Intermediate 2

Creative Writing

Content Content is relevant and appropriate for purpose and audience,

reveals some depth and complexity of thought and some sustained development.

Structure Structure takes account of purpose, audience and genre;

content is sequenced and organised in ways which are mainly effective.

Expression Competent use of techniques relevant to the genre and

appropriate choice of words and sentence structures establish a style and tone which communicate a point of view/stance consistent with purpose and audience.

Technical AccuracyA few errors may be present, but these will not be significant in

any way. The candidate may use some complex vocabulary and sentence structures. Where appropriate, sentences will show accurate handling of clauses. Linking between sentences will be clear. Paragraphing will reflect a developing line of thought.

Category Mark(s) Broad descriptor

I 25 Outstanding

II 21 or 23 Very sound

III 17 or 19 Comfortably achieves all Performance Criteria

IV 13 or 15 Just succeeds in achieving the Performance Criteria

Pieces of writing which fail to meet the minimum requirements of one or more than one Performance Criterion should be assigned to one of two categories as

follows: V 11 or 9 Fails to achieve one or more than one

Performance Criterion and/or to achieve consistent technical accuracy

VI* 7 or 5** Serious shortcomings * Pieces of writing in this category will be extremely rare. It

should be used only in cases of extreme thinness or serious weaknesses in expression and/or technical accuracy.

** Marks below 5 can, in exceptional circumstances be awarded, for example to a piece of writing which is of extreme brevity, perhaps just a few lines.

Category I (25 marks):

• This will be, for work at Intermediate 2 level, an impressive and occasionally stylish piece of writing in which the content is well selected and shows indications of insight/imagination/sophisticated thought. The structure is very appropriate and content is organised to create definite impact. Expression is confident and controlled. Word choice is often apposite and there is evidence of command of a range of sentence structures. Techniques associated with the genre are used effectively.

• Imaginative writing in this Category will be characterised by a strong sense that the writer has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the genre and can exploit its conventions with a measure of success; the writing is consistently of a high standard, with evidence of some skill in the use of language.

Category IV (13 or 15 marks):

• An adequate piece of writing in which the content shows some signs of depth of thought and there is some development. The structure is appropriate for the genre. Expression is adequate. There is some evidence that choice of words and sentence structures has been made to achieve some effect, and there is use of some of the techniques associated with the genre.

• Imaginative writing in this Category will be characterised by a sense that the writer has some knowledge and understanding of the genre; the writing is mostly competent and there is a discernible attempt to use language to create impact.

Category V (11 or 9 marks):

• A piece of writing will fall into this Category for a variety of reasons: it fails to achieve consistent technical accuracy; the structure is not sufficiently organised to carry the writer’s ideas clearly; the language is too clumsy, the content is simply too thin.

• Imaginative writing in this Category will be characterised by one or more of the following: very clumsy use of the genre, inappropriate language, absence of any attempt to use language for impact, overall thinness of content.

Your Writing

• Will be imaginative

• Between 500 and 1000 words

• Should have a clear theme.

• Has to develop character and setting as well as plot.

Tasks

• We are going to complete a number of tasks that will develop our creative writing skills before we start to plan our actual piece of writing.

• The writing will be set over the summer as a homework task.

Pick and Mix Story Task

• Choose one element from each bag.

• You will have a character, a theme, a setting and a basic idea for plot.

• Plan a story based around these elements.

Horoscope Stereotypes

Aries EnergeticOutgoing CompetitiveEgotisticalGenerousSuperficial

TaurusPatientMaterialist

icSympathet

icStubbornJealous

GeminiDuel

PersonalityInquisitiveSweetFlirtatiousUnpredictable

CancerMoodySympathe

ticSentimen

talProtectiveRomantic

LeoPridefulLoyalOverbearingConfident Indulgent

Virgo

Perfectionist

OrganisedWorriersAnalyticalGenerous

LibraJudgmentalLikes pretty

thingsSociableIndecisiveLoves

Romance

ScorpioJealousMysteriou

sIntenseResentfulHumorou

s

SagittariusAdventurousOptimisticIndependentRebelliousSarcastic

CapricornAmbitiousDominatingNarrow

MindedDisciplinedPessimist

AquariusErraticQuirkyRestlessStubbornIntuitive

PiscesDreamyImaginativeUnfocusedManipulativeCompassion

ate

Now...

Focusing on the character traits of one of the astrological signs, perhaps your own, develop a narrative which demonstrates

these.

Concentrate on showing, not telling.

Emma Thorne stood in front of her wardrobe and stared. Variations of the same chic black dress stared back at her. Neat rows of immaculate shoes sat patiently waiting for her to choose one pair. She sighed. Nothing for it she thought and hit the speed dial on her phone.

“Hello?” the soft voice on the other side answered.“Hi Jane it’s me, I need your help. I don’t know

what to wear!”“Oh yea it’s your date with Mr Darcy tonight!”“mmmm” Emma replied, ignoring her friend’s joke.

She thought about the man she was meeting later. She had met him four months before and hadn’t stopped thinking about him since.

Libra

• Judgmental• Likes pretty things• Sociable• Indecisive• Loves Romance

Object task

• Choose an object from the box.

• First you are going to write a physical description of that object.

• Then you will develop a character inspired from the object you picked.

Example

Physical description

Watch – rather strange, unusual. Bright colours. Primary colours. Mini work of art. Picasso? 10.10

am or pm? Who knows. Face on the watch face, red lips. Two faces on the strap looking at

each other.

Her watch sat uncomfortably on her wrist. She looked at it, not registering the time but remembering the day that she bought it. She had seen it in the window and it had caught her eye, drawn her in. It was unusual, quite a statement, she had thought. Now she looked at it and just thought; why? It didn’t match anything she was wearing. It seemed to jar with her plain polo neck, black trousers and sensible shoes. When she bought it she had thought that it would be noticed by others. That she would be noticed more. It would mark her out as an individual in some way. She sighed and thought that she would go for something plainer next time, perhaps in black.

J.W. Dunne – An Experiment with Time

An Experiment with Time is a long essay by the Irish

aeronautical engineer J. W. Dunne (1875 — 1949) on the

subject of the human experience of time.

Dunne's theory is, simply put, that all moments in time are taking place at

once, at the same time. For example, if a cat were to spend its

whole entire life living in a box, anyone looking into the box could

see the cat's birth, life and death in the same instant - were it not for the human consciousness, which means that we perceive at a fixed

rate.

According to Dunne, whilst human consciousness prevents us from seeing

outside of the part of time we are "meant" to look at, whilst we are

dreaming we have the ability to traverse all of time without the restriction of

consciousness, leading to pre-cognitive dreams, resulting in the phenomena

known as Déjà vu. Henceforth, Dunne believes that we are existing in two

parallel states, which requires a complete rethink of the way that we understand

time.

Think about a train window.

When you look out it is the present you can see.

You can also look behind you to the past and in front to the future.

As a writer you have to capture the window image.

One easy way to play with time and chronology in your writing is to think

about the different characters in your narrative and how their views of

the story would be very different.

Hoodwinked Trailer

Newspaper task

• This task will ask you to develop plot and character but also to make you think about chronology of your story.

Your newspaper article is your raw material which will be processed to become a narrative. It will represent a purely

chronological sequence of events, in the order which they took place.

Your narrative that you write will use delays, digressions and will disrupt the

chronological order of events.

You might want to think about different viewpoints.

Case of the Killer Bagel

A nurse has been charged with murdering a patient with a bagel so she could carry on her affair with the victim’s husband.

Wanda Kanner, 49, is accused of feeding the bread roll to multiple sclerosis patient Darlene Amberik, 49, knowing that she would choke on it because she could not swallow.

Police in Cleveland, Ohio, say John Amberik, 52, bought Kanner an engagement ring before his wife died. He has been charged with theft.

Scenes1) Wife’s illness progresses and she needs care

from a nurse. 2) Meeting of the nurse and husband. 3) Development of their relationship4) Engagement – turning point for their relationship5) Plan to murder wife6) Murder wife7) Aftermath – effect upon the nurse/husband

relationship8) Police involvement – how? Who involved them? 9) Nurse and husband/lover – bad ending. 10)Newspaper article – humour.

Now

• Read your article and write down the ‘scenes’ in chronological order.

• How many viewpoints could be in your story?

First Viewpoint

• Wife and patient.

• She would feel sad, upset, perhaps have lost all hope.

• Does she know?

Were the wilting flowers by my bedside for me or for her? I suppose I can only

assume that they are for me, but flowers are a poor gesture. I lie here everyday and so does he. I suppose because I am so ill he doesn't think

that I know. He is being kind, in a way, his own way. I understand it must be hard for him but I won’t be here much

longer. Couldn't he just wait until I was gone? I wish I could tell him but I

can’t.

Second viewpoint

• Husband/ lover

• He would be in love but conflicted.

• Still loves his wife? Guilt?

As soon as I see her a smile creeps over my face and almost

instantly I feel guilt and love at the same time. Here I am with

my lover when my wife is quietly dying at home. But she doesn’t know, and she will never know.

When she is gone I can be happy, we can all be happy.

Third Viewpoint

• Nurse/ lover

• In love but also bitter.

• Jealous of the wife perhaps? Evil?

I hate having to share him with her. It seems pathetic because

she is so ill. I’m not really sharing him, but still I hate it. I want him

for myself.

Where will your story go?

• For the bagel story I would graduate the viewpoints as the story develops.

• For example the wife’s view is the most developed to start with and the nurse’s is less.

• As the nurse tool over I would gradually increase her narrative.

• Now write at least two narratives inspired by your newspaper article.

• Make sure that they are from different viewpoints.

Good Writers......READ!!

Final Task

• We are going to look at some examples of fiction that should inspire you.

• From home, or the library, bring in one novel or short story that you have really enjoyed or that has challenged you.

• Choose your favourite passage to share with the class.

Planning

• As part of your outcome you will have to submit a plan for your writing or a ‘proposal’

• We are going to work on this.

• Your plan will help you to develop at character and plot.

Give your character a talent. What are they especially good at?

Give your character an ambition. What do they want to achieve?

Give your character a secret. What do they want no one else in the whole world ever to find out about them?

Give them a confidant, a best friend. Explain why this person is your character’s best friend.

Give them an enemy too, someone who means them harm. Explain why this person is your character’s enemy.

What do they carry in their pockets and why?

Perhaps your character lost something precious recently, what was it they lost? A family heirloom, a winning lottery ticket, a loved-one?

Give your character a name that fits both them and the story.

Remember that action is character. What does your character do?

Plot

• Your story has to be interesting

• Happy people make boring stories? Agree?

• Conflict is important...

Conflict can be a straight forward battle, one person fighting against another. Not just physically – it could be a ‘battle of wills’.

Ambition can cause conflict. How is your character going to make all their dreams come true? Will they do anything to fulfill that ambition? That’s a real moral dilemma...

Perhaps your character is in conflict with the rest of society. Maybe your character wants to be/do something out of the ordinary that their friends and family frown upon.

Dilemma. Explain what problem your character has to face. What is the conflict in their life.

Confrontation. Your character has to face up to their problems and try to overcome them. Show your character fighting against their enemy, or their inner turmoil. Think of scenes where your character is struggling to achieve or survive or win.

Resolution. Your character at long last overcomes the odds, solves their problem, achieves their need, resolves the conflict in their lives. How do they do it? Remember, it doesn’t have to have a happy ending.

Now...

• Write your story!

• It will need to be handed in on the Friday of the first week back from the holidays.

• Friday 24th August.

• Don’t leave it until the last minute! Good Luck!