1. labelab

    labelab Member

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    Tips for writing under pressure?

    Discussion in 'General Writing' started by labelab, May 28, 2019.

    As a strand of my English Language GCSE, we're required to write a story in response to a vague prompt like "write about a time you hid something from someone" in around 40 minutes. For me, this is basically my worst nightmare. So how do I come up with an interesting idea and write an engaging 4 page piece of work in 40 minutes?
    Aye. And I call myself a writer.
    Help me out, friends.
     
  2. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Possibly you need to give yourself permission to write something less than a masterpiece?

    If you have a limited time, don't try to get fancy. Quick brainstorm, standard structure, get the words on the page. This is a school assignment, not your magnum opus.
     
  3. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    I'm no help at all, unfortunately. I am absolute shit at that sort of thing. It's one of the problems I have with attending writing workshops, much as I love them. But they always want something produced on the spot. Usually I just go blank, or come up with something totally banal. I've never produced anything worth keeping in that kind of environment, and it's a bit embarrassing, tbh, when you have to read what you produced out loud.

    I went to a workshop a while back, run by a creative writing teacher whose own books I absolutely love. She gave us each a different postcard and gave us a half hour to write something connected to the card. Everybody but me started scribbling away immediately. I just sat there staring at mine, completely bereft of ideas. I think I managed to come up with a couple of lines at the last minute, but that was it. Later on, the next day, I came up with an idea that really would have worked.

    I told her what had happened (it was at a three-day book festival where we all mingled), and she thought it was hilarious. However, she also said 'people all work differently.' Of course it's hard to come up with a teaching method that works for everybody.
     
    Last edited: May 28, 2019
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  4. Alan Aspie

    Alan Aspie Banned Contributor

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    This might work:

    1. Do your structural work beforehand. Like:
    - Omniscient POV
    - 5-7 plot turns. Like: Introduction&relating => doing something => first surprise => reaction => second surprise => proactive reaction => resolution
    - What ever structure you choose, train it. Make few fast training texts.
    - Analyse those texts.

    2. Remember. It is important to get it done. It is not important to get it good or perfect.

    3. All the ideas are interesting if you make them that way.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Alera

     
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  5. labelab

    labelab Member

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    I feel like I should point out that the mark scheme is a measure of how many metaphors you can slide in there.
     
  6. Selbbin

    Selbbin The Moderating Cat Staff Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    Curiosity. It's the 'what if' scenario. Just go: what if I had to hide an Alien from my mother. or What if I hid a love letter from my friend I had a crush on myself. And go with that.
     
  7. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Exclusively? Like, a point per metaphor, don't worry too much about whether they're part of a coherent plot? If so, just go to town!

    Hiding a secret is a too-small blanket on a cold winter's night. You can spend so much time trying to keep everything covered up that you never get any rest. When I hid my affection from my first crush, it was more like hiding an elephant in a living room. Everyone could see that I liked him, but I just kept dancing around, pretending otherwise, not fooling anyone. And my crazy dance actually kept me from opening the treasure chest of a possible relationship. etc. etc...
     
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  8. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    it won't be exclusively that - these are the relevant points

    AO5: Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audiences. Organise information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion.

    AO6: Candidates must use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. (This requirement must constitute 20% of the marks for each specification as a whole)

    (AOs 1-4 relate to reading comprehension and aren't relevant here)
     
  9. labelab

    labelab Member

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    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Alera[/QUOTE]
    oh, i was very much exaggerating, but honestly? an examiner would love this
     
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  10. labelab

    labelab Member

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    How lovely it would be though if it was a measure of metaphors.

    No, in all seriousness, there should definitely be a plot and all of the above, but I find that with exemplars and their mark schemes, the more devices you can squeeze into a paragraph, the higher the mark. I was just commenting on how metaphors make for an examiner's favourite wine and dine. Ha! Just did one there. Oh God, I'm delusional.

    Thank you, by the way!
     
  11. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    I think these kind of assignments can really help you from overthinking you're writing. And that is something that will be beneficial outside the classroom. Forget metaphors and all that. A good story beats out any fancy tricks overtime. This is about producing content quickly and clearly. Aim for clarity and expand your imagination. This is practice. I've had to do similar things in the past. Think outside the box, but don't force things like metaphors. That's not what this is about. Really, a focus on clarity and creativity (without any fancy ricks) will help you nail it. And that's what will help you outside the classroom too.
     
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  12. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    Unfortunately while thats really good advice for writing - its not good advice for passing GCSE ... its an unfortunate artifact of the british education system that they value the use of metaphor and so forth over a focus on clarity - a good clear story of the sort that id likely to get published will not score as highly as a mediocre story which ticks all the boxes on the mark scheme.
     
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  13. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    So then we're back to not worrying too much about writing a good story, and just focusing on writing a mediocre story that ticks the boxes.

    OP, maybe don't approach it as a writer? Approach it as a student?
     
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  14. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    That's a little sad. I'm not sure how the marking system goes over there, but even a metaphor should have clarity and fit the story without sounding cliche. If these sort of classes are not about becoming a better writer, what's the point?
     
  15. DarkPen14

    DarkPen14 Florida Man in Training Contributor

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    Nothing makes a mortal more productive than the last minute, just saying.

    However, if your issue is that you cannot write fast enough (I am assuming this essay is handwritten, not typed), then that means you need to have concepts floating around freely that you can snatch up without losing time to trying to find one. If it is in fact typed, work on your typing speed.
     
  16. labelab

    labelab Member

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    All handwritten, and the creative writing is in the final quarter, so our hands are all kinds of cramped up. This is mainly how I'm revising for it, by writing out sample outlines for lots of different kinds of emotions. It's a lot harder to do in the pressure of the exam though :meh:
     
  17. labelab

    labelab Member

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    The British education system is very centred around giving the examiners what they want. There's one right answer and if you don't give it you don't get the mark.

    English language (where all the creative writing lives) is not taught. We have two years of English lessons, eight times a fortnight, and it's all centred around literature. They don't teach us anything about becoming a better writer, just that examiners give marks for two things:

    - short sentences
    - other devices

    Basically, the more fancy words and similes you can get in, the more marks you'll stockpile. Gotta love Britain.
     
  18. The Dapper Hooligan

    The Dapper Hooligan (V) ( ;,,;) (v) Contributor

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    Unless you're the kind of mortal that realizes that when it get to the last minute, there's no real point to anything anymore and there probably never was.

    But I agree with the others above that said to approach it from a box ticking perspective, not a creative one. Like you might be an expert carpenter, but if a customer requests you make a table, that's not really the time to show off your skill at gingerbread. Also practice ahead of time. Practice is like a moist squid; the more you apply it, the stickier it gets.
     
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  19. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    Short sentences are something to aim for? I would think varied sentences are more of something to strive for. Are they teaching you how and when and why to use things like metaphors? I mean there is a time and a place for everything. Are you in a writing program or is this just s required course for general education? I guess give them what they want, but it sounds like you will learn far more about writing outside the classroom. And that's where it really counts anyway.
     
  20. labelab

    labelab Member

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    This made me laugh. Also an examiner somewhere is feasting on the moist squid simile.
     
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  21. labelab

    labelab Member

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    1. most exemplars start with a short sentence, every paragraph ends in a short sentence, 50% of the work itself is a short sentence etc.
    2. they just really like metaphors. anywhere. everywhere.
    3. general education :agreed: this is something every teen in the country has to do
    4. and trust me, i am not taking a gcse mark scheme as advice for my own writing. forced similes hurt my heart.
     
  22. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    GCSE is the exam thats taken at about age 16, (it stands for general certificate of secondary education) It is important to pass maths and english since those are the only two gcses that are used as a yard stick of literacy and numeracy in later life - I'm in my 40s and have a MSc and about half an MBA - but i am still asked "do you have maths and english gcse grade C or above" on job applications

    My father was an english teacher until he retired a few years ago and they also love things that are done adverbly and dialogue attributions other than 'said' ... its basically like the driving test, you do it their way to pass then forget everything you were taught as soon as you leave the exam hall
     
    Last edited: May 31, 2019
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  23. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    FTFY :supergrin:
     
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  24. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    I didn't realize you were so young and we were talking about high school. Yeah, most high school teachers aren't nearly as smart as they think. And if they knew anything about writing, they would probably be on a different career path. I guess you have to give them what they want, but I wouldn't expect to learn too much about actual writing from them. I help a couple of local teens with writing and don't always get the best marks because their teachers are stupid. I tell them to read all the books that are banned and that those books are much better teachers than the ones they have now.
     
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  25. labelab

    labelab Member

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    that one killed me
     
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