language

• dialogue

  interrupts description and changes tone
• withholding info

  creates tension and mystery, builts tension through hints
• cliff hanger

  creates mystery, leaves reader with questions
• narrative hook

  captures readers' interest
• flashback

  creates contrast to present atmosphere, gives reader a deeper insight
• dual perspective

  allows reader to view events from different angles
• Sky para 1

  The sky loomed heavy and brooding, a thick quilt of dark swirling clouds that seemed to pulse with electricity; distant rumbles of thunder rolled through the air like a warning. Raindrops began to fall in jagged sheets, dancing erratically as the wind whipped them sideways. The air was thick with moisture, each drop adding to the oppressive weight of the atmosphere. Streaks of lightning cut through the sky, illuminating the dark, thundering clouds in a brief flash of white light only to leave the world shrouded in shadow once more.
• Character para 1.

  He flicked the cigarette in his fingers, the orange embers sputtering as he crushed it in the ashtray. The pungent scent of smoke clung to the air, lingering like a bad memory. His hand trembled slightly as he pressed down harder, the tip flickering one last time before it succumbed to the pressure, the smoke curling upwards in lazy, mournful spirals. The silence thickened as the ash settled, leaving only the faintest trace of heat where the cigarette had been - small, smouldering and gone.
• Flashback para

  His mind drifted for a moment, the sounds of the present fading into a distant hum. The sharp crack of gunfire echoed in his ears and the pungent scent of gunpowder filled his nostrils. He could almost taste the dust on his lips, gritty and thick as the air around him trembled with the weight of explosions. His chest tightened, the memory flooding him like a wave - soldiers running, shouting, screaming. He could see the faces of those he lost, frozen in time. The flash of a grenade, the deafening roar that followed, and then nothing... His eyes snapped open, the present rushing back like a cold slap.
• character 2

  He took a deep breath, the cool evening air filling his lungs with a welcome freshness. The sun was setting in the distance, casting a gentle glow over the world, soft and warm like a gentle promise. The grass beneath his feet swayed slightly in the breeze, whispering secrets he could almost understand. For a moment everything felt still and peacefull as though the chaos of the past had never existed- his finger brushed the edge of a blooming flower, its petals vibrant and delicate. How could anything so beautiful ever be lost?
• sky para 2

  The sky above him streched wide and clear, a canvas of soft blues and gentle pinks as the last of the day's light faded. Wisps of clouds drifted lazily, like fleeting thoughts, their edges tinges with a warm golden glow. The air felt light, almost buoyant, as if the world itself was breathing a sigh of relief. The stars were just begining to peak out, shy but certain, promising quiet nights ahead. There was a stillness, a calm that wrapped around him in a blanket and for the first time in a long while the sky felt full of hope much like him.