"A Twist in the Tale"

Aim: Write a short story with a twist or surprise ending; use suspense and clues to keep the reader interested.

Ideas to help:

What are the ingredients of a good short story with a twist?

• Plays on fears or phobias
• Twist or unexpected ending
• Disturbing
• Atmosphere
• Credible i.e. believable
• Open ended (it could happen again…)
• Focused, tightly written, no wasted words
• Has a sympathetic central character?
• Uses suggestion, NOT graphic violence or gore

What fears or phobias do people have?

• Spiders
• Water, drowning
• Suffocation
• Buried alive
• The dark
• Vertigo
• Claustrophobia
• Graveyards, mortuaries
• Snakes
• The supernatural

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