to cliche? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter carissa.
- Start date
nichhhole
asndihsCfuckingansbdiuahd
I'd usually let it slide, but considering you're doing EE2...
it's
'too cliche?'
as opposed to
'to cliche?'
it's
'too cliche?'
as opposed to
'to cliche?'
Re: too cliche?
do you have any ideas for my short story? i have my draft due in a few days and im totally stuck. i have an art work and a few lines from a poem that i am trying to base my story on and i have lots of ideas for the structure of the story but am having trouble with the actual plot
do you have any ideas for my short story? i have my draft due in a few days and im totally stuck. i have an art work and a few lines from a poem that i am trying to base my story on and i have lots of ideas for the structure of the story but am having trouble with the actual plot
nichhhole
asndihsCfuckingansbdiuahd
Well i presume EE2 is alot like art, in taht, conceptually EVERYTHING has already been done.
Every idea is cliche in one way or another, and the markers are aware of this. It all depends on how you execute the idea that gets the marks.
Read the syllabus...
it mentions something about using existing genres in new and innovative ways or something?
when you say you have a draft,
do u mean a draft proposal? or you have to have a storyline?
If it's a proposal then just go on about playing with structure???
je ne sais pas.
sorry, i've used my daily ideas on my friends Art MW.
goodluck
Every idea is cliche in one way or another, and the markers are aware of this. It all depends on how you execute the idea that gets the marks.
Read the syllabus...
it mentions something about using existing genres in new and innovative ways or something?
when you say you have a draft,
do u mean a draft proposal? or you have to have a storyline?
If it's a proposal then just go on about playing with structure???
je ne sais pas.
sorry, i've used my daily ideas on my friends Art MW.
goodluck
ObjectsInSpace
The Hammer Is My Penis
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2006
- Messages
- 1,470
- Gender
- Undisclosed
- HSC
- N/A
Yes. You need to know where you want to end the story if you want to start it. Otherwise, you'll end up in limbo and won't get the mark you deserve.
Do a few short drafts, go over them and look for any literary devices you rely on too much. I found my stories were dialogue-heavy, so I removed the main character's ability to speak and had her write everything down on a whiteboard that she carried around. The question then was how that came about and what I could do with it. It won me fourth place in a university short story competition.
Do a few short drafts, go over them and look for any literary devices you rely on too much. I found my stories were dialogue-heavy, so I removed the main character's ability to speak and had her write everything down on a whiteboard that she carried around. The question then was how that came about and what I could do with it. It won me fourth place in a university short story competition.
oh congrats on that!
im relying alot on symbolism and i havent used any dialogue as of yet. i honestly cant think of anywhere that i want my story to end up as im scared that all my ideas are going to be to cliche or plain boring!
for my structure would u recommend changing narration throughout the story or just sticking to the one type?
im relying alot on symbolism and i havent used any dialogue as of yet. i honestly cant think of anywhere that i want my story to end up as im scared that all my ideas are going to be to cliche or plain boring!
for my structure would u recommend changing narration throughout the story or just sticking to the one type?
ObjectsInSpace
The Hammer Is My Penis
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2006
- Messages
- 1,470
- Gender
- Undisclosed
- HSC
- N/A
There's a bundle of things you can do. As I was writing to a 2500-word limit, I settled on in media res, where the story starts part-way through. It stops you waffling, and you can also selectively reveal backstory through flashbacks, which is really useful if you want to keep your readers on edge.
Basically, if you don't know where to start, work with what I call the What If Scenario, and it's used by a lot of authors. In short, ask yourself "What if this happened?". In my case, I asked "What if I completely removed the main character's ability to speak?". When I decided I liked that, I asked myself "Alright, why can't she speak?" and I went and looked up causes of such a condition and settled on an extreme case Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
You're only really limited by your own creativity, but remember that short stores tend to centre around events and longer ones around the characters. Make your characters interesting (there's nothing I hate more than stories with bland people in them). Don't describe them physically, but use their personality to paint their portrait. The reader will gain an idea of what they look like, and if you do it right - and it can be very difficult - two readers will get the same idea about your characters.
Look to the people you know for inspiration. Everybody has a personality, so take traits from two or three people, combine them into one cahracter and start exaggerating and downplaying individual parts. Don't say "John Smith is 123 Generic Street was an arrogant bastard" when there really is a John Smith of that address with those tendencies. I'll take myself as an example. Normally, I'm a bit of a smart-arse and a little jaded with a tendency to have to sole every puzzle I come across. That's a very simplified desciption, but when I touch it up, I become the gentleman's Han Solo. Just watch a few people, how they act, how they talk. Don't ask them about it, but just watch. Splice them together and tinker a little and you'll get someone very interesting every time.
I don't know what your word limit is - I never did EE2, but I've been writing for as long as I can remember - but don't be afraid to describe things. If you have a word count of 10,000, then write 9,750 words or more. Try to add an extra dimension to your work, but don't go overboard. We always try to solve the little puzzles because we can't solve the larger ones. Your characters won't always have the answer. They'll screw up, and they'll make mistakes. No-one is perfect and as an author, the aim of the game is to make characters who are as real as possible.
Basically, if you don't know where to start, work with what I call the What If Scenario, and it's used by a lot of authors. In short, ask yourself "What if this happened?". In my case, I asked "What if I completely removed the main character's ability to speak?". When I decided I liked that, I asked myself "Alright, why can't she speak?" and I went and looked up causes of such a condition and settled on an extreme case Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
You're only really limited by your own creativity, but remember that short stores tend to centre around events and longer ones around the characters. Make your characters interesting (there's nothing I hate more than stories with bland people in them). Don't describe them physically, but use their personality to paint their portrait. The reader will gain an idea of what they look like, and if you do it right - and it can be very difficult - two readers will get the same idea about your characters.
Look to the people you know for inspiration. Everybody has a personality, so take traits from two or three people, combine them into one cahracter and start exaggerating and downplaying individual parts. Don't say "John Smith is 123 Generic Street was an arrogant bastard" when there really is a John Smith of that address with those tendencies. I'll take myself as an example. Normally, I'm a bit of a smart-arse and a little jaded with a tendency to have to sole every puzzle I come across. That's a very simplified desciption, but when I touch it up, I become the gentleman's Han Solo. Just watch a few people, how they act, how they talk. Don't ask them about it, but just watch. Splice them together and tinker a little and you'll get someone very interesting every time.
I don't know what your word limit is - I never did EE2, but I've been writing for as long as I can remember - but don't be afraid to describe things. If you have a word count of 10,000, then write 9,750 words or more. Try to add an extra dimension to your work, but don't go overboard. We always try to solve the little puzzles because we can't solve the larger ones. Your characters won't always have the answer. They'll screw up, and they'll make mistakes. No-one is perfect and as an author, the aim of the game is to make characters who are as real as possible.
Enlightened_One
King of Bullshit
In amongst all that Objects in Space makes some good points. Do some research and try to find some material that will lead you to a satisfying ending. Tom Clancy (the best selling author up until JK Rowling) planned his first novel by saying 'what if the boat of refugees trying to illegally enter America was really a defecting Nuclear Submarine from Russia.' [Read that in an interview years back].
Having interesting characters is a good start (and in my opinion essential) but I'm not sure how the markers value that (I should know since I read the syllabus more than once while procrastinating). From what I could gather the markers are more concerned with the writer's ability to tackle a problematic topic (even if it has been done to death). I dealt with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and that sort of stuff. Remember, the HSC is full of postmodern bullshit, and more importantly, topics like EE1 and EE2 are preparing you for university analysis and exploration of complicated ideas.
It's been two and a bit years since I did EE2, but the word limit is probably still min 6000 and max 8000.
Your story sounds slightly similar to mine (except mine dealt with the after affects of the abuse). It's the second week back or something for you young school children so you've plenty of time to write your story, review it, rewrite it, have others review it, rewrite it again, leave it alone for a while then review it again and rewrite again if needs be. Trust me on this, I left my sotyr until the last minute so I probably let myself down a fair bit because I didn't have time to critically examine my own work and try and improve on it.
P.S. Those stupid exercises that your teacher probably gives you to improve your writing skill do actually help.
Good Luck
Having interesting characters is a good start (and in my opinion essential) but I'm not sure how the markers value that (I should know since I read the syllabus more than once while procrastinating). From what I could gather the markers are more concerned with the writer's ability to tackle a problematic topic (even if it has been done to death). I dealt with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and that sort of stuff. Remember, the HSC is full of postmodern bullshit, and more importantly, topics like EE1 and EE2 are preparing you for university analysis and exploration of complicated ideas.
It's been two and a bit years since I did EE2, but the word limit is probably still min 6000 and max 8000.
Your story sounds slightly similar to mine (except mine dealt with the after affects of the abuse). It's the second week back or something for you young school children so you've plenty of time to write your story, review it, rewrite it, have others review it, rewrite it again, leave it alone for a while then review it again and rewrite again if needs be. Trust me on this, I left my sotyr until the last minute so I probably let myself down a fair bit because I didn't have time to critically examine my own work and try and improve on it.
P.S. Those stupid exercises that your teacher probably gives you to improve your writing skill do actually help.
Good Luck
ObjectsInSpace
The Hammer Is My Penis
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2006
- Messages
- 1,470
- Gender
- Undisclosed
- HSC
- N/A
If it's 6000-8000 words, then semi-decent characters are a must. I'd say you're out of the realms of event-driven stories and into the territory of character-driven ones.
And while you might be given exercises to do - I wouldn't know since I never did them - nothing beats reepatedly writing drafts and practice works. Let's face it, no-one was born with a pen in hand the same way no-one was born with a paintbrush or guitar. It's a skill you develop and you are going to write absolute crap to begin with (I'll bet anything JK Rowling and Tom Clancy did). But you'll get better as you go. The story you ultimately submit will not be you first draft, nor will it be your second. Not even the tenth. You have 8000 words, so you all of them, but use all of them wisely. Get people to proof-read and tell you what works and what doesn't. I wrote one where I inadvertantly gave every major character a name that began with an 's', making it clunky and slightly confusing.
Also remember that names are a big part of your character and they should summarise who that character is. It might sound romanticised, but look at the likes of Han Solo and Malcolm Reynolds. "Solo" describe's Han's way of life; "Mal" is Latin for 'bad', both of which describe some qualities of their characters. Check out BehindThe name.com for some really useful stuff if you get stuck. Trust me, I've been unable to write for days because I could not find a name for my characters.
And while you might be given exercises to do - I wouldn't know since I never did them - nothing beats reepatedly writing drafts and practice works. Let's face it, no-one was born with a pen in hand the same way no-one was born with a paintbrush or guitar. It's a skill you develop and you are going to write absolute crap to begin with (I'll bet anything JK Rowling and Tom Clancy did). But you'll get better as you go. The story you ultimately submit will not be you first draft, nor will it be your second. Not even the tenth. You have 8000 words, so you all of them, but use all of them wisely. Get people to proof-read and tell you what works and what doesn't. I wrote one where I inadvertantly gave every major character a name that began with an 's', making it clunky and slightly confusing.
Also remember that names are a big part of your character and they should summarise who that character is. It might sound romanticised, but look at the likes of Han Solo and Malcolm Reynolds. "Solo" describe's Han's way of life; "Mal" is Latin for 'bad', both of which describe some qualities of their characters. Check out BehindThe name.com for some really useful stuff if you get stuck. Trust me, I've been unable to write for days because I could not find a name for my characters.
ChicShit
Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2006
- Messages
- 42
- Gender
- Female
- HSC
- 2007
Well, the idea is a very 'familiar' one - when you mentioned it I instanly could think of a couple of real life stories that had been in the media over the last few years.
I think it could turn out excellent, if you did your own take on it..something different?
I know that sounds vague, but everyones right, EVERYTHING is a cliche, it drives me mad, I can't sleep at night with all the little cliche monsters munching away at my otherwise wholesome EE2 work....
I think it could turn out excellent, if you did your own take on it..something different?
I know that sounds vague, but everyones right, EVERYTHING is a cliche, it drives me mad, I can't sleep at night with all the little cliche monsters munching away at my otherwise wholesome EE2 work....
Tulipa
Loose lips sink ships
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2004
- Messages
- 1,922
- Gender
- Female
- HSC
- 2005
Not EVERYTHING is a cliche because a cliche is a thing that has been done to death.
But what's not is so utterly ridiculous that it's never going to be done to death.
But what's not is so utterly ridiculous that it's never going to be done to death.
lordarthurxoxo
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2007
- Messages
- 15
- Gender
- Female
- HSC
- N/A
depends how you write it, and the getting abused bit seems overdone.
yehh im trying to stay away from the abuse bit because like i originally thought, it sounded a bit cliche but im just hoping that my story develops an actual storyline because at the moment im stuck for ideas...
with the narration i started off talking about the situation, atmosphere, feelings etc of the girl from ma story and then i was contemplating whether to change to a sort of flashback from the girls point of view from how she got to that point, if that makes sense
with the narration i started off talking about the situation, atmosphere, feelings etc of the girl from ma story and then i was contemplating whether to change to a sort of flashback from the girls point of view from how she got to that point, if that makes sense
lordarthurxoxo
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2007
- Messages
- 15
- Gender
- Female
- HSC
- N/A
i suggest u begin writing and edit from thenon.
yeah, that conveyed meaning.
yeah, that conveyed meaning.
lordarthurxoxo
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2007
- Messages
- 15
- Gender
- Female
- HSC
- N/A
not rly
Tulipa
Loose lips sink ships
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2004
- Messages
- 1,922
- Gender
- Female
- HSC
- 2005
Just make sure it's all cohesive.
Like it makes sense and everything is eventually relevant to the whole storyline.
Look teenage girl dramas (in any shape) are overdone because a lot of EE2 students are well teenagers (and many of them girls) and we are always told to write what we know.
I think though if you were willing to commit to enough research you could write something completely different.
Also with the change in narrative voice make sure it's serving a purpose that is clear at the end and not just a gimmick.
Like it makes sense and everything is eventually relevant to the whole storyline.
Look teenage girl dramas (in any shape) are overdone because a lot of EE2 students are well teenagers (and many of them girls) and we are always told to write what we know.
I think though if you were willing to commit to enough research you could write something completely different.
Also with the change in narrative voice make sure it's serving a purpose that is clear at the end and not just a gimmick.
Enlightened_One
King of Bullshit
Tulipa is right. And be certain you want a mixed narrative style from the outset. If you write the story in 1st person and try to change to 3rd person (or vice versa) you will find it very difficult and probably have to rewrite entire sections, if not the whole thing.
I changed between narrators in my story, bu doing served a purpose.
And Argonaut (or ObjectsInSpace as you now are), those writing exercises are merely common sense and I had been applying most of them for years, but my teacher just wanted me to do something instead of wasting time. I picked them up from reading successful authors and tried them out. Trying to give your characters individuality (i.e. Specific traist, mannerism, idiosyncracies, agendas, etc) is a good start, just don't overdo it.
And while we're at it, if you read "The Hunt for the Red October", or "The Philosopher's Stone". then compare them to their respective author's most recent works you'll see a staggering difference in the complexity of the writing style. That, by the way, is the downside of EE1: You cannot read texts without subconsciously analysing them.
I changed between narrators in my story, bu doing served a purpose.
And Argonaut (or ObjectsInSpace as you now are), those writing exercises are merely common sense and I had been applying most of them for years, but my teacher just wanted me to do something instead of wasting time. I picked them up from reading successful authors and tried them out. Trying to give your characters individuality (i.e. Specific traist, mannerism, idiosyncracies, agendas, etc) is a good start, just don't overdo it.
And while we're at it, if you read "The Hunt for the Red October", or "The Philosopher's Stone". then compare them to their respective author's most recent works you'll see a staggering difference in the complexity of the writing style. That, by the way, is the downside of EE1: You cannot read texts without subconsciously analysing them.