupils consistently
fail to incorporate into their
work is the technique of
building tension, atmosphere
and suspense.
The following simple steps are
some that I have found to have an immediate
impact on children’s writing in this regard:
1Use your senses
As well as sight, think about what your
character can hear, smell, touch and
taste. This will enable the reader to feel the
tension, the anticipation, the warning of
approaching danger etc. more easily.
For example:
Sounds
●
The footsteps were louder. Another creak,
another shuffle, just down the corridor. Now
only seconds away
.
●
The sound of the wind among the trees
suddenly stopped.
●
The world was completely still. Nothing
moved, not a leaf quivered, but over the
silence brooded a ghostly calm and the
whisper of his smoking breath as it rose in
gasps and lingered in the frosty air.
3Keep it building
By gradually adding to the atmosphere you
are creating, you increase tension; making
the setting scary and the action scenes
exciting. Think about putting in details such
as background noises, flickering lights and
shadows, and tricky terrain, such asmuddy or
uneven groundduring a chase. For example:
●
The batteries in her torchwere running low
and the beamkept flickering and fading as she
moved it fromside to side.
●
Rob couldn’t tell where the steps were
coming from. He quickened his pace, but
the ground was uneven and he stumbled,
crashing to the ground
.
Weather anddarkness can tobe used
to great effect to create a scary atmosphere
and tension:
●
Howlingwinds
●
Mist or fog
●
Ferocious storms
●
Relentless rain
●
Dusk, shadows
●
Pitch black
For example:
●
Itwas taking too long. The shadows spread
and lengthened. She looked at herwatch again.
She should have heard something by now. All
Touch
●
Her foot kicked something round,
hollow, something which rolled away
into the shadows.
●
He ducked as something dark rushed
through the air and brushed his head with
its icy fingers.
Smell
●
Trish cupped her fingers around her nose
andmouth, but the stench of graveyards and
decay wafting up from the darkness seeped
through her fingers andmade her retch.
●
She took out a handful of green powder
from her purse and tossed it on the fire.
Within seconds, a very sweet and heady
scent filled the room.
Taste
●
The drink was bitter and stung her
throat as she swallowed it. She could feel it
scorching through her veins
.
2Turn off the lights
Darkness will mean that the character(s)
has to rely on his other senses andmakes it
easier to include sounds, touch and smells,
which adds to the tension. Add detail and
description to paint a picture in the reader’s
mind. Giving a setting an atmosphere is
more than stating that ‘it was dark’. For
example, adding more descriptive detail
could give you:
She lay motionless in the darkness and
listened to the night. It was an unsettling,
menacing darkness, full of dancing shadows
and the occasional creak and rustle from the
house. A tingling sixth sense warned Kitty
not tomove.
