I looked back at the battered wreck of our aeroplane. The giant 747 lay at the end of its makeshift landing strip, like a fallen dragon; its last breaths forming plumes of smoke, which rose into the cloudless sky, even after defeat. A tell-tale passage of crushed and broken trees led away towards the distant mountains, signalling the direction where just minutes ago we had tumbled from the sky and sliced a path through the tall trees.

Around me the shocked and fragile passengers clung to one another, trudging slowly through the dense snow. The captain had insisted we were within a day’s walk of a weather station, and that with not a single working radio this was our best option. Where were we that no phone had any coverage either? He was adamant that once there we would be rescued and flown to our actual holiday spot.

Until then however, staying alive would be the challenge. It was so alien and wild here. Properly wild. We would have to survive the unrelenting cold, as well as anything else that we encountered. Who knew what resident predators had seen our descent, and even now were tracking the smoke towards us. Worse, they could already be out in the darkness, watching from beyond the safety of the light provided by the flaming piles of wreckage. Jake, my little brother, grabbed my hand nervously with both his. We joined the caravan of gloomy holidaymakers and began the walk towards the setting sun.

Carry On The Story

Where will you go?

Will the journey go smoothly or will there be challenges from the environment or the wildlife, or other passengers?

Will you find out what caused the crash?

What other characters will you introduce from the plane crew, passengers or crash site?

Will the challenges be the predictable and believable ones, or something more unexpected, fantastic or science fiction based?

Considerations

How can you bring the wilderness location to life through the events and your descriptions?

How can you make the reader feel the loneliness and dread of the passengers?

How can you use the conversations you and your brother Jake may have to move the story forward?

Next Step Ideas

Draft a timeline of what will happen, or storyboard a plan.

Brainstorm all the great descriptive language you will use for the locations, the animals, the other characters.