2. Index:
1) Main Features of Gothic Narrative..............................1
2) Beginnings and endings..............................................3
3) Catching the readers attention......................................6
4) Setting and atmosphere................................................8
5) The Use of Commas...................................................10
6) Creating Expectation..................................................12
7) Best Gothic Books......................................................13
8) Creating tension..........................................................15
9) Sources.......................................................................16
3. Common features:
♬ Wild or remote places
♬ Dark and gloomy settings
♬ Graveyards, tombs, and corpses
♬ Family dark secrets
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4. ♬ Supernatural Powers
♬ Frightening creatures
♬ Ancient castles and mansions
♬ Psychological torment
♬ Sciences used for evil purposes
♬ Extreme natural events (heavy storms, full
moons, etc.)
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5. How do you begin a gothic story?
* The beginning of the narrative, will be a good
way to the progress you are imagining.
e.g: Once upon a time there was a princess in a
castle...
* The story will be related to past events.
e.g: A long, long time ago...
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6. * To get the story going and show what kind of
story is going to be.
E.g: In a dark and frightening night, the shadow of a
big castle appeared....
* To introduce and characterized the protagonists.
E.g: Paul, who has just finished the school was a
handsome man with a friendly appearance.
* To engage the reader to be involved in the rest of
the story.
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E.g: Do you have a pet?
7. How do you finish a gothic story?
Depending on what kind of story you are going to tell is your choice.
There is a preference for endedness.
eg: Happy, unhappy, mixed.
They lived happily forever.
After her death, he walked under the rain crying in silence.
He was sad, but he knew he was doing the best for everyone.
You have two basic shapes:
Circular: When the beginning has a relationship with the end.
Lineal:When the beginning has no relationship with the end.
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8. Readers are caught by the story,
metonymies and elements of mystery and
suspense...
Rusty hinger
Doors grating
Footsteps approaching
Clanking chains
Baying of distant animals
Crazed laughter
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10. Setting and atmosphere
It not only allows your reader to get a sense of the
world you are creating, but sets up expectations.
For instance, a spooky castle will evoke fear,
mystery and maybe even romance.
It can also provide information to your reader
about the characters in your story.
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11. Instructions to create the setting and atmosphere
1) Choose an effective setting. Different types of settings
will evoke a certain atmosphere.
3) Describe the scenery.
4) Use natural elements. The weather is a great way to
create atmosphere.
5) Time can bring different expectations to your readers
in setting up atmosphere.
6) Use strong or evocative language, which can create a
strong sense of place and atmosphere.
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12. The use of Commas:
- To end a subordinate clause
- To provide a dramamtic pause
- To add extra information
- To separate items in a list
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13. - Ending a subordinate clause at the start
of a sentence:
"Falling on his knees, the archduke Harry made
the..."
"Orlando", Virginia Woolf
-Providing a dramatic pause:
"I swear to you by the heart I inhabit, and by you
that made me..."
"Frankestein", Mary Shelley
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14. Adding extra information to sentences:
"Caddy held me and I could hear us all, and the
darkness, and something I could smell."
"The sound and the fury" William Faulkner.
-Separating items in a list:
"But I also know, pursued the old gentleman, the
misery, the slow torture..."
"Oliver Twist", Charles Dickens.
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15. CREATING EXPECTATION
*Write about something new within the story
*Sinister beginning
* Ase old words
* Overgrown gardens, attics, cellars, old trees, a
mansion, a dwelling, ancient doors, dark forests,
etc.
* Mysterious is a key. 13
Gothic Stories
16. Some of the best Gothic books of all times:
Dracula by Bram Stocker.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
The picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.
Complete stories and poems by Edgar Allan Poe.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide by Robert Louis Stevenson.
The phantom of the opera byston Leroux.
The woman white by Wilkie Collins.
Perfume: The story of a murderer by Patrick Suskind.
The forgotten garden by Sarah Waters.
Salem´s lot by Stephen King.
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18. Ways of creating tension and
excitement...
Using vivid, unusual words that feed
our imagination;
Repeating words and phrases;
Using short sentences to impact.
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20. Sources
Duarte, D. (2011) Myspace. Retrieved May 13, 2012 from
Photobucket web site:
http://i280.photobucket.
com/albums/kk164/ZombieGenociderX/Cute%
2520Cartoons/Gothic.jpg&imgrefurl=
Durant, Charles A., R; Grant, D; Menon; and Turner, B.
(2008). Text Building Skills in English. UK.
Suigintou, S. Photobucket. Retrieved May 14, 2012 from
Coolchaser web site:
http://www.coolchaser.com/graphics/tag/gothic%
2520cartoons&h
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