Creative Short Story Writing
It’s the End of the World as we Know it!
Task: Your task is to choose 1 of the following ideas to write about. Write 2-3 pages. Your task is to showcase your poetic writing skills. See marking criteria.
- You are not feeling very well so you go to bed early. The next morning you wake up and the world has changed around you, ended as you knew it, what do you do? Where do you go? You are the only person left in the world unaffected by this catastrophe. . .
- You are with a group of friends bored and itching to cause some trouble, instead of the same old you decide to do something a little different today. You gather your mates around and suggest oh-so-casually that you explore the old 1940’s bomb shelter in town! You swagger ever so slightly as you show them the way, delighted at your daring coup. After poking around for the afternoon, you start to get hungry, but as you all emerge something is different. You can’t quite put your finger on it but. . .
- Your choice. . .
- Your Mum works at the University in the Bioethics department, and you usually go down there after school and hang out while you wait for her to finish. Yawn. Today was no different except for the fact that your Mum is acting odd. She didn’t try to foist gross kisses on you as usual and even though you hate them it was still weird. . .
- You were driving across the paddock on the 4- wheeler when you noticed smoke over by the wind break pines. You decided to take a closer look, when an amusing thought crossed your mind. Ha! Imagine if it was aliens! Yeah in my dreams, how cliché. . .
Short Story Writing - The End of the World (as we know it)
Planning Sheet
1. The End - Copy and paste the starter you have chosen to use.
2. How will the world end as we know it?
3. Outline your plot in 5 points:
4. Briefly describe your main character:
5. Outline:
Where?
What? Why?
How? Who?
6. Multisensory description
What does this mean? How will you include this? List ideas.
Touch? Taste? Smell? Sight? Sound?
Using this planning sheet, start writing your short story!
Remember;
Planning Sheet
1. The End - Copy and paste the starter you have chosen to use.
2. How will the world end as we know it?
3. Outline your plot in 5 points:
4. Briefly describe your main character:
5. Outline:
Where?
What? Why?
How? Who?
6. Multisensory description
What does this mean? How will you include this? List ideas.
Touch? Taste? Smell? Sight? Sound?
Using this planning sheet, start writing your short story!
Remember;
- Full sentences
- capitals
- describing words - language features
- paragraphs
- Check your work - edit as you go!
- Spelling - choose your words from the spellcheck carefully!
- 2-3 pages, size 12 font, headings etc
Q: How can we make our writing more interesting??
Add;
eg: The zombie came at me - BORING!!
The glass eyed monster staggered towards me - BETTER
The glass eyed monster staggered towards me with his arms reaching for me. How could this be? It was the worst zombie cliche but real, how could this be? My mind was trying to process this living nightmare and failing miserably, I was cemented to the ground while all the time he was getting closer. Move, move, move! - BEST!!
Add;
- depth - don't skim over bits - describe
- description - describe what is happening in detail - you have to create the world for the reader.
- detail - more more more!
eg: The zombie came at me - BORING!!
The glass eyed monster staggered towards me - BETTER
The glass eyed monster staggered towards me with his arms reaching for me. How could this be? It was the worst zombie cliche but real, how could this be? My mind was trying to process this living nightmare and failing miserably, I was cemented to the ground while all the time he was getting closer. Move, move, move! - BEST!!
Planning Ideas:
- Main Character
Who are they? How are they revealed? How far are they developed? Do they change significantly? What are they like? What is their role in the story?
- Importance of the setting (Place and Time)
- Major Theme/ Ideas
What are the main ideas? How are they revealed to us?
- Key Moments
When? Where? With who? Why?
- Important Quotations/ Words
- Plot
- Point of View
- Mood/ Atmosphere
- Structure
- Style
Master Plot - Ideas and Q's
So? How about we turn these into questions, okay?
1. What is the tension in your plot?
2. Who or What is the opposition in your plot?
3. What are the "steps" in increasing opposition/tension you will use?
4. What is the change in your main character?
5. What are the important steps in your plot?
6. How are you going to "casually" bring in the important information?
7. Is there something in your plot that depends on coincidence?
8. What is the main action of the climax? Who does it?
Master Plots – Some Ideas
Based on Iain McGilchrist's take on the book "20 Master Plots (And How to Build Them)" by Ronald B.Tobias. ISBN 0-89879-595-8.
(Fair Warning--We are in for a long and hearty pull, looking at 20 Plots! So strap on your reading goggles and get ready to wro...er, make that write.) Before we get to the Master Plots, let's take a look at what Tobias calls "common denominators." Admittedly, you can (and probably will at some point in your writing) break these. But in general, we can say:
1. Make Tension Fuel Your Plot--tension, conflict, frustrated intention, blocked movement...make your plot sizzle on the griddle, not limp on the blimp!
2. Create Tension through Opposition--the antagonist thwarts the protagonist. Whether external person, place, or thing; or internal doubts, fears, or flaws--make the opposition real. Even paranoids may have someone after them!
3. Make Tension Grow as Opposition Increases--start small. then crank the opposition up, tighten the tension. And then up the ante again, make the problem a life-or-death struggle, and test your character against serious conflicts.
4. Make Change the Point of Your Story--your main character should be a different person at the end. Meaningful events change people in meaningful ways--make sure your characters change. (their underwear, regularly, especially after those high tension moments)
5. When Something Happens, Make Sure It's Important--if it doesn't contribute in a concrete way to your plot, cut it.
6. Make the causal look casual--cause and effect, yes, but if you aren't careful, the reader will know you are leading them by the nose to look at the footsteps in the garden and might suspect they will be an important clue. Instead, let them sniff the flowers, pet the dog, and notice that the dog's tracks were mashing down the dirt like the other footsteps there.
7. Make Sure You Leave Lady Luck and Chance to the Lottery--avoid the happy coincidence; eschew the miraculous.
8. Make Sure Your Central Character Performs the Central Action of the Climax--whoever wins, whoever makes the last throw, the great heave that overturns everything--make sure that is your central character!
1. What is the tension in your plot?
2. Who or What is the opposition in your plot?
3. What are the "steps" in increasing opposition/tension you will use?
4. What is the change in your main character?
5. What are the important steps in your plot?
6. How are you going to "casually" bring in the important information?
7. Is there something in your plot that depends on coincidence?
8. What is the main action of the climax? Who does it?
Master Plots – Some Ideas
Based on Iain McGilchrist's take on the book "20 Master Plots (And How to Build Them)" by Ronald B.Tobias. ISBN 0-89879-595-8.
(Fair Warning--We are in for a long and hearty pull, looking at 20 Plots! So strap on your reading goggles and get ready to wro...er, make that write.) Before we get to the Master Plots, let's take a look at what Tobias calls "common denominators." Admittedly, you can (and probably will at some point in your writing) break these. But in general, we can say:
1. Make Tension Fuel Your Plot--tension, conflict, frustrated intention, blocked movement...make your plot sizzle on the griddle, not limp on the blimp!
2. Create Tension through Opposition--the antagonist thwarts the protagonist. Whether external person, place, or thing; or internal doubts, fears, or flaws--make the opposition real. Even paranoids may have someone after them!
3. Make Tension Grow as Opposition Increases--start small. then crank the opposition up, tighten the tension. And then up the ante again, make the problem a life-or-death struggle, and test your character against serious conflicts.
4. Make Change the Point of Your Story--your main character should be a different person at the end. Meaningful events change people in meaningful ways--make sure your characters change. (their underwear, regularly, especially after those high tension moments)
5. When Something Happens, Make Sure It's Important--if it doesn't contribute in a concrete way to your plot, cut it.
6. Make the causal look casual--cause and effect, yes, but if you aren't careful, the reader will know you are leading them by the nose to look at the footsteps in the garden and might suspect they will be an important clue. Instead, let them sniff the flowers, pet the dog, and notice that the dog's tracks were mashing down the dirt like the other footsteps there.
7. Make Sure You Leave Lady Luck and Chance to the Lottery--avoid the happy coincidence; eschew the miraculous.
8. Make Sure Your Central Character Performs the Central Action of the Climax--whoever wins, whoever makes the last throw, the great heave that overturns everything--make sure that is your central character!