The Assassin - plot, character and setting.

Created by Phillip White

Putting it all together!

So far, we have:
1. Looked at how Graham Greene made his short story, "All But Empty," tense and atmospheric. We focused on his use of the senses.
2. Practised the technique of using the senses effectively in a descriptive piece written in the first person involving the feeling of loss in the setting of a multi-storey car park.
3. Discussed other ways in which tension can be built by analysing the opening of Cold Heaven by Brian Moore. You listened carefully to the story read out and filled in a worksheet.
4. Put in order of importance techniques that help to create atmosphere and tension.
5. Made a few further notes on these techniques and added a few more to the list.
6. Practised some of these techniques such as showing the reader what a character is like using a few well-chosen details rather than telling the reader directly.

Character descriptions

You have already seen how showing, not telling, by using a few well chosen details, is an excellent way of building character. You have taken a bald sentence ("The woman behind the counter was old and bad-tempered.") and shown the reader these traits by choosing one or two details. Make the reader work, and if you allow him/her to complete the picture in his/her mind, this will be a very effective way of making your writing engaging and interesting to read.

Read this example and think carefully about what makes it effective:

He shuffled forward, squinting wickedly at my daughter. Drawing back his lips in the most sickening smile, he displayed teeth yellowed with age and neglect. He extended his filthy paw and grasped my hand. Leaning forward as he did so, he sent me reeling with disgust with the foul stink of his breath.

The Assassin, naturally, involves a character who is a cold-blooded killer. Write a paragraph, using the techniques discussed, to create character. Write no more than five sentences. Some details to start you thinking might be his hard, cold eyes, expressionless face, thin, bloodless lips etc.

The plot in your personal, imaginative coursework piece will be very simple and you will need to stick to it exactly, by following the five paragraph plan. You will use few characters who will remain nameless to add to the sense of mystery. This is because around 800 words should be the maximum. Therefore, you will be concentrating on creating atmosphere and building tension, and this means you will need to work very hard at creating an appropriate setting.

Setting

You have practised creating the atmosphere of nervous tension of a multi-storey car park. Now you will work on the setting of The Assassin. Think about what you have learnt - the techniques you have just used to create character can be used as effectively for establishing a sense of place too.

Read this example and think carefully about what makes it effective:

There was a rich warmth about the room. The elegant simplicity of the furnishings did nothing to disguise the expense and care which had gone into their making. I moved silently across the richly carpeted floor to the piano, and began to search through the papers for the document I sought.

Now read the phrases in the graphic opposite. There is a range here, from description of the weather, appeals to the senses, small details, use of imagery or poetic techniques such as simile and metaphor and people's reactions. Some are better than others - if you don't know what the word clich� means, look it up. Do any of these phrases fit into this category?

Write a paragraph setting the scene of a lonely, isolated house. This is the setting for The Assassin.

You are now ready to write the coursework. You should follow the plan exactly. To get a very good grade, you will need to:

1. Read through all your notes again, reminding yourself of the techniques you can use to make your writing engaging and powerful.

2. Make a checklist of these techniques using key words e.g.