Creative Writing Essay Tips

Creative writing essay tips-WL
General tips
 Always plan : If you do not have some sort of plan you will inevitably
waffle and your piece will lack good flow and structure.
 Always have a title that relates to your topic (topic 5 is not a title). A
creative title is even better (Adrian’s Adventures= boring title).
 Indicate the topic you have chosen above your title.
 Write in paragraphs!
 Do not change tense. (Do not jump from present tense to past tense)
 Use what you know as inspiration for your piece.
 Take a creative spin on your topic (nobody likes to watch a movie where
they know what’s going to happen). However don’t be outlandish / crazy
/ bizarre. You don’t want to leave the examiner thinking WHAAAAT?
 Make sure your story makes sense.
 Please do not write love stories- these are overdone and always
predictable. (Also they are usually badly written).
 Use inverted commas to indicate dialogue only. (Some students use
inverted commas at the start of every sentence and that is not
necessary)
Common mistakes in essay writing:
 Lack of proper punctuation

 Lack of capital letters
 Commas (using too many commas (comma splicing) or not using any
commas at all)
 Abusing or not using Full stops
 Misplaced apostrophes (Its’ vs. It’s)
 Lack of structure (ie No flow of ideas ; and information not logically
organised )
 No paragraphs
 Not using time properly (most times running out of time)
 Changing tenses
 Lack of proper spelling (Their vs. There)
 Lack of proper planning
 Incorrect word usage (malapropisms, slang etc)
 Inappropriate or irrelevant content
 Beginning sentences with and or because
 Essays that are too long or too short
 Changing from first to third person or visa versa
 Trying to sound clever by writing total rubbish
Here’s the how to …..

How to write ……Story openings:
Always try to make the opening of a story interesting or exciting for the reader (Don't start
with One day - that's boring!)
There are three different ways to start a story:
Dialogue:
"Sharks!" shouted the ship's look out, "hundreds of them!"
"They seem to be heading our way," cried the Bo'sun.
Action:
An ear splitting whistle made all the pirates leap to attention. At once they ran in different
directions, bumping into one another, scrambling over untidy piles of ropes and tarpaulin,
sliding down rickety ladders, all trying to be the first in the queue for lunch.
Description:
The sea glistened like a sparkling, silver mirror. Waves lapped gently at the sides of the
Saucy Sue as she sailed silently along in the cool, refreshing breeze, her Jolly Roger flag
fluttering limply. Seagulls circled overhead, calling to each other. No-one would guess
what terrible adventure lay ahead for Captain Peg-Leg and his crew of daring pirates.
How to write using ……Characters
Two or three characters are usually enough for a short story. Here's how to make the
characters sound real.
Give them suitable names.

For example:
Pirates: Captain Peg-Leg, Scar-faced Bill, Sly Sam, One-eyed Pete
Astronauts: Commander Ben Lewis, Assistant Commander Buzz Owens, Captain Tilly
Jones
Describe what they look like and how they move.

For example:
A wizened old man shuffling about the house in slippers. A giant, hairy, orange caterpillar
creeping slowly along. A ten year old girl, rather small for her age, skipped merrily along
the street, her long fair hair flying in the wind.
Try to show their personalities in the things they do.

For example:
Careless - always breaking or losing things
Lazy - never wants to do anything, finds quicker ways of doing things
Coward - nervous, hides behind the others, stammers and stutters
Competitive - tries to do things better and faster, wants to win
Posh - Talks very properly, snooty, thinks better than everyone else
Try to show how they feel using adjectives and adverbs.

For example:
tired, excitedly, grateful, angrily, happy, sadly, curious, worriedly, relieved, nervously
Write what they say and what they think.

For example:
" I'm sure I'll be able to fix the spacecraft." At that moment she believed herself.
How to write ……Setting descriptions
Imagine you are taking a video of everything you can see happening in the scene. Write
detailed descriptive sentences of what you are seeing. Expand sentences to explain who,
what, how, where, when, and why something happened, like this:
The tiny bird hopped quickly across the garden, picked up the bread, and immediately flew
off to a safe place to eat it.
Write colourful sentences by grouping adjectives together to create:

Alliteration - e.g. dark, dank, dreary forest; crowded, cobbled streets
Rhyme - e.g. hustle and bustle; a rumbling and a tumbling
Patterning - e.g. in the highest branches of the furthest tree; travelling faster and faster
Onomatopoeia- e.g. jingling, jangling, tinkling coins.
Similes compare one thing to another and are introduced by the words 'like' or 'as', e.g.
The wet mud was sticky like fudge cake.
Metaphors compare one thing with another, but are not introduced by 'like' or 'as', e.g.
The wet mud was sticky fudge cake.
Similes for the following topics could be:

The moon hung in the sky like it was on an invisible thread.
The storm was as violent as a ranting bull.
The wind was like a roaring lion shaking its mane.
To change the similes to metaphors, take out the words as and like:
The moon hung in the sky on an invisible thread.
The storm was a ranting bull.
The wind was a roaring lion shaking its mane.
An interesting story will contain several events.
A strong exciting plot centres on an unexpected event, a crisis, or a problem, which

needs to be sorted out by the end of a story. Stories can contain more than one
problem. For example plans could go wrong:
 There could be an accident.

 Someone or something could get lost.
 A machine could break down.
 Something important could get stolen.
Descriptive sentences of different lengths can create suspense:
Suspense or mystery is created by building up to events slowly.
Don't just write: The monster attacked.
Hint at the attack by, for example, using speech:
A very hairy monster slid amongst the trees, hid behind a bush and watched hungrily. The
monster growled.
"What was that?" asked Christopher in a very scared voice.
"Probably just the wind," replied Luke.
"No, it sounded like a lion's roar," said Christopher anxiously.
"Listen and see if you can hear it". The monster growled again and this time Luke heard it.
"That noise?" he asked.
"Yes!" replied Christopher. Next moment the monster leaped from behind a bush and
started to attack.
How to write ……Story endings
Explain the result of the events or show how the problem was solved. (But don't end with
everyone going home for tea or someone waking up to find it was all a dream - that's
boring!)
Endings usually bring the story round 'full circle'. For example,
Start: Three scruffy pirates sat gloomily around a table in the Lord Nelson pub, staring
down in to their empty beer glasses. One by one they emptied out their pockets. It
seemed they had all run out of money.
Ending: The pirate gang made their way down the quay to their favourite pub to celebrate
their success. They had earned enough money now to buy a year's worth of beer - and
have change. The final sentence is as important as the opening sentence. It usually sums
up the story's theme or message.
It had been the best day of my life.
I'll never forget her.
If only he hadn't been so selfish.
She realised taking part is much more important than winning.
It just goes to show, crime really doesn't pay.
They were richer than they could ever have dreamed.
I still laugh when I think about it.
For more ideas, look at some of your favourite stories and check out the very last sentence
in each.
Do’s:
-Do write sentences of different lengths

-Do write some dialogue in between describing what's happening.
-Do write a question or several questions in a row.
-Do start sentences in different ways.
Don’ts:
-Don't use the words and, then, or but to link your ideas too often. This is
boring! Use different words like: as, next, later, when, whilst, or use commas
and full stops instead.
-Don't keep starting your sentences with the same word. Eg: The cat....The
Hungry man..etc
Using the same old words is boring! Don't repeat yourself! Find different and
interesting words to use.
What words could you use instead of these?
good, nice, walked, ran, saw, going, small, happy, sad, bad,
What adjectives and adverbs could you use to describe?

a monster, the wind, a wizard, a cave, a pirate ship, a witch, a bear, a mountain
path

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Creative writing essay tips-WL

Common mistakes in essay writing:

 Lack of proper punctuation

Here’s the how to …..

There are three different ways to start a story:

Give them suitable names.

Describe what they look like and how they move.

Try to show their personalities in the things they do.

Try to show how they feel using adjectives and adverbs.

Write what they say and what they think.

How to write ……Setting descriptions

Write colourful sentences by grouping adjectives together to create:

Similes for the following topics could be:

A strong exciting plot centres on an unexpected event, a crisis, or a problem, which

 There could be an accident.

Descriptive sentences of different lengths can create suspense:

Suspense or mystery is created by building up to events slowly.

Don't just write: The monster attacked.

Hint at the attack by, for example, using speech:

How to write ……Story endings

-Do write sentences of different lengths

What adjectives and adverbs could you use to describe?

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