Steps to Success » Story Writing
Many students come to me with excellent vocabulary, an imagination packed with fantastic ideas, and an ability to organise their writing into paragraphs. However, they still score poorly on creative writing assignments. The problem isn’t that they’re weak writers; it’s often the exact opposite. These students can develop whole worlds in their minds and give characters a fascinating flaw to overcome in a way that… Read More
Setting – the place and time in which the story takes place – is a vital element in creative writing. A well-crafted setting builds a vivid picture in readers’ minds, helping them feel as if they are in the story. Setting also influences the atmosphere, for example, in this extract from The Hobbit, in which JRR Tolkien establishes a cosy, lighthearted feeling with this description: … Read More
Whether you love creative writing or not, I’m sure you’ve been inspired to give alternate endings to a favourite story. Perhaps you’ve imagined what you’d do in a character’s position. This means you’re on the first step towards derivative writing, which loosely defined, means writing that is based on ideas from other sources. There are some who see derivative writing as imitation work or laziness,… Read More
Without characters, there is no story. A character’s motivations and growth give stories direction and meaning; therefore, it is essential that characters are given depth. To breathe life into characters, follow these steps: Firstly, illustrate details of characters’ appearance, habits and behaviour that relate to their personality and role in the story. For example, a brave warrior wears many medals of honour and always touches… Read More
