Short story/creative writing/belonging (1 Viewer)

[miss_literature]

Post them here.

So for my creative writing piece on belonging, I was thinking something about an orphan because the storyline can be manipulated easily to fit the stimulus they are going to give us.

Do you think it's cliche? Thanks =]

 

[taintedfeather]

^ What markers abhor is teen angst, and the senior marker (Peter) told me that at least 70% of the material is just that. He also indicated that regardless of your level of writing, writing in this area cannot earn you more than a C to C+ score at most.

I have quite a lot of tips, but I just don't have the time to explain them all on bored of study due to time constraint - sorry

But the main tip I offer students is pick a subject you're interested in, such as music, ancient or modern history, international studies, languages etc. and use the skills you've gained from those subjects and impose them on you're creative writing, as it will improve characterization to an immense level.

For example, if you're a student of Modern History, and use the authentic definitions/details you've learned in the subject, your character/creative piece will stand out. I mean, would you prefer reading another sob story about a kid who gets into a spat with his/her parents, or about a soldier in WWI who's feeling as though he'd been conned into joining a pointless, gruesome war?

Being in a pile of thousands of creative pieces, you want your piece to be a stunner. A tale about an orphan is quite predictable -> he feels as though he does not belong, and then through some ordeal, he changes and feel he does belong...

This disqualifies it from the scoring the top bands (according to the definition). The most important part of creative writing are multiple, complex and sophisticated (words straight from the rubric) themes and levels of belonging.


If you're interested, I'm hosting a Creative Writing course at Parramatta City Library during March. I'll post details in another thread some time later (I'll provide a link if you're interested).

Good luck

 

[krewconvict]

hey..i can see that you got really good marks in ancient history..
i was wondering if you could give me some tips on ancient or maybe some notes if you could
thanks

 

[gesh17]

^ What markers abhor is teen angst, and the senior marker (Peter) told me that at least 70% of the material is just that. He also indicated that regardless of your level of writing, writing in this area cannot earn you more than a C to C+ score at most.

+1

I've also been told that HSC markers also do not look favourably upon a piece that comes off with too much self-pity or a protagonist who is essentially a masochist. Hence as other posters may have already suggested, it is best to introduce a unique element to your story that is able to transcend age differences because your marker is most likely going to be a 50+ man who is pretty well read. Personally, I've found that incorporating philosophy into my creative writing gets pretty good marks.

 

[brendroid]

I've been told by a HSC marker to avoid anything teenagers really really love - psychological issues (mention in parts), blood and guts, swearing... I've had a conversation about swearing before, but you should be able to work around actually using curse words. Be creative - it is called creative writing.