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Creative writing can be very daunting, especially for students who aren\u2019t confident in their writing abilities. Many students believe they just aren\u2019t creative. This can be a problem when they are asked to write creatively, especially under timed exam conditions. These situations can become even more stressful when they are writing in response to something they haven’t seen before.\u00a0 In turn, students can have the tendency to disengage and become unmotivated to write, which is not good!<\/span><\/p>\n Thankfully, there are ways to improve writing, and like most things, practice makes perfect. Our tips stem from experience in reading ineffective and linear creative writing pieces, as well as reflecting on the writing skills and knowledge of our teachers. There are two major issues that present themselves in a lot of creative writing – structure and language. This may seem self-explanatory, as writing is nothing without structure and language, but they are easily fixed, as described below.<\/span><\/p>\n A very common mistake in writing imaginatively is trying to tell a full story. The problem with this is that, in 45-50 minutes, it is not possible to write a full story from start to finish as effectively as needed. <\/span>Structurally, a lot of stories recount a series of events, in order, leading to a complication and then a big resolution. However, linear stories (where events take place in chronological order) are often very predictable and fail to entice the reader to keep reading. <\/span><\/p>\n By altering the structure of a response, writing can be improved greatly.<\/span><\/p>\n A few ways to do this more effectively include: <\/span><\/p>\n Firstly, by placing the reader straight into a moment of action, they are forced into the situation, and are left questioning what is happening. This is ideal, as more than likely, they will want to continue reading. <\/span><\/p>\n Starting with dialogue can also be effective, as it places the reader in a conversation immediately. If done right, it can also keep the reader enticed and interested in what is taking place. <\/span><\/p>\n Finally, writing from the reader\u2019s point of view can give the reader an in-depth knowledge of the primary character, allowing them to better understand this character’s actions, speech, motivations and personality.<\/span><\/p>\n Language is the means in which we communicate our imagination to the reader. In a creative response, the purpose is to engage, to entice, to capture one\u2019s imagination and to trigger an emotional response. This is all achieved through language.<\/span><\/p>\n A fantastic way to improve the use of language in creative responses is to focus on incorporating more sensory imagery and description. This means making reference to the five senses of sight, touch, smell, sound and taste. Whilst these don\u2019t all have to be included at once, it is important to help the reader place themselves in the setting and situation, and make them <\/span>feel<\/span><\/i> what the character is feeling. <\/span><\/p>\n As a writer, it is important to be able to imagine yourself as the character in that particular setting, and communicate what they would be thinking, feeling, seeing, smelling, tasting, hearing and touching. This is what helps to communicate meaning and improve reader engagement. As a result, these are the techniques and effects that markers are keeping their eyes peeled for.<\/span><\/p>\n Characters are the most important element to any plot and the key to success in writing really good stories is having the characters lead the plot instead of the other way around. It probably sounds daunting to think of planning a character and a story in the same timed exam, but the good news is you can do much of this thinking beforehand.<\/span><\/p>\n Having well rounded characters requires planning out in depth how your characters will look, behave, act, and be.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>To help you with this, when you\u2019re planning out your story, make sure that you have good character sketches as well. Character sketches should talk about all the things above, but also about a character\u2019s fears and desires.<\/span><\/p>\n One thing that\u2019s quite hard when making characters is making them feel distinct and different. If you manage to give all of your characters different fears, desires, and motivations, then you\u2019ll automatically have very different and interesting characters.<\/span><\/p>\n This advice can also be used when actually writing your story. Make sure that the decisions that your characters make are informed by who they are as characters and that they\u2019re not simple vehicles for plot actions that had to happen. This is a very common problem in very boring creative pieces and the characters end up feeling like they\u2019re not real or that they\u2019re empty vessels.<\/span><\/p>\n We recommend you aim to go into an exam with a variety of character ideas and settings which you can remix depending on the question. Then, in your reading time, you can consider how these characters you’ve sketched might<\/span>\u00a0interact with the plot.<\/span><\/p>\n The best way to write an innovative creative piece is to make sure that events in the plot build naturally towards the end and that there is a certain flow in how the action occurs. This does sound slightly vague, but it\u2019s something that everyone can intuitively feel when they\u2019re reading a given story. If the story has bad flow and bad build up, it\u2019s completely forgettable: there\u2019s nothing that you feel on a deeper level and the story does not stay with you. The key to making a story stay with the reader is making it so that the end is a real \u2018gut-punch.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n F<\/span>or authors who have mastered the art of the ending, we recommend looking at 1984<\/em><\/span>\u00a0by George Orwell, or Hemingway’s <\/span>Hills Like White Elephants.<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re able to emulate this strategy, your creatives will stick for a long time in your reader’s mind.<\/span><\/p>\n This is by far the most important piece of advice for writing creatives or writing anything really. If you\u2019re proud of your work and you\u2019re happy to read it, then it will be innovative and interesting every single time. <\/span><\/p>\n The best way to love your story is to write things that you\u2019re proud of and stay true to your own values when you\u2019re writing. If someone, a teacher, tutor or anybody else, tells you to do something one way and you don\u2019t want to, then don\u2019t do it! <\/span><\/p>\n Follow your heart and break rules if you like. This is not to say that teachers and tutors don\u2019t know what they\u2019re talking about, but that you should have the final say over what you write and how it works, since you need to say true to yourself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Overall, by practising writing in a creative fashion on a more regular basis,\u00a0 focusing on how meaning is created and engagement is sustained through structure and language, your imaginative writing can be greatly improved. <\/span><\/p>\n Once our writing can truly evoke emotional responses from audiences, the feelings of empowerment and achievement are extraordinary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Our English teachers would love to critique and build on your writing skills. Enrol with us and we can show you all the tips and tricks to mastering an innovative creative piece!<\/span><\/p>\n At MWNS, we offer\u00a0primary school tutoring<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0high school tutoring<\/a>\u00a0in Maths and English to ensure students understand their schoolwork, meeting the requirements set out by NESA and achieving grades they are proud of. All our Maths and English tutors tailor their lessons to the individual needs of our students. By working at a pace that suits and benefits each child, we are able to maximise their learning in an enjoyable environment.<\/p>\n Our Maths and English tutoring is available\u00a0in centre<\/a>\u00a0(Central Coast Tutoring<\/a>, Eastern Suburbs Tutoring<\/a>, Inner West Tutoring<\/a>, Northern Beaches Tutoring<\/a>, South Sydney Tutoring<\/a>, Sutherland Shire Tutoring<\/a><\/span>) and\u00a0online<\/a>. Whether you are looking for a\u00a0Maths tutor<\/a>\u00a0or an\u00a0English tutor<\/a>, MWNS is able to help build your child\u2019s confidence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Creative writing can be very daunting, especially for students who aren\u2019t confident in their writing abilities. Many students believe they just aren\u2019t creative. This can be a problem when they are asked to write creatively, especially under timed exam conditions. These situations can become even more stressful when they are writing in response to something […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3820,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,4,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice-for-students","category-blog","category-high-school"],"yoast_head":"\nCommon mistakes<\/h3>\n
Structure is key<\/h2>\n
\n
Language matters<\/h2>\n
Let characters tell the story<\/h2>\n
Ending on a strong note<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Love your own story<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Need some expert help?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
More about Maths Words not Squiggles<\/strong><\/h2>\n