CONSTRUCTIN

G A SHORT

STORY

T H E DO ’ S

AN D D

O N ' TS O

F CR E A T I V

E WR I T

I NG

Year Nine EnglishMiss CobbyJustin Tronerud

TODAY • Review yesterday• We will begin to explore what makes a short story• Audience• Free writing exercise• Share some of our ideas• Register and voice• Planning your story – mind map and story

boarding• Discussion – free writing versus planning

YESTERDAYGenre – a way to categories different types or writingGhost stories :• fiction that includes a ghost or the possibility of ghosts• uses our fear of the unknown to create suspense• merges the living with the dead• draw on out experiences of what happens to those left behind after a

death• commonly deal with a violent or early death of the ghost or spirit• place, time , objects or scents may take on symbolic experience• LEAVE THE READER GUESSING!

YESTERDAYCrime and Detection:• fictionalises crime, detection, criminals and their motives• usually leaves a trail of clues• will often try to mislead the reader by leaving false clues – Red

Herrings• will often deal with the idea of crime bringing chaos and disorder to

an otherwise ordered world• threatens the comfort and calm world of the middle class• offer reassurance that the crime will always be solved in the end

YESTERDAYLove Stories:• usually deal with love• love of a parent and child, platonic love, or the intense feeling

between lovers.• central love story – usually centres around two people trying to make

their love work• emotionally satisfying love story – risk or struggle rewarded with

emotionally satisfying ending

WHAT WILL OUR WRITING NEED TO INCLUDEThe audience – Thinking about

writingRegister and voiceNarrative perspectivePlotImage and symbolEditing and revising

WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE?When we write we must consider:• Why do we write?• Who is our audience? • What is its purpose?• What are we trying to achieve? (feelings/emotional

response)Free writing exercise – WRITE, write anything that springs into you head. Get it on paper, quickly and unedited!

N.B. This could be the beginning of you short story but it doesn’t have to be!

REGISTER AND VOICEReal Speech Sentences • are sometimes left unfinished• jump from one thought to another• are sometimes ungrammatical• need physical gestures to make the meaning

clear• are sometimes rambling• are sometimes repetitious

REGISTER AND VOICEDialogue in Fiction• a story can have no dialogue at all or can be virtually all

dialogue• dialogue should be consistent with the characters and

personalities of the speakers• dialogue should advance the action, and should not be used

as padding• you can set out dialogue conventionally, on a separate line

between quotation marks, or it can blend with the rest of the text

• dialogue should vary from speaker to speaker, varying in vocabulary, pace, rhythm , phrasing and sentence length

REGISTER AND VOICEA Few Do Not’s With Dialogue• try not to have too many characters talking in a scene• do not use dialogue to convey information about setting or plot!• don’t use dialogue to convey the mundane realities of everyday

communication• DON’T use ‘he said’ or ‘she said; all of the time

Exercise : Read ‘The Father’ then write five pieces of dialogue that don’t use ‘he said’ or ‘she said’!

Start thinking about which genre you are going to use for the summative task!

LAST TIMEWhy do we write?• to pass on knowledge and information• entertainment• convey emotions and feelings

Remember: Consider your audience and make your writing appropriate.

LAST TIMERegister and Voice• keep you dialogue real, some sentences don’t finish properly,

can use improper grammar, can be rambling and repetitious.• need physical gestures to make the meaning clear• a story can have no dialogue at all or can be virtually all

dialogue• dialogue should be consistent with the characters and

personalities of the speakers• you can set out dialogue conventionally, on a separate line

between quotation marks, or it can blend with the rest of the text

• dialogue should vary from speaker to speaker, varying in vocabulary, pace, rhythm , phrasing and sentence length

LAST TIMERegister and Voice - A Few Don’ts• try not to have too many characters talking in

a scene• do not use dialogue to convey information

about setting or plot!• don’t use dialogue to convey the mundane

realities of everyday communication• DON’T use ‘he said’ or ‘she said; all of the time

NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE“Point of view”• When we read we hear an imagined voice telling,

or transmitting, the story to us.• We ask questions about the voice which will help

us understand the ways in which the “voice” was created.

• Who’s telling the story?• In what form do they speak?• Who are they speaking to?• How much do they know?• Are they telling the truth?

NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE“Point of view”• Has been described as the relation in which the

narrator stands in the story. • The idea of ‘point of view’ helps us to understand which

vantage point the action is being viewed from.• Therefore which ‘narrative perspective’ is being used

In your books write the following headings:First personSecond PersonOmniscient

NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVEFirst Person• The narrator is a character• Uses the ‘I’ form of address• The oldest form or story-telling and still very popularThe first person can be the all-important character, and the main interest in the story (first person participant)ORAct as a recording pair of eyes, memory and the central interest is what he/she sees (first person observer)

NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVEFirst Person• The first person perspective creates

intimacy, a voice speaking directly to the reader.

• First person narratives give the illusion of seeming closest to ‘real life’ storytelling.

NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVESecond Person• The author creates a character to tells

the story using the ‘you’ form of address.

• Rarely used as the author obviously knows little about the reader.

• Can give the reader a feeling of overpowering intimacy.

NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVEOmniscient Narrative• The narrator is usually an uninvolved,

uncharacterised voice. • Tells the story using the ‘he’ or ‘she’ form of

address.• Third person total omniscient relates external events

(action, dialogue) with God-like power. Is all-seeing and all-knowing.

• Third person selective omniscient offers a narrator who reveals thoughts of one or two characters

• Third person limited omniscient offers a narrator whose knowledge is limited to ordinary human powers of observation

LAST TIME‘Point of view’• Who’s telling the story?• In what form do they speak?• Who are they speaking to?• How much do they know?• Are they telling the truth?

LAST TIME‘Narrative Perspective’First Person - The first person perspective createsintimacy, a voice speaking directly to the reader. Second Person - The author creates a character to tells the story using the ‘you’ form of address. Use caution! Second person narratives can give the reader a feeling of overpowering intimacy.Omniscient Narrative - The narrator is usually an uninvolved,

uncharacterised voice. Tells the story using the ‘he’ or ‘she’ form of address.• Third person total omniscient relates external events (action, dialogue)

with God-like power. Is all-seeing and all-knowing.• Third person selective omniscient offers a narrator who reveals thoughts

of one or two characters• Third person limited omniscient offers a narrator whose knowledge is

limited to ordinary human powers of observation

PLOT – TELLING GOOD STORIESPlot – may be defined as the arrangement of

events in a Story• how events are arranged• what connects these eventsTypes of plot• Linear Plot• Non-linear Plot

PLOT – TELLING GOOD STORIESLinear Plot – represents a common-sense idea about time.• it is chronological • follows a sequence of events

PLOT – TELLING GOOD STORIESNon-linear Plot – represents a common-sense idea about time.• Less emphasis on events being chronological• events are not in order, they must be

connected• is useful for omens, prophecies, visions and

dreams. ‘story within a story’

IMAGE AND SYMBOLImagery - in literature is used to paint a mental image of something. The techniques used are descriptive and paint a picture that allows the reader to visualize the setting, person, or image that is intended to be conveyed.

‘The old farm encrusted with barren soil and remnants of long decayed crops stood lonely and isolated as the wind pounded its walls.’Try writing your own sentence using imagery

IMAGE AND SYMBOLSymbolism - is often used by writers to enhance their writing.Symbolism can give a literary work more richness and colour and

can make the meaning of the work deeper.

In literature, symbolism can take many forms including:

A figure of speech where an object, person, or situation has another meaning other than its literal meaning.

The actions of a character, word, action, or event that have a deeper meaning in the context of the whole story.

IMAGE AND SYMBOLSymbolism is found in colours:

Black is used to represent death or evil.White stands for life and purity.Red can symbolize blood, passion, danger, or immoral

character.Purple is a royal colour.Yellow stands for violence or decay.Blue represents peacefulness and calm.

IMAGE AND SYMBOLMetaphors As Symbolism• A metaphor is a figure of speech that uses symbolism.

• It compares two things that are not similar and shows

that they actually do have something in common. • In a metaphor, there is an additional meaning to a

word. This makes it an example of symbolism.He is a rock: This is symbolic because it signifies that he is strong and dependable. Love is a jewel: This is symbolic because it suggests that love is rare and pressure.

EDITING AND REVISION