Short story sophistication? (1 Viewer)

[wallflower3]

Hey all!

I was just wondering how sophisticated does the actual story have to be? I'm kind of scared that mine isn't sophisticated enough for ext 2. Not sure if i should include deeper concepts.

And I've barely gotten into my first draft, so am I screwed?

Any help is appreciated

 

[tigerian]

check your PM inbox

 

[Alias]

Often the simplest ideas can be the most sophisticated. Don't panic and just ask your teacher for guidance.

 

[wallflower3]

Often the simplest ideas can be the most sophisticated. Don't panic and just ask your teacher for guidance.

Thanks, ill keep that in mind

 

[ushnakhalid]

I dont think it's about sophistication as much as it's about the originality of your concept and your writing style Also most of my class has only started their draft so dont worry

 

[obliviousninja]

i wonder what a sophisticated teenage angst story would be like.

 

[Absolutezero]

i wonder what a sophisticated teenage angst story would be like.

Catcher in the Rye

 

[Mdyeow]

Sophistication can be a huge trap. The more "sophisticated" you think your writing is, the more likely that the reader won't understand it. And if they can't understand it, how can they like it?

My first draft was superbly sophisticated, to the point that my chief advisor (prominent literary critic and novelist) told me flat out "I simply don't get what's happening". I threw out my entire draft, stopped thinking of it as a lyrical analysis of post-modern simulacra and started thinking of it as a story about a cyborg assassin who hunts down a hacker-turned-hobo. Scraped into State Ranking with a story where the most conceptual sophistication was a decapitation with a Swiss Army Knife.

Basically, be sophisticated in the calibre of your writing, but not in the "intellectualism" of the work, unless you can pull it off in a coherent and clear way. And most of us can't.

 

[britaker]

i wonder what a sophisticated teenage angst story would be like.

lol Romeo and Juliet.

 

[Kymren]

Sophistication is important but not if it interrupts the flow.
A good story is interesting, easy to read and has a sort of rhythm to it.
Sophistication AND Flair!
One easy and effective way to add sophistication is to use different sentence lengths. Sometimes a one word sentence can be incredibly effective.
Use emotive language as well, but don't over do it.

If you try too hard to make a story sophisticated it will sound false, and the marker will know.

Try practicing shorter things to begin with, brief descriptions, story's based on poems, ands story's with restrictions (50 words without 'e' is a good start). Then get someone to read them, and give you feedback. This helps you gain experience and get an idea of what works and what doesn't, without spending to much time on it. A 500 word piece of creative writing should take 20-30 minutes to do.

Tell me if you want me to give you some examples!

 

[Alias]

i wonder what a sophisticated teenage angst story would be like.

Don't try one for the HSC. They are overused.

 

[hit patel]

appeal to pathos of reader. My last short story was about an old man who is in the middle of the Jew massacre himself being a Jew, deserted by his son and his daughter and left to die and we explore more into his thoughts. The story basically revolved about this cos the given image was a either a bird on a broken branch which I showed as the old man and the other Image i could choose was a dog and a boy lying in a farm. Not much you can write for them or atleast in a situation with a lot of pressure considering its 25 percent of your assessment mark. But yeh thats what I do. Appeal to pathos.

 

[Mdyeow]

appeal to pathos of reader. My last short story was about an old man who is in the middle of the Jew massacre himself being a Jew, deserted by his son and his daughter and left to die and we explore more into his thoughts. The story basically revolved about this cos the given image was a either a bird on a broken branch which I showed as the old man and the other Image i could choose was a dog and a boy lying in a farm. Not much you can write for them or atleast in a situation with a lot of pressure considering its 25 percent of your assessment mark. But yeh thats what I do. Appeal to pathos.

This only works if your writing style is really, really, really strong.

Here's something I wrote about the perks and pitfalls of "writing what you know". Relevant.

 

[hit patel]

This only works if your writing style is really, really, really strong.

Here's something I wrote about the perks and pitfalls of "writing what you know". Relevant.

But Mine is not. So there goes my creative

 

[obliviousninja]

Don't try one for the HSC. They are overused.

I finished my HSC last year. lol.

.................

Guys n gals if any of you are looking for a short story, check my one, I have provided samples. Internally got 14/15.

 

[Mdyeow]

But Mine is not. So there goes my creative

Well...that's why there are more assessments than one.

My list of 5 No's for creatives is generally:

No war
No sex
No people dying
No swearing
No spaceships

Of course you can break all of these if you are decent enough, but generally nobody of 18 years of age is (this included me in my HSC year and pretty much today still).

I finished my HSC last year. lol.

.................

Guys n gals if any of you are looking for a short story, check my one, I have provided samples. Internally got 14/15.

So was yours actually a teenage angst story? I'm confused

 

[obliviousninja]

So was yours actually a teenage angst story? I'm confused

Haha. It turns out unexpectedly different!

 

[hit patel]

Well...that's why there are more assessments than one.

My list of 5 No's for creatives is generally:

No war
No sex
No people dying
No swearing
No spaceships

Of course you can break all of these if you are decent enough, but generally nobody of 18 years of age is (this included me in my HSC year and pretty much today still).




So was yours actually a teenage angst story? I'm confused

There you go. I am even more dead. I used both war and death.

 

[becibu]

Sophistication is for the pretentious - write with clarity and truth - sophistication will come out of that.