The creative writing section of the HSC exam often causes students dread. There is something scary about deciding what to write, and how to write it, especially when it is something as subjective as creativity.
This part of the English exam does not have to be scary or hard. With a little forethought and planning you can write and learn your creative piece before the exam. This actually makes the creative writing task the easiest part of the exam, as it is the only section you can approach in this manner.
Planning Your Creative Piece in Advance
There are many reasons why you should work on this task before your exam. Firstly, it is difficult to write a creative piece on the spot, especially in exam conditions. Most people will find they are nervous during an exam, and sometimes have enough trouble formulating their thoughts on a text they know well, let alone creating and writing a fictional story. If you walk into the exam armed with a story in your head, then you are set to succeed!
Another reason to prepare your story in advance is time constraints. You are only allowed 40 minutes to write your creative piece during the exam. You will need to use all of that time for writing, and you won’t have the time try and think of an idea. All good stories work because they are structured well, which is achieved through planning and editing. The more time you spend on your story before the exam, the better it will be.
Lastly, you want your creative piece to be good. You want to make sure you use this section of the exam to get as many marks as you possibly can. Having a story prepared in advance is a great way to guarantee good marks. The sooner you start planning and writing your creative piece, the more chance you have to ace this section of the exam.
Creating the Premise
This brings us to the most important question, what should you write? That is entirely up to you. The point of the creative piece is to give you the chance to show the markers that you have a strong understanding of the theme of belonging.
A good way to begin to approach your creative piece is to think about the theme of belonging and the many different aspects relating to it such as identity, acceptance, and conformity. Do you want to focus on any of these in your creative piece?
You will also need to think about what type of belonging you are going to write about. Do you want to deal with belonging in regards to place, person, culture, group or self?
Once you have a basic idea of which aspect of belonging you are going to focus on, it’s time to come up with the premise for your story. This means, you need decide on a plot outline. Have a think about your prescribed and related texts, what is the story in these texts and how do they show the concept of belonging? Obviously you cannot copy these storylines, as that could be considered plagiarism, but you can use them as a starting point to think of your own idea.
Here are some examples you may use:
- A solider returns from war and must learn how to fit in with society again after undergoing a life changing experience.
- A migrant family arrives in a new country and must learn how to adapt to different cultural expectations.
- A young doctor volunteers to work in an impoverished country.
- A rich man loses everything and becomes homeless.
- A young girl who has spent most of her life in hospital returns to school after a long absence.
- A family of drifters decide to settle in a new town, to stay.
The possibilities and ideas which you can use in relation to belonging are endless. With some brainstorming and creativity, you can come up with something unique.
Be sure to avoid anything too cliché when writing your story. For example, a student starting a new school has been done so many times. You want your story to be as original as possible. If the markers are reading similar stories all day, they are bound to give more marks to something that stands out from the crowd. If you do choose an idea which you think may have been done many times, change it around a bit, such as having the student arrive with a different background.
Fleshing Out Your Story
Once you have decided on your story idea it’s time to flesh out your characters and the details of your plot. A good way to do this is to grab a notebook and make a heading for each important aspect of the story. Then jot down your ideas in regards to these aspects.
- Characters (Who is your character, or characters?)
- Setting (Where will this story take place?)
- Premise (What is this story about?)
- Conflict or Complication (What happens to threaten the characters sense of belonging?)
- Rising Action (What is leading up to the conflict? Is there any rising tension?)
- Climax (What happens at the peak of the rising action? What is the big event in the story?)
- Resolution (how is this problem resolved? What is the outcome? Do your characters come to some sense of realisation related to belonging?)
Once you have finished planning your story it is time to start writing. To do this you need to do just that. Sit down and write, write, write! If you don’t like what you have written edit to your heart’s content. There is no right or wrong in creative writing so anything you put down will be fine.
Make sure that you focus on the theme of belonging throughout your story. Do not lose sight of that theme. Use words related to belonging throughout your story to help get your point across, and make sure your conflict and resolution have something to do with belonging.
Also, remember all those English classes where you teacher talked about imagery, metaphor, similes etc.? Take that on board and use descriptive writing techniques in your creative piece. Prove to the marker you can write an advanced narrative.
Editing Your Story
Lastly, once you have written a draft of your story and are happy enough with it, give it to someone else to read. You can ask your teacher to read over it for you and give you some advice, or ask a parent or a friend. Outside feedback often helps us see things in our writing, whether that is weaknesses or mistakes, which we cannot see ourselves. Take this advice and edit your story accordingly.
If you start early in the year, you will have a number of months to perfect and learn your story. You will be well on the road to exam success!
Rachel Ives - Rachel Ives is a writer from Sydney, Australia. She holds a bachelor degree in communications (journalism), a post graduate degree in ...
Join the Conversation