严格要求的作文

 “说明一下，这是一篇有严格要求的作文，就一处景物 creating atmosphere。具体的手法要求:

1. Using a lot of details to keep the reader waiting.

2. Using slow pace

3. Using phrases breathlessly tucked into the ends of longer sentences

4. Including sound, smell and sight 

            Sylvia sat in a chair in the corner of the room. The room was large and dim, and the vaulted ceiling was nearly out of sight. The windows were narrow and tall and out of reach. In the middle of the room was an enormous mahogany table, casting a long, dark shadow on the wooden floor made of deep brown planks, worn with age. The night had almost come, and the last beam of sunlight crept through the glass, with a tinge of crimson.  Drab and frayed curtains hung lifelessly, blocking most of the light. The corner where Sylvia sat was nearly completely dark. The room smelled dank and musty. Not a single sound could be heard except the ticking of the cuckoo clock on the wall.             

            Sylvia sat motionless, her face sallow and haggard, her hair hanging lank over her shoulders, her eyes listless, and she shivered once in a while as if from cold. Suddenly the cuckoo clock rioted. She started. Slowly, she rose up from the chair, and hesitatingly, she inched forward to the table, the floor creaking under her feet. She stood next to the table, fixing her eyes on the silver box in the middle of the table.The box stared back at her, sinister and cold. With trepidation, she extended her arm toward the box.

孩子写的时候，难点不在满足上述的 atmospheric writing 的具体手法。因为第一段是空间描述，难在了把握住观察物体的视角(point of view) 。

同样的景物，要求写两篇，这篇要求的基调是 unhappy, frightening, and supenseful。另外一篇要求写出兴高采烈的气氛。这是俺娃12岁时写的。”