Creative Writing Help! how to show that the character is discovering something? (1 Viewer)

[gallball123]

Hey,

So im making a creative for my trials next week and im just wondering how do you show the reader that the character is discovering something/ transitioning in first person? I do standard english

Im thinking of doing a farmer that is forced to move to the city for whatever reason (havent thought of it yet) and that he finds it hard to adapt to the city life. And he meets another guy and he becomes the catalyst for his transformation into adapting into the city life. Cheers! If you have any ideas please let me know since im very bad at creatives. I got a 6/15 for my half yearlies

Thanks!

 

[Orwell]

Do you do advanced or standard?

You could possibly have some sort of event that instigates a change.

 

[gallball123]

Do you do advanced or standard?

You could possibly have some sort of event that instigates a change.

i do standard english

 

[Orwell]

Alright, what direction do you want to take? Could you be a little more specific?

 

[gallball123]

Alright, what direction do you want to take? Could you be a little more specific?

im not quite sure what you mean by which direction i want to take? Im thinking of he finds it hard to live in the city since he's so used to living in the countryside. And that when he moves in, he's having all sorts of problems.

 

[Occupied]

Hey,

So im making a creative for my trials next week and im just wondering how do you show the reader that the character is discovering something/ transitioning in first person? I do standard english

Im thinking of doing a farmer that is forced to move to the city for whatever reason (havent thought of it yet) and that he finds it hard to adapt to the city life. And he meets another guy and he becomes the catalyst for his transformation into adapting into the city life. Cheers! If you have any ideas please let me know since im very bad at creatives. I got a 6/15 for my half yearlies

Thanks!

tbh there isn't any one way to show a character is discovering something. The only thing would be you don't want to make the discovery too abrupt, i.e 'and then he/she suddenly discovers xyz' because that's prolly what a large proportion of the state is doing. You want to incorporate other more subtle features of discovery -> so for example, what about making someone other than your protagonist discover something as a result of your protagonist's actions?

I also wouldn't be too concerned about trying to integrate discovery into your creative. Unless you're recounting or going nowhere in your creative, you'll be able to convey some idea of discovery. The factor which distinguishes good creative writers from bad ones, more so lies in how complex your ideas of discovery are rather than trying to put in a very generalized idea of the concept (which is just the attainment of some new understanding). Setting and use of language is also important.

Finally, speaking from someone who constantly got full marks in creative writing at a top 10 school, if u truly want to improve your marks, I would recommend drafting, and redrafting your drafts and seek feedback from either a teacher or tutor/someone who's done well in creative writing, for their opinions on your work.

 

[Occupied]

im not quite sure what you mean by which direction i want to take? Im thinking of he finds it hard to live in the city since he's so used to living in the countryside. And that when he moves in, he's having all sorts of problems.

You need to be more specific than that lmao. You don't need to post your ideas of your character's progression on BOS, but I would start thinking about what types of problem this farmer is facing. Is city-life too noisy for him? Does it prefer the serene nature of the country side? Perhaps you could contrast the two settings and link it to some use of symbolism or something.

Maybe he finds it strange driving on busy roads. You could start off yoru creative with a car crash - perhaps symbolically that could link to his internal/emotional state. If he's finding it hard adjusting to the city, why is he @ the city? Is there a particular reason he needs to be here instead of at his home?

What's his realisation? Maybe he hates the city at the beginning but by the end of the creative, he's finding it's not that bad. Maybe he wants a new life, so he moves to the city to escape his past but hates it at first. By the end of the creative, perhaps he's confronted his past?

Do you see what I'm doing here?

 

[Kat92]

If you are looking to improve your creative writing this thread might help: http://community.boredofstudies.org...96528/guide-creative-writing.html#post4997789

Some sites specific to discovery creative writing include:

https://edrolo.com.au/hsc/subjects/english/creative-writing/
http://mrbaldwinshscenglish.weebly.com/aos-discovery.html

 

[Kat92]

Also check out http://www.artofsmart.com.au/how-to-develop-your-hsc-discovery-creative-writing-idea/ --There's some really good suggestions on how to approach creative writing and your topic of discovery.

 

[WriteWayUp]

It seems like your farmer could have been lured by ideals about city life - its vitality and sense of constant change. When he moves there however, he finds that if he hasn't changed as a person (perhaps he is anxious, or suspicious of people), then simply being in a new place isn't going to make his life different.

Starting with a car crash would probably make the story overly melodramatic - something which markers don't like because melodrama is easy to do. A car crash would also give rise to different issues your character will need to face - like physical and emotional trauma, and that would prevent you from focusing on the theme of discovery through relocation to the city. You don't want to make your short story too crowded with events and subsequent issues. I think your original idea about the farmer relocating to the city is promising and you should concentrate on fleshing that out as much as possible. If you want to play with some other ideas, this article might help.

You need to be more specific than that lmao. You don't need to post your ideas of your character's progression on BOS, but I would start thinking about what types of problem this farmer is facing. Is city-life too noisy for him? Does it prefer the serene nature of the country side? Perhaps you could contrast the two settings and link it to some use of symbolism or something.

Maybe he finds it strange driving on busy roads. You could start off yoru creative with a car crash - perhaps symbolically that could link to his internal/emotional state. If he's finding it hard adjusting to the city, why is he @ the city? Is there a particular reason he needs to be here instead of at his home?

What's his realisation? Maybe he hates the city at the beginning but by the end of the creative, he's finding it's not that bad. Maybe he wants a new life, so he moves to the city to escape his past but hates it at first. By the end of the creative, perhaps he's confronted his past?

Do you see what I'm doing here?

 

[Martin_SSEDU]

imho a lot of discovery creatives score low marks because they focus too much on just making the main character really surprised about something.

A lot of good creatives will not focus on the surprise element of a discovery but the emotions that lead up to one, exist during one and exist after one.

You need to break down how the discovery basically impacts the person/story, and the more abstract and insightful you are the better.