Creative writing advice!

[laurenf58]

Hey,

So I have a creative writing piece due next Wednesday (in the middle of exam week) and i'm really struggling with it. My story is set in an art gallery at an photography exhibition. Would it be better if i set my story during the actual photography exhibition, have the story as a thank you speech at the closing ceremony or have the photographer reflect back on it a couple of weeks later (e.g in a form of a letter or something?)

Hopefully that makes sense. Any advice on how I should set the story would be really appreciated! (I haven't even started the essay that comes with the assessment)

Thanks!

[shamus.clarke]

Yeah, I'm having the same trouble. I keep being told that it is more profound to have a non linear structure, but I'm not so sure.

[elysepopplewell]

Hey,

So I have a creative writing piece due next Wednesday (in the middle of exam week) and i'm really struggling with it. My story is set in an art gallery at an photography exhibition. Would it be better if i set my story during the actual photography exhibition, have the story as a thank you speech at the closing ceremony or have the photographer reflect back on it a couple of weeks later (e.g in a form of a letter or something?)

Hopefully that makes sense. Any advice on how I should set the story would be really appreciated! (I haven't even started the essay that comes with the assessment)

Thanks!

Hey Lauren! I won't lie, I'm a little confused about exactly what you're thinking about exploring here. I'm a sucker for speeches though - I think they give you scope that you just can't get otherwise. They allow you to be pragmatic in your selection of events, but also creative in the wording. For this reason, your speech idea speaks to me most. I think it's a nice change from a linear narrative and will give you a more abstract approach! Let me know if this aligns with your intentions or not...I could be off the mark because I'm not 100% confident I understand your first message

Yeah, I'm having the same trouble. I keep being told that it is more profound to have a non linear structure, but I'm not so sure.

I don't know that it is necessarily more profound to have a non-linear structure, but in all honesty, a lot of my favourite texts have non-linear structures (hence why I'm so drawn to speeches for creative writing). I think that even if we look beyond the creative benefits of a non-linear structure, we can see the benefit of allowing new perspectives on discovery, thus allowing you to relate to a stimulus in more ways (potentially!). It is not unusual to start with a linear structure, and then adjust it as the year goes on to make some sections more abstract in order to be engaging. Sometimes getting an effective non-linear structure means that you have to go through the process of starting linear, and then fragmenting the work...

[laurenf58]

Really i've got no idea what i'm really trying to achieve. I've found that I really struggled with this piece of creative writing (i think i've typed at least five drafts). I still have absolutely no idea what i'm doing, i want to write it as a speech but i'm not really that confident. 

[Wales]

I would say you should post it on the Creative Marking Forum here : https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=164657.0 and see what feedback you get. You have 5 drafts so submit what you think is best maybe?m You've hit 15 posts so that should be no problem.

[elysepopplewell]

Really i've got no idea what i'm really trying to achieve. I've found that I really struggled with this piece of creative writing (i think i've typed at least five drafts). I still have absolutely no idea what i'm doing, i want to write it as a speech but i'm not really that confident.

It could be time to abandon that creative? I hate saying it, but I got to a point with my own creative writing where I just couldn't push forward into better marks anymore, I was starting to resent the work, it wasn't fun at all anymore...So I canned it and started a speech. I find that starting a speech is easier than starting a narrative. These are the things I would establish before starting a speech:
-When and where
-Who is the audience
-Who is speaking
-What is the issue being spoken about.

So, if I identify that the issue I wish to speak about is feminism, that's great. Then I need to decide when, because a feminist speech now is different to a feminist speech in 1970. Then where? And who's listening?

Then, go for it! Think about rhetorical questions, grammar to emphasise speech...you might even be able to take snippets from previous creative writings you've done, I certainly was able to do that with my own. I might have already linked it to you before, but here it is in case it can give you ideas about structure.

If you've got half yearlies looming, it might be worth clearing your head for an afternoon and sitting down for an hour or two and at least trying to put pen to paper about a speech. You'll know within the first hour if it's going well or not. If it is, keep going with it! If it's not, hey, you wasted an hour, so what? Go back to your original story and just do as best as you can to improve that before the exam. There's plenty of time between now and trials to get a new one on the press. What's most strategic for you right now?

[laurenf58]

Thanks for all the advice everyone!

This creative writing piece is for an English assessment task due tomorrow  I've decided to just keep my original structure and expand on that even though i'm not completely happy with it. At this stage i'm wanting to hand in something that i think is half decent than stay up late and watch on a brand new story (i'm also currently in the middle of exam week). But thank you so much for the help! I'm definitely going to practice writing a speech for trials.

[elysepopplewell]

Thanks for all the advice everyone!

This creative writing piece is for an English assessment task due tomorrow  I've decided to just keep my original structure and expand on that even though i'm not completely happy with it. At this stage i'm wanting to hand in something that i think is half decent than stay up late and watch on a brand new story (i'm also currently in the middle of exam week). But thank you so much for the help! I'm definitely going to practice writing a speech for trials.

That sounds like the most effective plan! Good decision-making. All the best...and when you get to writing the speech I can lend a hand!