-may-cat-
Tired Member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2008
- Messages
- 3,472
- Gender
- Female
- HSC
- 2008
People seem to be a bit worried about their creative writing, so here are some tips that can help improve your writing and get you into those higher bands.
- Easy to follow storyline. Make sure you do not over-complicate your storyline as you will often run out of time or include useless 'event associated' details which do not display your command of language, the most important thing is to be clear in your plot and not confuse the marker.
- Character development. The marker must care about your characters, talking about their thoughts and feelings is just as, if not more important then talking about their actions (plot).
- Do not go overboard on imagery. Evocative imagery is very important and essential to a good creative writing piece, however, over use of imagery can make your writing seem very disjointed and 'overwritten'.
eg:
The moon was a shining beacon of faithful, christian hope, its rays flashing and illuminating like fireflies in the cold, black, daunting darkness acting as the long-forgotten returned saviour in the cruel, relentless absence of my faith.
- See how it looks as if the writer has lost control of their use of language in the over use of imagery?
- Be conscious of your sentence length. Short, sharp sentences heighten the level of tension, drama, intensity etc in a story, long sentences do the opposite. Very long sentences (such as in the above example) are often the result of trying to include too many language techniques and do not reflect well on your ability as a writer.
- Experimentation with structure. While linear (chronological) stories with a simple beginning, build up, climax and end can achieve very good marks, it is more often non-linear stories that access the higher bands. This is as they display 'flair and originality'. Good ways to make your story stand out by experimenting with structure include:
. Different time frames
. Subplots
. Duel narrative (same story, 2 perspectives)
. Different voices
. flashbacks
It can also be good to play around with how your story and ideas are presented on the page. eg:
a
sinking
feeling
slowly
began
to
crawl
back...
Or, for even more impact, create one word paragraphs. Where appropriate, a word can be given even more intensity if isolated in the middle of a single page, this usually works well at the end of stories. You may choose to do something like this to mark a change in time, place or psychological state.
Be creative! (but don't overdo it)
- Be original in your choice of ideas. DO NOT EVER EVER EVER write about a character sitting in an exam room, no matter how good your psychological analysis of them may be, JUST DON'T DO IT! Other themes which are best avoided include anything that is teenage angsty or really depressing, eg: suicide, anorexia. While these can be written about very well and can get high marks, its easy to fall into a trap of just rambling on, and the marker has probably heard it all before a thousand times.
Some teachers say its best to write about something you can relate to as it gives you're writing a sense of 'personal voice', others say its better to write about something foreign to you like different cultures as it forces you to be more creative in your language. Whatever you choose to write about, just keep the words "originality and flair" in mind, this is what the markers are looking for.
- Never underestmate the importance of your ending. Often people will write brilliant stories and just dismiss their endings and miss out on the good marks as a result. Aim for an ending that is either:
. Suprising
. intelligent
. unexpected
. mysterious or intriguing
. ambiguous
DON'T EVER end with "and then i woke up and it was all a dream" or "tune in next week for the final installment of this saga" All this shows the marker is one of two things:
. You ran out of time
. You ran out of ideas
IT IS BETTER TO LEAVE YOUR STORY UNFINISHED IF YOU RUN OUT OF TIME THAN TO END WITH ONE OF THESE. THESE ENDINGS WILL AFFECT YOU'RE MARK.
- Always use paragraphs. You would be surprised at how many people forget to do this, try to set your paragraphs up in a creative manner, different paragraphs showing a change in time, place, psychological state etc
- If you prepare a story. Be prepared to change it, do not memorise it word for word. It's better to have a couple of stories in mind that are flexible and that you can adapt then one you have your heart set on, its almost guaranteed the question you will get will not fit your story (if you do you're VERY lucky)
- If you do not prepare a story. You really should have, but if you don't and are sitting in the exam with absolutely no clue on what to write whatsoever and can see time just getting away from you-
Go through you're usual day in your mind, at some part of it insert "what if........." and go from there.
Take note, if you do this, it's doubtful you will reach the higher bands.
Good luck
- Easy to follow storyline. Make sure you do not over-complicate your storyline as you will often run out of time or include useless 'event associated' details which do not display your command of language, the most important thing is to be clear in your plot and not confuse the marker.
- Character development. The marker must care about your characters, talking about their thoughts and feelings is just as, if not more important then talking about their actions (plot).
- Do not go overboard on imagery. Evocative imagery is very important and essential to a good creative writing piece, however, over use of imagery can make your writing seem very disjointed and 'overwritten'.
eg:
The moon was a shining beacon of faithful, christian hope, its rays flashing and illuminating like fireflies in the cold, black, daunting darkness acting as the long-forgotten returned saviour in the cruel, relentless absence of my faith.
- See how it looks as if the writer has lost control of their use of language in the over use of imagery?
- Be conscious of your sentence length. Short, sharp sentences heighten the level of tension, drama, intensity etc in a story, long sentences do the opposite. Very long sentences (such as in the above example) are often the result of trying to include too many language techniques and do not reflect well on your ability as a writer.
- Experimentation with structure. While linear (chronological) stories with a simple beginning, build up, climax and end can achieve very good marks, it is more often non-linear stories that access the higher bands. This is as they display 'flair and originality'. Good ways to make your story stand out by experimenting with structure include:
. Different time frames
. Subplots
. Duel narrative (same story, 2 perspectives)
. Different voices
. flashbacks
It can also be good to play around with how your story and ideas are presented on the page. eg:
a
sinking
feeling
slowly
began
to
crawl
back...
Or, for even more impact, create one word paragraphs. Where appropriate, a word can be given even more intensity if isolated in the middle of a single page, this usually works well at the end of stories. You may choose to do something like this to mark a change in time, place or psychological state.
Be creative! (but don't overdo it)
- Be original in your choice of ideas. DO NOT EVER EVER EVER write about a character sitting in an exam room, no matter how good your psychological analysis of them may be, JUST DON'T DO IT! Other themes which are best avoided include anything that is teenage angsty or really depressing, eg: suicide, anorexia. While these can be written about very well and can get high marks, its easy to fall into a trap of just rambling on, and the marker has probably heard it all before a thousand times.
Some teachers say its best to write about something you can relate to as it gives you're writing a sense of 'personal voice', others say its better to write about something foreign to you like different cultures as it forces you to be more creative in your language. Whatever you choose to write about, just keep the words "originality and flair" in mind, this is what the markers are looking for.
- Never underestmate the importance of your ending. Often people will write brilliant stories and just dismiss their endings and miss out on the good marks as a result. Aim for an ending that is either:
. Suprising
. intelligent
. unexpected
. mysterious or intriguing
. ambiguous
DON'T EVER end with "and then i woke up and it was all a dream" or "tune in next week for the final installment of this saga" All this shows the marker is one of two things:
. You ran out of time
. You ran out of ideas
IT IS BETTER TO LEAVE YOUR STORY UNFINISHED IF YOU RUN OUT OF TIME THAN TO END WITH ONE OF THESE. THESE ENDINGS WILL AFFECT YOU'RE MARK.
- Always use paragraphs. You would be surprised at how many people forget to do this, try to set your paragraphs up in a creative manner, different paragraphs showing a change in time, place, psychological state etc
- If you prepare a story. Be prepared to change it, do not memorise it word for word. It's better to have a couple of stories in mind that are flexible and that you can adapt then one you have your heart set on, its almost guaranteed the question you will get will not fit your story (if you do you're VERY lucky)
- If you do not prepare a story. You really should have, but if you don't and are sitting in the exam with absolutely no clue on what to write whatsoever and can see time just getting away from you-
Go through you're usual day in your mind, at some part of it insert "what if........." and go from there.
Take note, if you do this, it's doubtful you will reach the higher bands.
Good luck
Last edited:
