General English Level 6 Version 2.1 © 2004 acl Pty Ltd GELEV6 Unit 04 Topic 04.doc In the build up the writer introduces and develops the main point of the story - the problem, a relationship, a new experience, a mystery … b. The climax The woman looked at John and said, "That's not possible. Jane died five years ago." Now it was John's turn to be shocked. "But she's in my car! She asked me to bring her here." John turned and ran back to his car. The young woman was gone. He stood in the rain, staring at the empty passenger seat. In this part of the story the main character, John, discovers that Jane is a ghost. This is the most important or exciting point of the story. We call this the climax. c. The resolution Walking back to his car John heard a voice call out softly behind him: "Thank you." He turned back to look and saw a bright light hovering above the house. As he looked the light suddenly shot up into the sky and faded into the distance. In this part of the main body the writer tells us what happened to John after he discovered Jane was a ghost. Here the confusion and problems of Jane's appearance and disappearance are explained. We call this a resolution. At the end of the main body there is usually a resolution of the problems or things that have happened in the story. 3. Conclusion Driving home John felt calm and strangely happy. He knew that somehow he had helped Jane make peace with her mother. Now she could leave this world and continue on her journey into the next. In the conclusion the writer writes, "John felt calm and strangely happy." The writer tells us how the main character felt at the end of the story, after everything that had happened to him. The writer also writes, "He knew that somehow he had helped Jane make peace with her mother." Here the writer lets us know what the main character has learnt / gained from the experiences of the story. The conclusion makes some comment about what happened in the story. This comment can be how the characters felt about, or what they learnt from, the experiences. 4. How do I make my story more interesting? a. Adjectives Compare these two sentences. It was night on a stretch of road. It was a dark and stormy night on an unlit, deserted stretch of road. The first sentence gives a basic description of a setting. It is clear, but not very interesting. It does not tell the reader what kind of night it was or what kind of road it was. The second sentence answers these questions. This gives the story more atmosphere and life. It does this because it uses adjectives - dark, stormy, unlit, deserted … 134