Write a story inspired by this by Max. Be sure to include a constant undercurrent of apprehension in your tone.
For example, in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, a subtle mood of apprehension and suspense is built when Jackson withholds key details about the lottery from the audience. In “A Game of Chess” from “The Waste Land” by T. S. Eliot, Eliot creates an apprehensive and anxious tone through diction and sound. You can also draw inspiration from musical devices– in Florence + The Machine’s “Breath of Life,” a musical sense of apprehension is built through a prolonged build-up, increasing volume and tempo, and long extensions of notes in a minor key. How might you translate such devices into a simple lyric form such as haiku?
Example:
hungry
tiny white sailboat
below it, a whale’s black shadow
mouth already open
-Constance
And be sure to visit our Pinterest, Write it… board for more inspiration.