Quick Creative Writing Question (1 Viewer)

[LetsBReasonable]

When writing a short story, does the protagonist of the story have to be a human? Can they be robots, animals, etc.?

I've gone around asking people about what they've wrote about in the half-yearly/trial exams and all have them have used people as their main characters.

 

[Elisa Sweet]

I'd say you could, but it'd 3rd person. Check with your teacher first, though

 

[Absolutezero]

No, but it helps. Most of the time non-human characters don't give enough depth to properly explore the subject area.

 

[Spiritual Being]

Remember that the notion of belonging is centered on being an instrinsic human need and desire, therefore it would only be fitting to emulate a human within the concept.

 

[LetsBReasonable]

What if you personify the character?

The non-human protagonist would narrate the story and would respond to different aspects of belonging the same way a human would. (e.g. an animal's acceptance in nature or amongst other species).

 

[Absolutezero]

Like I said, you can do it. It just makes things much harder.

 

[Spiritual Being]

Like I said, you can do it. It just makes things much harder.

This.

Why put yourself in this state of unnecessary difficulty?

Just write a 'proper' (so to speak) story.

 

[Crobat]

My creative writing for Belonging was actually narrated from Death's perspective in the first person. I don't know if that's considered human, but my teachers and I all agreed that the effect was essentially personifying a concept. In the end, I received 13/15 for it in the trials and externals so it wasn't that bad. I have also heard of people who write from a robot's perspective as they slowly learn that they don't fit in with the world around them because their purposes are misaligned with the humans or something and the story kind of goes off into a science fiction piece there whilst retaining that connection with Belonging. If you do try to do it, I would try to consciously steer clear of clichés, particularly in plot and your descriptions. Just because your protagonist is different doesn't mean you automatically skip being clichéd, especially if it's kind of like "I don't belong with the people I'm surrounded by so I'll run away to find people who do love me" structure that often gets used both intentionally, and unfortunately, unintentionally.

 

[Kavindi]

The purpose of Area of Study Creative Writing is to reflect your understanding of the concept in relation to human emotions and experiences. It is meant to be realistic, believable and meaningful. Look at your set texts- they would all be about humans.

 

[Julie M]

A human is probably best because if you read comments from past HSC markers (which you can find online) they tend to not like animals or anything that's superhuman/sci-fi

 

[Absolutezero]

You want to use a real human bean.

and a real hero

 

[Spiritual Being]

You want to use a real human bean.

and a real hero

spiritual bean brah

 

[LetsBReasonable]

Thanks for all the replies, guys. I guess I'll check with my teacher just to be sure.

I have also heard of people who write from a robot's perspective as they slowly learn that they don't fit in with the world around them because their purposes are misaligned with the humans or something and the story kind of goes off into a science fiction piece there whilst retaining that connection with Belonging.

Yeah, I wrote about a robot for both the HY and trials and was able to get 13/15 and 11/15 respectively. The marker for the trial only really commented on the weak execution of the 'sci-fi' genre, so I'm still a bit conflicted on whether I should completely change my story.

You want to use a real human bean.

and a real hero

Hey...

You want a toothpick?

 

[Rita96]

I've read comments by markers who say that you should never really write about inanimate objects but amazing writers can pretty much ignore all the rules!

 

[Spiritual Being]

I've read comments by markers who say that you should never really write about inanimate objects but amazing writers can pretty much ignore all the rules!

Glad you think so highly of me!

 

[drinkwam]

Writing about animals and robots etc marks a lot lower- you will mark more highly if you write about just a few people (dont add too many characters)

 

[liuque]

You could do it.
I knew people who wrote about a banana's feeling when his 'siblings' are being taken away from the bunch.... still got a band 6.
kinda funny but it's probably a way to differentiate your writing?

 

[Crobat]

Writing about animals and robots etc marks a lot lower- you will mark more highly if you write about just a few people (dont add too many characters)

You make it sound like this happens automatically. It doesn't. In fact, the only boy in my grade to get 15/15 in the trials for the Belonging creative wrote about Belonging from an Orc's perspective. And when he replicated this in the externals, he still received 15/15, and not a single human was mentioned in that creative writing piece. It is more difficult to get a better mark, but done properly it can be utilised exceptionally.

 

[Absolutezero]

Hey...

You want a toothpick?

yup