A SUSPENSE STORY
Using narrative tenses (ADAPTED FROM CLOSE-UP BOOK)
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To write stories based in the past, we use narrative tenses. The most common narrative tenses are Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect Simple, and Past Perfect Continuous.
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Use the Past Simple to talk about a completed action / state in the past.
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Use the Past Continuous to set the scene of the story and to talk about an action that was in progress in the past when another action interrupted it.
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Use the Past Perfect Simple to talk about an action that happened before the time of another past action.
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Use the Past Perfect Continuous to talk about an action that was in progress for some time in the past which was interrupted by another past action.
Write a story which begins with this sentence:
Everyone was scared to death …
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The story should be more than 120 words long. Use the following guidelines to plan the story. Study and use the useful expressions to create suspense in your story.
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Paragraph 1 = Use the sentence you are given and say where the story is set.
Paragraph 2 = Introduce the main character and a plan of action
Paragraph 3 = Describe how the plan is carried out and what happens next
Paragraph 4 = Describe the scene and give more details.
Useful Expressions for creating suspense
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At that point …
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During the minutes / hours / days that followed …
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All of a sudden …
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As quick as lightning, / As fast as he could, …
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He had never been in such an extreme situation.
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Without thinking, …
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There was no sign of …
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He thought of a plan …
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To make things worse, …
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They were just about to give up when …
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