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GCSE English language: 10+ tips for creative writing

On paper creative writing should be one of the easiest parts of the English language GCSE but you're not alone if you're finding it tricky.

Creative Writing in GCSE exams can take various forms: You may have to tell an entire short story or you could be asked to write a description of a picture.

Here's some top tips when it comes to dealing with your creative writing headaches...

Understanding the Exam Format

First and foremost, it's essential to familiarise yourself with the GCSE English Language exam format. Creative writing usually forms a significant part of the assessment, often as part of a coursework component or in a specific section of the exam. Knowing what is expected in terms of length, format, and content can significantly boost your confidence and performance.

Reading Widely

One of the best ways to enhance your creative writing skills is to read a diverse range of literature. This exposure helps you understand different writing styles, narrative techniques, and genres. By reading extensively, you can develop a sense of what makes a story engaging and learn how to incorporate these elements into your own writing.

Practising Writing Regularly

Consistent practice is key in improving your writing skills. Try to write something every day, whether it's a short story, a descriptive piece, or even just a diary entry. This not only helps improve your writing style and vocabulary but also keeps your creative juices flowing.

Answer The Question

Read it VERY carefully because your answer will only be marked in the context of what was actually asked in the first place, regardless of how well written your piece may have been. Pay special attention to the type of creative writing you're asked to come up with and it's audience (see more below).

Developing Strong Characters and Settings

In creative writing, characters and settings are the heart of your story. Spend time developing characters who are believable and relatable. Similarly, create settings that are vivid and contribute to the mood of the story. Using descriptive language and sensory details can bring your characters and settings to life.

READ MORE: > 10+ GCSE creative writing ideas, prompts and plot lines

Mastering Narrative Structure

A good story has a clear structure - a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning should hook the reader, the middle should build the story, and the end should provide a satisfying conclusion. Think about the plot and how you can weave tension, conflict, and resolution into your narrative.

Showing, Not Telling

'Show, don’t tell' is a golden rule in creative writing. Instead of simply telling the reader what is happening, show them through actions, thoughts, senses, and feelings. For example, rather than simply telling the reader a character is tall, show them that in your writing: "He towered above me like a skyscraper." This approach makes your writing more engaging and immersive.

Take Inspiration From Real Life

Write more convincingly by taking inspiration from your real life experiences and feelings, embellishing where necessary.

Go Out of This World

If you're given a prompt to write the opening of a story involving a storm, it doesn't need to be a storm on earth. Going out of this world allows you to be really descriptive in your language and paint a picture of a completely unique world or species.

Varying Sentence Structure and Vocabulary

Using a range of sentence structures and a rich vocabulary can make your writing more interesting and dynamic. Avoid repetition of words and phrases, and try to use descriptive language that paints a picture for the reader. Consider the senses such as what you might hear, smell, feel or taste.

Don't Leave The Ending To The, Well, End

Some pieces will lend themselves to a nice, easy ending - and in some questions, the ending may even be provided for you - but other times it's not so simple to stop. When it comes to fictional stories, it may well be easier to plan your ending first and work backwards, you don't want to end on a whimper, in a rush or with leftover loose ends from the plot.

Editing and Proofreading

A vital part of writing is reviewing and refining your work. Always leave time to edit and proofread your writing. Look out for common errors like spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and punctuation issues. Also, consider whether your writing flows logically and whether there's anything you can improve in terms of language and style.

Seeking Feedback

Don’t be afraid to ask teachers, friends, or family members for feedback on your writing. Constructive criticism can provide new perspectives and ideas that can help you improve your writing significantly.

Staying Calm and Confident

Lastly, it's important to stay calm and confident during your exam. Stress and anxiety can hinder your creativity and writing ability. Practice relaxation techniques and believe in your preparation to help you stay focused and composed during the exam.

Remember, creative writing is an opportunity to express yourself and let your imagination run wild. With these tips and consistent practice, you can excel in your GCSE English Language creative writing exam look forward to results day and enjoy the process of crafting your own unique stories.

Thomas Brella is the founder of Student Hacks, starting the website in 2013 while studying at the University of Brighton to share tips and tricks on life as a cash-strapped student. He's now spent over 10 years scoping out the best ways to live on a budget

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Better Creative Writing – 10 Most Common Literary Devices

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As a creative writer, you must captivate your reader’s attention and enhance their experience by providing ways to better understand the text. For this, creative writing experts use literary devices to help them evoke the admiration of the text and make their writing impressive.

What are the literary devices? and why do we need literary devices for creative writing?

Literary devices are tools used by writers to better express their ideas and enhance their creative writing. These devices help highlight special concepts and ideas using text. As a result, it enhances the readers understanding of the text.

10 most common literary devices used in creative writing

Personification, foreshadowing.

Now let’s learn more about each literary device.

A simile is a figure of speech that compares two different things by highlighting the similarities. Similes use “ like ” and “ as ” to establish the similarity relationship. Whenever you see the use of “as” in a sentence, it is most likely a simile.

Examples “The truck parked on the driveway was as big as an elephant.” “Martha won the race. She was as fast as lightning.” “Zak is a shy boy but as soon as he starts singing he is as brave as a lion.”

The purpose of a simile is to help paint the picture in the readers’ mind by comparing the characteristics with another well-known subject. For example, by comparing something with snow you help the reader imagine how white that thing is.

A  metaphor  is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true but helps explain an idea or make a point. It states that one thing is another thing even when literally it is not.

A metaphor should not be confused with a simile . Both are ways to compare a subject with another thing. A metaphor states that the subject “ is ” another thing whereas a simile highlights the similarity.

Examples “Martha’s new school English teacher is a dragon” “When Evie’s mum returned from work, she found the children’s room was a war zone.” “The next day of Christmas was amazing. The streets were covered with a white blanket of snow.”

The purpose of a metaphor is to paint striking images in the readers’ mind to help better express the ideas and to make the writing more effective.

Personification is when something non-human, object or animal, is given human-like qualities like yelling, howling, waving, crying etc. It’s a way of describing something as if it was a person to make the sentence sound more exciting.

Examples “I could not get enough sleep as the wind was howling all night” “My clock yelled at me in the morning and scared me to death” “When we returned from a weekend holiday, the plants in the pots were begging for water”

The purpose of personification is to evoke human emotions for non-human things so that the readers can better connect to the things. It helps to convey ideas in a way that people can relate to.

The art of exaggerating or stretching the truth to express a feeling or idea even though literally it is not possible.

Examples “ Jack will live for a hundred years.” “I’m so tired that I can sleep for a week.” “This suitcase weighs a ton.” “I’m dying of thirst. Can you please get me something to drink?” “We have waited decades for you to release an update. “

The purpose of hyperbole is to amplify personal response by the method of exaggeration. Hyperbole is used commonly in everyday speech and you are sure to have encountered or even used it without realising.

Imagery is a powerful sensory language technique that helps the reader imagine the world using descriptive details of the five senses i.e. taste ,  touch ,  sight ,  smell , and  sound . Imagery can also pertain to movement, emotions and feelings.

Examples “We carefully held hands as we crawled through the prickly bushes surrounding us.” “On our way back to the camp site we saw a black bear standing 8 feet tall with claws clamped on the trunk of a tree.” “The repulsive sweaty odour of his workout clothes made it difficult to continue the conversation.”

The purpose of imagery is to bring the writing to life, create the mood, help the reader visualise the imaginary world and make the reader feel like they are part of the experience that the author has created.

Symbolism is the use of symbols to depict deeper meanings and qualities. Like, the dove is the symbol of peace, black is the symbol of evil. Most symbols are not universal and may be used to signify different ideas and qualities. Like, the colour white can be used to signify a death in one context and purity in another context.

Examples “A river of red flowed through the battleground” “Everyone was asked to dress in white at the funeral of the famous Bollywood actor.”

The purpose of symbolism is to signify ideas and qualities that are different from their literal sense.

Flashbacks are used to introduce past events. It is either used to introduce events that happened before the story or to reflect on the events that happened earlier in the story.

Examples “As she fastened the seat belt, she remembered the time when she fell off of the top of a slide in her childhood.”

The purpose of a flashback is to convey to the reader some information about the characters background or the motives for the existing conflicts in the story.

Foreshadowing is the technique used by writers to inform their readers about an event that has to happen later in the story. It is a hint to what is going to happen later in the story.

Examples “Parents who recently moved to San Fransisco, reassures their daughter that everything at her new school is going to be fine.” – foreshadows that something might happen at the school. “The main character always looks worried and careful when going out” – foreshadows of something bad happening later and keeps the readers thinking of what may happen later.

The purpose of the foreshadowing is to help readers develop some expectations from the story or build suspense.

A motif is a recurring pattern or an idea that repeats in the story to reinforce the theme.

Examples In the Harry Potter movie, Harry’s scar is highlighted multiple times throughout the story.

The purpose of a motif is to reinforce the core theme and remind the readers of what the whole idea of the story is about.

An allegory is a literary device to express a deeper meaning, concept or hidden idea. In other words, it is a type of writing that speaks to imply a different idea that represents a larger point about human nature or society.

Examples In Animal Farm by George Orwell, the author shows how animals fight for equality which mirrors the Russian Revolution of 1917 and is a good example of allegory.

The purpose of the allegory is the make the reader understand a deeper concept that is not directly represented in the surface story. Like, you can use allegory to express the pain and suffering experienced by the characters without explicitly talking about it.

Book Recommendation

Unleash Your Creative Powers: A Handbook on Literary Devices for Kids (Amazon)

More reading

A Simple Guide To Personification With Examples Symbols in Literature: Definition and Examples of Symbolism Examples of Figurative Language: Guide to 12 Common Types Allusion Defined: 25+ Allusion Examples from Literature & Life Onomatopoeia Definition and Examples – Sound Words Oxymorons – A Writers Secret Weapon Explained Examples of allegory BBC Bitesize – What is symbolism Rhetorical Devices – 10 most common rhetorical devices Comprehensive list of adjectives for kids

KS1, KS2, SATS & 11+ Practice

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Creative writing pack

A versatile KS4 pack filled with teaching ideas and activities to help students at different stages of creative writing. The pack includes essential sections on sentences, the use of tenses and suggestions for tackling 'problem' areas of writing, from sense based writing to using pictures as prompts. Practical support to inspire your students.

What's included?

• KS4 curriculum assessment objective map
• lesson plans and ideas along with tailor-made resources.

What's inside?

Introduction (page 1)

• Summary of pack

Getting students started (page 2)

Generating an idea for a story (page 3)

Tenses (page 4)

Narrative point of view page 4-5)

Varying sentences (page 6)

Improving vocabulary and descriptions (pages 7-8)

Conflict (page 9)

Beginnings (page 10)

Plans and planning (page 10)

Resources (pages 11-83)

• Law and order in Britannica
• Packing your bag
• Encounter with Gromitz’ spy
• Getting across to Tongwe Island
• Extract from Beast Quest – Krabb, Master of the Sea, by Adam Blade
• How to have TipTop paragraphing skills
• Diary Openings
• Dead Trial by Matthew Green
• An Active Imagination by Virginia E. Zimmer

This is a sample student activity from the KS4  Creative Writing pack:

When writing one way of making sure that your work is interesting and engaging is to vary your sentence lengths. This activity is a fun way of practising this skill. 

1. Write down your mobile phone number.  If there are any zeros in it then change these to any number of your choice between 1 and 9.  If you don’t have a mobile phone, use your home phone number.

2. Choose one of the following titles:

Christmas     The Mistake Theft Loneliness

3. Select one of the following genres:

Horror     Fantasy Romance     Comedy

4. Write a paragraph for your selected title and genre making sure that the number of words in your sentences follows the pattern of your telephone number.  For example, if your telephone number is 447798146372, then the first sentence must contain 4 words only, the second also 4 words, the third seven words etc.

Writing under these artificial constraints will help you to focus on sentence structure.  It will also demonstrate to you how varying sentence length can make your writing more interesting and can also change the mood and dramatic impact of your writing.

Writing plan

Before you start writing your paragraph, sketch out a brief plan on the following page.

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Creative Writing Tasks for KS3 Students

Subject: Creative writing

Age range: 11-14

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

7 March 2016

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Some brilliant ideas. Thank you

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