Creative Writing: Hints [Includes Different Text Types] (1 Viewer)

Toranaman

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Re: Creative Writing: Hints

Adding to what was earlier said about the ending. Be weary of the very last thing you say. For instance, if you write your last line and then are like mmm maybe one more. DONT. Chances are you will just be over telling the story. Show dont tell. Leave the story with a slight open ending.

Ie.

A faint whistle strang out across the plan, closely followed by the echo of a bark unlike anyother.

Then you are like mmm 1 more sentence.

The bark drew closer until i could see his dirty hair as if it were on my own arm, I patted him and we walked back to the house.

They already got the point with the first last line. Dont stuff your story by trying to give every detail of the ending. I did it and my teacher was like you would have got another mark had you not ruined the ending... So remember show dont tell.

I hope this helps:wave:
 

snowflakelatte

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Re: Creative Writing: Hints

you can write as many stories as you want to practise, but it can be hard to adapt them. my teacher told me a classic storyline which can lead into any statement/quote/picture stimulus we're given.

for our trials, we had to use a picture of some old guy sitting on a bench as the start of our story, and a lot of people struggled because theyd prepared a story on something totally different.

so what you can do is the psychologist's office.

if the stimulus is a picture, the psychologist asks "picture the best day of your life/start of your journey/whatever. what do you see?"

so you go off into a description of the stimulus, talk about seeing your long lost relative sitting on the bench looking really old.

or if its a quote/statement, the same applies. psychologist: "Travelling is a fools' paradise. How does it feel to be told that?"

Works every time :) its just an easy way to lead into whatever answer you've prepared or want to talk about
 
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tylercal

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Re: Creative Writing: Hints

I'll share one of the pieces of advise our teachers gave us.

A good creative writing story often doesn't have to tell an entire story - it gives us a short moment in time, perhaps a snippet of a much larger event.

For example, 2 of the best creative writing responses in our class. One of them was about a planning consultant whose car breaks down in the middle of nowhere on the way to her lecture. She thinks about the importance of making room for the unexpected when planning, and watches a spider rebuild a web after she keeps destroying it. Then she drives off, having come to a new conclusion about the journey after the experience.

The other one was about a person running through a park, training for a upcoming race. A passer by makes some comment (Something like "Who are you running from?") and then the runner contemplates this, and gets a new resolve after thinking a lot.

The key point to remember, is that a creative writing piece is usually a SHORT STORY. Short stories are a genre of their own - often the chracter is not even named - they are often like extended jokes, or a short event with a witty twist. They do not have much to them
 

Dr Sloth

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Re: Creative Writing: Hints

Our teacher suggested that we use the 'steps in the journey' ie
Decision to go
First steps
Obstacles/challenges
Climax
Destination
Reflection
 

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Re: Creative Writing: Hints

coolcapsicum said:
does the creative writing have to be a kind of journey (like physical or imaginative or inner).. or can it be a combination or does it HAVe to be the one we are focusing on in terms of the prescribed text (for me that would be physical journeys)
The point of creative writing (Section 2) is to apply your own understanding to the journey to the question, drawing knowledge from your prescribed texts must be left to Section 3 only !

For 2008, the creative writing task must be on a journey.
I did physical journeys in my AOS and I only wrote about the inner and imaginative journeys (with almost no physical reference) in my creative writing response.
I did better than I expected !
(Only do this if you know all three well, otherwise stick to your own physical journey.)

Most importantly, in a journey you must have a catalyst (not the Chemical sense) for change and how this results in changing you in the form of a resolution/tragedy or something that is distinctively different from before you take on a journey. This is common to the three types of journeys.

I'm using second-person because the best pieces of creative writing are realistic and that you have experienced it personally.

PM me for more help. ;)
 
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me121

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Re: Creative Writing: Hints

Bec said:
Creative Writing

1. Use flare and sophistication
2. Be Precise
3. REPARE RESOPONSE
- Adapt to question in exam
- Look at stimulus --> LINK!!!!!
4. Think about audience and purpose
- AUDIENCE = BOS
5. BOS are academics
6. Brush up on journey notes
7. Journeys are literal or metaphoric
8. Journeys are inevitable
9. Think about 3 journey types
10. Talk about one or any combination
11. JOURNEY MUST HAVE A CATALYST
- Funeral
- Perfume
- Etc,,,
12. A journey involves encounters along the way
13. Think about destination
14. Demonstration of transformation
- Effects of journeying
15. Writing that moves people --> Can open a lot of doors
16. Characters which people can emphasise with
17. Writing written for reader
18. Authenticity
- Does character sound like child/adult?
- Are the events plausible?
19. Sign posting --> Is the journey clear?
20. Fluency --> Is it easy to read?
21. ENGAGE THE READER
22. OPENING IS EVERYTHING
23. LESS ADJECTIVES --> MORE VERBS
24. End with a twist or be predictable
.
 

ASHK

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Re: Creative Writing: Hints

so in class, our teacher gave an exercise where he wrote a simple word on the board, in this instance, it was beach.
as a class, we had to say the first things that came to our mind when we saw/heard the word beach. then, creating a mind map thingy, he wrote each word that linked off it.

then, he tld us that we know had to write a creative peice about the beach and journey's WITHOUT using any of the words that we had written on the board.
so for example, beach = waves, sun, sand, sunscreen, blue, splashing, seagulls. etc.

we had to create something that did not include any of those words. at the end our creative writings weren't very long, but the content was a lot better compared to our trials.

soidunno, you's can try that idea if you like, i did it a couple if tims since, and it has helped a bit.

good luck! :wave:
 

stunner

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Re: Creative Writing: Hints

Adding to that this post, research is vital, you need to know the LINGO or JARGON behind the way your character speaks in the era, the setting ... etc for a very basic example compare
"She got on a plane and stepped off on a small island in a big ocean."
to
"She got on the QANTAS JFK 248 and stepped off in New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean"

You'll sound much more competent, researched, thought out and the marker wont mark you down for the lack of sophistication.

:) Steph xx

P.s. number 2 quote is a fake airline but it looks real... I made it up the quote for the purpose of the example but it is essential that you research!

:headbang:
 

anti

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Re: Creative Writing: Hints

Regarding structure, look at different short stories and identify similar patterns in the way they have been written. There is no be all and end all "perfect" story pattern (or our lives would read like newspapers!). If you're really struggling, think about drawing up a timeline of your story: what happens in chronological order? Then work out how you want to present that order to the audience. Remember stories don't necessarily have to be in time-correct order, nor do they have to end cleanly ("the twist" ending).
 

iRuler

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Re: Creative Writing: Hints

Apparently the majority of the markers for the Creative Response are women, so female characters appeal to most of them and get better marks.
Well from what i've been told its an "Average middle aged women, in her 40s-50s" who mark the exams, not only for creative but also for essays.
 

inoubliable

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Re: Creative Writing: Hints

Quick question
Is it ok to write a monologue in that section of the paper and if it is, can you write one from your favourite movie characters perspective?
I'm sure its fine, as long as it fits the belonging idea..

Do you think an ambiguous ending to a creative piece is bad? Because I'm planning to end my story in a very ambiguous way, and I don't know whether I'd get more marks for having a simple, happy ending etc.. it just seems so cliche!
 

powlmao

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Re: Creative Writing: Hints

I remember my teacher was saying how one school, the whole grade got zero for the creative beacause they all had the same story.
 

Absolutezero

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Re: Creative Writing: Hints

Hmm...I always found difficulty writing from the opposite gender's point of view.
It is, and because of this, you'll find that the majority male writers have poorly created female characters.
 

Bobbo1

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Re: Creative Writing: Hints

Haven't read everything so far but what I found worked was:
-writing about your real life experiences
-adapting other stories (this is not plagiarism as long as you write your own descriptions and is only a snippet of the story: remember it's a SHORT STORY)

Big NOs:
-writing about dreams
-heavy violence (e.g. murders), sexual stuff etc..
-writing anything closely related with school (if you are writing about a boy/girl entering another school and belonging/dis-belonging you will not get higher than a 14!!! - even if it's written well)
 

strawberrye

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Re: Creative Writing: Hints

I remember my teacher was saying how one school, the whole grade got zero for the creative beacause they all had the same story.
The moral of this story-tells you how important originality of ideas are for any good creative:)
 

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