Story Devices Practice

Cliffhanger

As the flames grew bigger and hotter, the fireman climbed the tall ladder cautiously. He knew he had someone to save from the inferno. Climbing through the broken window he called out, but heard no response. He prayed that he could find them in time.

Flashback

As the old man watched the boys playing baseball in the vacant lot, he thought back to his own boyhood and the friends he'd had in his home town.

Foreshadow

Carlos laughed when he thought about how scared he was in the haunted house at the carnival last year. He had no way of knowing he was about to face a fright that wasn't meant to be fun.

Flashback

Cassie poised at the end of the diving board, ready to plunge into the water. Suddenly, she was five years old again, standing on the edge of a dock and falling backward, unable to control her fall, and unable to swim.

Flashback

Grandpa was helping me with my science project. He knew so much about building machines. As we were putting the gears together, he stopped and told me a story about when he was a teenager working in the car factories of Detroit.

Cliffhanger

Lee approached the teacher's desk. He held his forged note in his hand. If she believed his mother had written it, he would get another day to finish his book report. If she didn't believe it, he would probably end up in detention. The teacher studied the note and finally looked up. She sighed and began to speak.

Suspense

Melanie waited to see whose face was under the mask. As the man in black slowly revealed his identity, she knew this person could solve all the problems in Gotham City.

Suspense

Suddenly, Timothy noticed that all the birds had stopped singing. The air was very still, and not a single branch moved o a single tree. He looked up at the sky. In the distance, he saw a funnel cloud forming. He thought he might have about ten minutes to get home before getting caught in the tornado. He began to run, his feet pounding on the pavement. He made it safely to his house!!

Foreshadow

The Christmas tree was a beautiful sight. All the lights shined like twinkling stars. It didn't matter that Aunt Dana had strung 15 sets of lights together even though it exceeded the safety requirements.

Foreshadow

The dark storm clouds rolled across the lake and Rebecca couldn't help but shiver. The ominous feeling the black clouds gave her made her pull her wool coat closely around her. She started walking faster and faster, hoping that whatever was coming would pass quickly and wouldn't hurt too badly.

suspense

a feeling of growing tension, anxiety, and excitement felt by a reader

cliffhanger

an ending to a section, chapter, or book that leaves the reader in suspense

flashback

an interruption of the action to present events that took place at an earlier time

foreshadowing

hints or clues that suggest what future events happen in a story

story devices

techniques that writers use to make a story more interesting and to enhance the experience for the reader