planning and pacing

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

What is this?

It's a tea bag in a cup of tea. 

Creative Writing Test

• Bring your dictionairies  (N-E, E-N)
• Have another look at the Lesson-Ups. 
• Make sure you know the grammar rules (past tenses + word order!) 

What to expect: 

• You have to write a 250-350 word story in 50 minutes. 
• There will be 4 prompts to choose from. 
• You have to include at least one dialogue. 

Beoordelingscriteria;

1. Opdracht uitgevoerd (naam staat op het blaadje, titel aanwezig, dialoog aanwezig, juiste aantal woorden genoteerd).

10

2. Spelling, grammatica, zinsconstructies, vormfouten etc.

60

3. Plot, setting, uitwerking personages, woordkeuze, showing versus telling…

30

Veelvoorkomende fouten:

1. Wisseling van tijd (I walk outside and saw a dog).
2. Spelling (so bring your dictionaries!)
3. Woordvolgorde
4. Dialogue: iedere keer dat iemand anders wat zegt = nieuwe paragraaf!
5. a/an, there/their/they're, where/were/we're, to/too
6. Ik = I (altijd met een hoofdletter!) 

planning and pacing

TIPS

• Make a plan before you write your story. 
• Think of the end of the story as you make your plan so that the story is logical. 

Title

Who is Tom? 

What happened?

Why does he know he has the wrong suitcase? 

What was in it?

What address was on the suitcase?

What was the surprise

Make a quick plan for this prompt:
A family of four moves in an old Victorian home.
As they restore it, more and more people die suddenly
and violently.

Make a quick plan for this prompt:
Your partner breaks up with you, and while sitting
dejected on the beach, you find a ring. When you slip it on your finger, it transforms your appearance.

Six Practical Pacing Tips

1. Go into summary mode to reveal important (but not very interesting) information.

Six Practical Pacing Tips

2. Slow into moment-by-moment action when you’re trying to build tension.

Six Practical Pacing Tips

3. Alternate between telling and showing. The majority of your writing should show but telling can save a lot of time and get the reader more quickly to the next big moment.

Six Practical Pacing Tips

4. Do your world-building as the scene unfolds. We can learn what a character looks like after they’ve started speaking. We can explore a room throughout an event.

Six Practical Pacing Tips

5. Use jump cuts. Putting a blank line between two paragraphs means you can jump from one scene to another without any awkward manoeuvring.

Six Practical Pacing Tips

6. Think about ways to progress the story in dialogue rather than in the narrative voice. This can be faster and more engaging.

Six Practical Pacing Tips (again)

1. Go into summary mode to reveal important (but not very interesting) information.

2. Slow into moment-by-moment action when you’re trying to build tension.

3. Alternate between telling and showing.

4. Do your world-building as the scene unfolds. 

5. Use jump cuts. 

6. Think about ways to progress the story in dialogue rather than in the narrative voice. 

Pick on of the tips to practise with today.

Pick one of the stories.
Write for 10 minutes.
Start late in the story!