The Edge 2: A sequel

Writing task – The Edge 2: A sequel Try the multiple narration technique for yourself, as it is used in The Edge. Write the opening chapter of The Edge 2: A sequel. Chris Kane is out of prison. A friend has told him where Cathy is living with Danny. He’s on his way . . . Alan Gibbons has written an opening scene for you, and you must take the sequel forward.

Writing task – The Edge 2: A sequel Here is the opening: Danny: Danny was running. His trainers pounded along the hillside above his new home. Thoughts rippled through his mind: the terror that was Chris, the shouting, the blows, the constant menace. ‘What made me think about Chris?’, Danny wondered. Maybe it was the Animal’s approaching release date. Danny knew his mother had been on edge for weeks. Danny started to jog down the slope towards the home he and Cathy had shared for the last six months. Then his heart slammed. The back gate was open. So was the door. His mother never left it open. Something was wrong. (continues)

Writing task – The Edge 2: A sequel Cathy: Cathy locked the bedroom door. Her flesh crawled. He was in the house. Dear God, it was him. Chris was in the house. She was such a fool. Why had she left the door open? Why? She was usually so careful. Now he was inside, looking for her. There he was now. She could hear his tread on the stair. No, please no. Then she heard his voice. “Cathy,” he growled. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

Writing task – The Edge 2: A sequel Now take the story forward in your own style. Move the ‘narrative camera’ from Danny to Cathy and back again in alternative paragraphs to describe what happens next. Use lots of tension as you build up to the confrontation between Danny and Chris. What happens next in this opening chapter? Activity concept by Alan Gibbons