1. Suspenseful short story aimed at Australian teen readers

2. Range: 7/20 – 20/20 Average 14.8

3. Atmosphere as part of creating suspense Settings as part of creating suspense Use of teen protagonists Sources of threat: natural, animal, human Partial resolutions – very satisfying!

4. FlawPossible solution 1. Too much orientationBegin in medias res – in the middle of the thing. Flash back to orientation briefly later 2. Ist person narrative as protagonist: too much confusion; pace of discovery limited Third person narrator focused on protagonist, but who also knows other things - omniscient 3. Present tense writing while running … or dead?! Use it sparingly! Past is easier to manage. 4. Ist person narrator who is safe in present, telling story of former threat reduces suspense Avoid first person narrative voice or choose the perspective of someone other than the protagonist

5. FlawPossible solution 5. Stereotypical protagonist Build personality: name, quirk, backstory hinted at, interact with others, dialogue 6. Out of timePractise under time limit; keep the scope of your story small- few characters and events 7. one trick ponyShow range and control 8. Forgot an element of the task Check the marking criteria as well as the question – often!

6. SuggestionPossible impact 1. Be specific about setting Build atmosphere to enhance authenticity; stronger appeal to audience. 2. Use gender carefullyMore original characters – raise different and deeper issues 3. Use race carefullyMore original characters – raise different and deeper issues 4. Layer your threats: natural, supernatural, physical, psychological… More dimensions to your story + easy way to delay resolution increase suspense

7. SuggestionPossible impact 5. Narrative perspective: choose the antagonists point of view Emphasise threat increase suspense 6. Integration of other text types and allusions to other texts Draw on other peoples work as a short-cut to adding meaning; sophisticated metaphors. 7. Create dramatic irony – use a narrative perspective that is slightly warped or naïve More gripping story; audience is active in the reading process 8. Study the form: read lots of short stories Learn about how other writers handle the constraints of the short story.

8. Empathy + Threat + Delay = Suspense … = a page-turner = an engaged reader!