Creative Writing

Descriptive Writing Task

The aim of this lesson is to write a piece of original writing about a deserted house.

You and your friend have just finished school and on the way home and you need shelter from the sudden change in weather. You see a deserted house and decide to enter it. Describe in detail the appearance of the house and the path that leads up to the front door. How do you feel as you approach? What type of door do you enter?

Imagine that you have gone through the doorway and that you are standing there listening to the sound of the ocean that is nearby. You look around and you notice all sorts of things, what’s on the floor, the walls and upon the ceiling. Think how you will describe what you see to inform the reader. You can hear a variety of noises, some are close some are further away and some are quiet distant. How do you feel? Are you scared or excited or even aware there is something not quite right? Perhaps the wind is blowing through the doorway and through the broken windows other sounds are made because of the wind? What are the scents/smells? Can a reader be made aware of what you see, hear, feel and smell what words best describe them? Explain what you see/feel in detail.

 Remember to describe in the 3rd person.
 You may want to describe the journey to the house as well as the house itself.
 You may want to talk about the setting of the house, e.g. town, country, wooded area, street.
 What do people think/feel about this place?
 Remember to use plenty of adjectives and adverbs, e.g. “the yellow net curtains, swayed rhythmically, in the gentle breeze” or “the old, heavy, wooden door, creakily swung to and fro on its rusty hinges. It fought with the enquiring wind to prevent it from entering.”

Think how will you build and create atmosphere and tension?
Fill in the senses table below and add as many descriptive words as you can think of to help you in your writing task.
Give fuller details for