English Short Story Tips (1 Viewer)

[xMaFF]

Hey everybody.

Last Friday I had my 'Trials' for my 'Trial School Certificate'.
My school full makes trial exams for the trials which is... kinda sad.

Anyways, for the English Short Story I was really stuck.
I ended up rambling on about some korean drama I watched recently.
The question was along the lines of:

Write a short story, beginning with the sentence:

"The high wall and iron gate protected the house"

~~~

I'd like to know some tips and secrets to good short stories / English extended response. It would really help.
Any advice / tips / suggestions is very much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Cinnamonster]

My advice for a short story goes like this:
Develop no more than two main characters (if possible, stick to just one).
Give your character a motive.
Keep the storyline basic.
Write about what you know and what you are interested in (that way your writing will sound much less forced and you'll actually enjoy writing about whatever it is).
Keep it to one setting (a really good film to watch is Phone Booth. I know it's a film but it really helped me when I was in year 9 and we had to write short thriller stories. The movie is a gem. It has one guy on a phone, another guy threatening to kill him, a phone booth and that's it. If you want to learn how to keep your audience in suspense then this is the film to watch).

I'd add more but at the moment I can't think of anything. I may post some other stuff later.
Hope it helps a little.

 

[zazzy1234]

ma advice is 2 just do it trust me dat is wat i did n it got me a band 4 =p

 

[Top Secret]

ma advice is 2 just do it trust me dat is wat i did n it got me a band 4 =p

lol

 

[zazzy1234]

lol

wat is so funi? getting in the 70s is pretty gwed. and people shouldn't care so much about their SC coz it's the HSC that counts and u won't have anough energy for the HSC if u put it all on the SC.

 

[shady145]

^lol again

 

[lpodnano]

wat is so funi? getting in the 70s is pretty gwed. and people shouldn't care so much about their SC coz it's the HSC that counts and u won't have anough energy for the HSC if u put it all on the SC.

Maybe it's because we are talking about english and they are ridiculing your spelling errors? I just don't know.

 

[kaz1]

Don't write stuff on violence, pregnancy, rape or anything else that is cliche.

 

[Absolutezero]

DO
Have an original idea
Base your story on a character, rather than just plot.
Consider logical twists for the ending
Plan your ending first
Describe well, but make sure it goes somewhere
Consider a metaphorical use of the first line

DON"T:
Use second person
Write from the perspective of an animal, very young child or object.
Use cliche topics: depression, high school, suicide, rape, abortion, war etc.
Steal ideas from popular culture: Twilight, Harry Potter, Da Vinci Code

 

[ehtefaz.hedayet]

wat is so funi? getting in the 70s is pretty gwed. and people shouldn't care so much about their SC coz it's the HSC that counts and u won't have anough energy for the HSC if u put it all on the SC.

LOL
LMAO
ROFL
HAHAHA
XD

 

[xMaFF]

Thankyou everybody for your contributions.

Anything else worth considering?

I must practice for my next trial-trial school certificated exam.
Thanks to all those who helped.

 

[slyhunter]

It doesn't hurt to write short sentences straight to the point but it does hurt to go overboard with overly-descriptive sentences describing something that could be said in a couple of words.

 

[xMaFF]

Hey everyone.

Thanks for the tips.
But just in case that this question comes up again,
Can you give me ideas on what to write on?


Write a short story, beginning with the sentence:

"The high wall and the iron gate protected the house"
OR
"Sometimes at night, things not seen during the day become more apparent at night"


Yeah. Any serious ideas would be much appreciated.

 

[annabackwards]

DO
Have an original idea
Base your story on a character, rather than just plot.
Consider logical twists for the ending
Plan your ending first
Describe well, but make sure it goes somewhere
Consider a metaphorical use of the first line

DON"T:
Use second person
Write from the perspective of an animal, very young child or object.
Use cliche topics: depression, high school, suicide, rape, abortion, war etc.
Steal ideas from popular culture: Twilight, Harry Potter, Da Vinci Code

This, although you can base your story on plot as well. Just remember to stick to one; either character or plot NOT both.

Describe things in detail, but don't over describe.

Hey everyone.

Thanks for the tips.
But just in case that this question comes up again,
Can you give me ideas on what to write on?


Write a short story, beginning with the sentence:

"The high wall and the iron gate protected the house"
OR
"Sometimes at night, things not seen during the day become more apparent at night"


Yeah. Any serious ideas would be much appreciated.

For the high wall and iron gate, the first thing that came to my mine was a hermit in a straw hut but i can't think of where to go from there :/

For the second one, i'd talk about a kid running from some bad guy on the street who stumbles into a house and imagines it to be an elegant house, but right at the end when day comes she realises that it's a burnt down, abandoned house.

Really, the markers hate cliched endings/plots but if you write really well they won't mark you down. So just pick an idea and work on writing well

 

[xMaFF]

Thankyou, Annabackwards.
+rep.

 

[Absolutezero]

I brainstormed for a couple of minutes a came up with.

Topic One Ideas:
Doll House
Neighbours House
A Meeting Place
Haunted (Cliche though)
Locked In
Locked Out
Wall Used to Climb

Topic Two Ideas:
Loss Of Shadow
Realisation of City Tranquilty
Haunted (still cliche)
Nocturnal
Fear of Night

 

[xMaFF]

This, although you can base your story on plot as well. Just remember to stick to one; either character or plot NOT both.

Describe things in detail, but don't over describe.


For the high wall and iron gate, the first thing that came to my mine was a hermit in a straw hut but i can't think of where to go from there :/

For the second one, i'd talk about a kid running from some bad guy on the street who stumbles into a house and imagines it to be an elegant house, but right at the end when day comes she realises that it's a burnt down, abandoned house.

Really, the markers hate cliched endings/plots but if you write really well they won't mark you down. So just pick an idea and work on writing well

Confused. Just a little bit. What is meant by "either character or plot"? Should I focus on one more than the other, or--? It sounds like great advice, I just need someone to explain. Why not do both?

Also, great ideas. The one about the elegant house seems to strike me.

I brainstormed for a couple of minutes a came up with.

Topic One Ideas:
Doll House
Neighbours House
A Meeting Place
Haunted (Cliche though)
Locked In
Locked Out
Wall Used to Climb

Topic Two Ideas:
Loss Of Shadow
Realisation of City Tranquilty
Haunted (still cliche)
Nocturnal
Fear of Night

Thankyou for the themes. "Loss of shadow" ? Hmm... Might incorporate some of these with Annabackwards' ideas.

 

[annabackwards]

Thankyou, Annabackwards.
+rep.

No worries and thanks, i'll glady help anyone survive the horrible subject called english.

Oh and for my SC my story was super random. It was something about journeys so mine was about a boy who was stuck at the airport because his plan was delayed. He got bored so he went walking around the airport and saw many odd things like a kid holding a king sized kit kat until he met an old man that looked like a tree (wore brown pants and a green top). The old man told him a story about a forbidden lollipop in a tree that people were warned to not eat. In the end the kid thanks the old man for his story, continues walking and sees exactly what the old man had told him outside the window - a sign in front a tree and a lollipop trapped in the tree's leaves. Of course next to the lollipop was the bully that used to pick on the kid hehe.

So as you can see, you could make up a story on the spot about with the most random plot and still do well XD

 

[xMaFF]

No worries and thanks, i'll glady help anyone survive the horrible subject called english.

Oh and for my SC my story was super random. It was something about journeys so mine was about a boy who was stuck at the airport because his plan was delayed. He got bored so he went walking around the airport and saw many odd things like a kid holding a king sized kit kat until he met an old man that looked like a tree (wore brown pants and a green top). The old man told him a story about a forbidden lollipop in a tree that people were warned to not eat. In the end the kid thanks the old man for his story, continues walking and sees exactly what the old man had told him outside the window - a sign in front a tree and a lollipop trapped in the tree's leaves. Of course next to the lollipop was the bully that used to pick on the kid hehe.

So as you can see, you could make up a story on the spot about with the most random plot and still do well XD

Hahaha xD
Genius. I have permission to be random now

How did you come up with that?! I should probably read more. >w<

 

[annabackwards]

Hahaha xD
Genius. I have permission to be random now

How did you come up with that?! I should probably read more. >w<

My brain is quite random and i think the fact that my favourite book series is the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy helps too XD

haha...yeah because burning out in year 10 is guaranteed....lol

haha awesome story anna...brilliant

Thanks. I probably did well because it gave the markers a break from the cliche stories ^^