consolidate writing skiils - writing a fictional story

7/28/2019 Consolidate Writing Skiils - Writing a Fictional Story

1/29

Topic 7Writing a fictional story

Consolidate

Writing

Certificate I in EaSD

TAFE SA


2/29

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TOPIC 7: WRITING A FICTIONAL STORY .......................................................... 1

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1

What is a fictional story? ................................................................................................................... 2

What is the structure of a fictional story? ......................................................................................... 4

Paragraphing: an introduction .......................................................................................................... 8

Paragraphing: supporting sentences .............................................................................................. 10

Paragraphing: linking .......................................................................................................... 12

Planning a fictional story .................................................................................................. 16

EDITING YOUR WRITING .............................................................................. 18

Improve your spelling: word families .............................................................................................. 18

Improving your punctuation: apostrophes of omission .................................................................. 20

Improving your grammar ................................................................................................................. 22

Final draft and proof read ................................................................................................................ 26

ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................... 27

Unit info:

This unit is part of the Certificate I in Education and Skills Development. TheCertificate focuses on the development of language and numeracy skill for adult

students, so that they can participate more effectively in employment and

community life.


3/29

Consolidate writing skills writing a fictional story|GAWLER CAMPUS | 1

TOPIC 7: WRITING A FICTIONAL STORY

Welcome to the topic Writing a Fictional Story.

This topic will take you through the structure of a fictional story and how to plan, write

and edit one of your own.

It should take about 6 hours but dont rush. If you have any difficulties, contact your

Lecturer.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this topic you will be able to:

write a cohesive, entertaining short story

develop more ways to improve your writing.

Assessment

At the end of this topic you will be assessed by:

writing a short fictional story.


4/29


There is fact and there is fiction. Factual writing is based on what is true. Fictional

writing is the product of someones imagination. There is also writing that sits

somewhere in the middle, where historical facts or a real person provide a starting

point for a story but the writer then allows their imagination to take over or plays

with the truth.

In this topic you will study and write the last two kinds imaginary stories or stories

that are so removed from the facts by your imagination that they have become more

fiction than fact.

Heres an example for you to enjoy:

MIND OVER MATTER

Aggie woke grumpy and tense. She wasnt sure why. Then it came back

to her. Damn, the science test. She was going to fail for sure. She

couldnt bear it. Her parents would kill her. What could she do?

Pretend to be sick! Of course, but how to fool a mum who had been a

ward sister and could tell a fake illness from 20kms. Well, there was

no alternative. And no time to wait for one. So, grimly, Aggie climbed

out of bed, clutching her stomach and moaning a little, shuffled down

to the kitchen.

I feel sick Mum she said as pitifully as she could. Her mother

stopped cutting the sandwiches to inspect her. Aggie felt a wave of

nausea her mum would never buy this! You look a little pale, said

mum to Aggies surprise. Let me take your temperature.


5/29

Activities to complete


[Type text]

Activity 1: Putting stories in contextThink about why we have stories. What is their purpose? What kind of

stories have you enjoyed?as a child? Now? Do you like to tell stories

or listen to them or read them?

Aggie slumped at the table half relieved, half something else. She had

a pain, a real one now, gnawing in her belly. She realised, amazed,

that she was about to throw up. Her mum said, I dont like the lookof you, Agatha. Go back to bed and Ill call Dr. McGarn.

Another wave of nausea helped Aggie swallow a small smile. What was

happening? Maybe failing a science test would be better than this? But

it was too late. Feeling ghastly and bent over with pain, she hung on

for the doctor.

Two hours later Aggie was wheeled onto the operating table for an

emergency appendectomy. Got her just in time! the surgeon told her

mother later. These things come out of the blue for no reason at all

poor little kid.


6/29


Fictional stories can be anything from half a page to hundreds of pages long.

However, they share a common structure.

Fictional stories all:

open with an orientation

develop the story by introducing complication

resolve the story

Lets look at each of these stages in more detail.

STRUCTURE: MIND OVER MATTERS

The orientation:This is where the writer tries to create the world in which the

story is set. The reader meets the main character and maybe a few lesser ones,

learns a little of when and where the story will take place. Some hint about what is to

come is usually given to what the readers appetite.

The complication: This is the main body of the story. It leads the reader logically,

usually through time, from the orientation to the end of the story. There is often a

pattern of things going smoothly followed by a climax of things going badly or

unexpectedly. There may be one or more of these build ups and climaxes. (In a

book there could be 100s). In a good story, the reader will often find a twist at the

end that is completely unexpected.

Aggie woke grumpy and tense. She wasnt sure why. Then it came

back to her. Damn, the science test. She was going to fail for sure.

She couldnt bear it. Her parents would kill her. What could she do?


7/29



The resolution:Here the writer resolves the complication or final twist. The endingmay be joyful or tragic, though provoking or hilarious. A good story will however

create a strong emotional impact on the reader.


ward sister and could tell a fake illness from 20kms? Well, there was no

alternative. And no time to wait for one. So, grimly, Aggie climbed out

of bed, clutching her stomach and moaning a little, shuffled down to the

kitchen.

I feel sick Mum she said as pitifully as she could. Her mother stopped

cutting the sandwiches to inspect her. Aggie felt a wave of nausea; her

mum would never buy this! You look a little pale, said mum to Aggies

surprise. Let me take your temperature.

Aggie slumped at the table half relieved, half something else. She had a

pain, a real one now, gnawing in her belly. She realised, amazed, that

she was about to throw up. Her mum said, I dont like the look of you,

Agatha. Go back to bed and Ill call Dr. McGarn.



it was too late. Feeling ghastly and bent over with pain, she hung on for

the doctor.


emergency appendectomy. Got her just in time! the surgeon told

her mother later. These things come out of the blue for no

reason at all poor little kid.


8/29



Activity 2: StructureHeres another short story. Decide what is the orientation, thecomplication and the resolution are. Use the paragraph numbers.

THE LIFE SENTENCE

Paragraph 1

Paragraph 2

Paragraph 3

An angry resentful Pierre G. had been sentenced for life for the

brutal murder of Author John Bent, Brisbane clerk. After ten

years of the sentence, however, having had so long to think on andrepent his actions, he had become a model prisoner and pleaded

with his jailers for release and a chance of a new life.

They relented. On his 40th birthday, Pierre was released. To

everyones surprise, he found work, a flat, and undertook night

classes in desk top publishing.

One day, about 5 years after his release, he met a woman named

Emerald. She was a small, feisty woman, owner of a small

business, mother of a 10 year old boy, yet her eyes held pain and

anyone could tell life had not been easy for her. Emerald asked no

questions and Pierre told no lies. They married within the year.

Shortly after, to their mutual joy, Emerald fell pregnant. Pierres

new life was almost complete.


9/29



Paragraph 4

Complete the following table

Story structure Your answer

The orientation Paragraph:

The complication Paragraph:

The resolution Paragraph:

The next section looks more closely at how paragraphs work in fictional stories.

Nine months later, a boy was born. Pierre and Emerald gazed at

him tenderly. What shall we call him? asked Pierre, a little

belatedly you might think but the baby hadnt seemed real to him

until now. Emerald smiled happily and, stroking the infant, said

Well, Ive always thought if we had a boy Arthur John. It was

my fathers name. What do you think?


10/29


An Introduction

Good writers organises their ideas into chunks which help the reader pause to absorb

that one idea before moving on to the next.

These chunks areparagraphs.

In a short fictional story, each paragraph:

contains a topic sentence which sums up the main idea of the paragraph.

may have one or more supporting sentences which develop the idea in the

topic sentence so that the reader gets a clearer picture.

is usuallylinkedto the paragraph before and the paragraph after.

is deliberately placed so that the overall order of the paragraphs is logical and

rhythmic.

Lets look more closely at these points.

The topic sentence:

The topic sentence is the sentence in the paragraph which states the main idea of

the paragraph. It is the central point. Everything else should be connected to it.

Heres an example:

The topic sentence in this example is the first sentence. The topic sentence is

usually the first sentence but not always. On the following page is an example ofwhere it comes at the end of the paragraph

Aggie woke grumpy and tense. She wasnt sure why. Then it

came back to her. Damn, the science test. She was going to fail

for sure. She couldnt bear it. Her parents would kill her. What

could she do?


11/29



Activity 3: Topic sentencesHighlight the topic sentence in the following paragraphs.

Paragraph 1

Paragraph 2

Paragraph 3

One day, about 5 years after his release, he met a woman named

Emerald. She was a small, feisty woman, owner of a small

business, mother of a 10 year old boy, yet her eyes held pain andanyone could tell life had not been easy for her. Emerald asked no

questions and Pierre told no lies. They married within the year.

Shortly after, to their mutual joy, Emerald fell pregnant. Pierres

new life was almost complete.

The winter had come early. Chilly winds howled day and night and the

temperature dropped to 2 C at night. Leaves had long since

abandoned their trees. The sky was a leader slate grey. Thick snow

lay silent text answer on the ground.

The men huddled together self-consciously; the mean cold of this

night gave them little choice. At 59, Graham was soon to retire,

Andrew had already done so. They had hardly been friends at thecorporation. Yet here they were, alone, together and afraid.

They relented. On his 40th birthday, Pierre was released. To

everyones surprise, he found work, a flat, and undertook night

classes in desk top publishing.


12/29



Paragraphing: supporting sentences

The supporting sentences are the ones which give the reader extra details about

the main idea. Read this short story through once. Then look more closely at the first

paragraph. The supporting sentences are in bold type.

See how they work to expand upon the topic sentence.

The winter had come early. A chilly wind howled and the

temperature had dropped to minus 20 degrees. The trees

stood bare. Thick snow lay silent on the ground.

The men huddled self-consciously together; but the mean cold of

the night gave them little choice. At 59, Graham was soon to

retire; Andrew had already done so. They had hardly been friends

at the corporation. Yet here they were, alone, together and

afraid. Their ears straining.

The sound, when it came, was deceptive. Graham caught it first.

Overthere! Over there! He scrambled to his feet, pointing up

to the left but the snow was playing tricks. Now they could both

swear it was behind them.

It grew louder. Now distinctly the whirring whine of a helicopter

was almost overhead. Both men, arms flailing, stumbling, shoutedto the chopper to see them, to save them from this hell. The cold

was forgotten.

Then to their disbelief and horror, the helicopter banked and

began searching further up the gully. The cold bit at their bodies

once more and the two men, unable to speak or even to look at

each other, sat down once more in a huddle.


13/29



Activity 4: Supporting sentencesHighlight the supporting sentences in the paragraphs below.

Sometimes there is room for debate about which the actual topic

sentence is and which the supporting ones are. Generally however,one sentence should be the key to all the others in the paragraph.

One day, about 5 years his release, he met a woman named Emerald. She

was a small, feisty woman, owner of a small business, mother of a 10 year

old boy, yet her eyes held pain and anyone could tell life had not been

easy for her. Emerald asked no questions and Pierre told no lies. They

married within the year. Shortly after, to their mutual joy, Emerald fellpregnant. Pierres new life was almost complete.

Aggie slumped at the table half relieved, half something else. She had a

pain, a real one now, gnawing in her belly. She realised, amazed, that she

was about to throw up. Her mum said, I dont like the look of you,

Agatha. Go back to bed and Ill call Dr. McGarn.

The sound, when it came, was deceptive. Graham caught it first. Over

there! Over there! He scrambled to his feet, pointing up to the left

but the snow was playing tricks. Now they could both swear it was

behind them.


14/29



Quick summary

So far you have looked at how fictional stories need

an orientation

a complication

a resolution, and

how paragraphs are used to break these sections up.

Paragraphing: linking

Paragraphs are usually linked to each other by:

certain linking words, or

repeating an idea.

These give a rhythm or flow to the writing. Heres an example of link between

paragraphs.

See how the words in bold Two hours later link the paragraph to the previous one.

There are so many linking words in English. Some of the most common include:

link of timeafter this, before that, next thing, on Friday,

last time, in the future, during that time,while, at last, firstly etc.

links of reason or consequence however, nevertheless, although, despite,unfortunately, but, happily etc.

Another wave of nausea helped Aggie swallow a small smile. What washappening? Maybe failing a science test would be better than this? But it

was too late. Feeling ghastly and bent over with pain, she hung on for the

doctor.


emergency appendectomy. Got her just in time! the surgeon told hermother later. These things come out of the blue for no reason at all poor little kid.


15/29



Activity 5: Linking wordsReread paragraphs 3, 4 & 5 below.

Question 1:Can you identify how paragraph 4 is linked to paragraph 3?

Your answer:

Question 2:Can you identify how paragraph 4 is linked to paragraph 5?

Your answer:

Highlight the word (s) you think do the linking.

Paragraph 3

Paragraph 4

Paragraph 5

The sound, when it came, was deceptive. Graham caught it first. Over

there! Over there! He scrambled to his feet, pointing up to the left but

the snow was playing tricks. Now they could both swear it was behind

them.

It grew louder. Now distinctly the whirring whine of a helicopter was

almost overhead. Both men, arms flailing, stumbling, shouted to the

chopper to see them, to save them from this hell. The cold was forgotten.

Then to their disbelief and horror, the helicopter banked and began

searching further up the gully. The cold bit at their bodies once more and

the two men, unable to speak or even to look at each other, sat down once

more in a huddle.


16/29



Activity 6: More linkingCan you identify how the following paragraphs are linked?

By a linking word or by the repeating of an idea?

Part one:

Your answer:

Part two:

Your answer:

Part three:

Your answer:

Aggie woke grumpy and tense. She wasnt sure why. Then it came back

to her. Damn, the science test. She was going to fail for sure. She

couldnt bear it. Her parents would kill her. What could she do?


ward sister and could tell a fake illness from 20kms. Well, there was

no alternative. And no time to wait for one. So, grimly, Aggie climbedout of bed, clutching her stomach and moaning a little, shuffled down

to the kitchen.

I feel sick Mum she said as pitifully as she could. Her mother

stopped cutting the sandwiches to inspect her. Aggie felt a wave of

nausea her mum would never buy this! You look a little pale, said

mum to Aggies surprise. Let me take your temperature.


17/29



Part four:

Your answer:

Part five:

Your answer:

Part six:

Your answer:

From these activities you can see that every paragraph is connected.

In the next section you will begin to write your own fictional story. You will beable to help the story flow smoothly by using the same kind of linking.

Aggie slumped at the table half relieved, half something else. She had

a pain, a real one now, gnawing in her belly. She realised, amazed,that she was about to throw up. Her mum said, I dont like the look

of you, Agatha. Go back to bed and Ill call Dr. McGarn.



it was too late. Feeling ghastly and bent over with pain, she hung on

for the doctor.


emergency appendectomy. Got her just in time! the surgeon told her

mother later. These things come out of the blue for no reason at all poor little kid.


18/29


Just how do you go about making up a story?

Its an almost impossible question to answer.

It often helps to start with an idea and then let your mind play with it. Perhaps invent

character straight away. He or she will help determine the course of your story. It also

helps to know from the beginning if you want a sad or a happy ending, if you want to

be mysterious or exciting. In other words what kind of style would suit your topic?

This section asks you to write a first draft of a fictional story of your own. Select one

of these topics:

Topic One: a murder

Topic Two: a gift

Topic Three: a lesson in life.

Your finished story will need to be your own creation and about 200 words long.

Type or write your draft on a separate piece of paper.

Activity 7: PlanningTo help you get started, follow the instructions below.

Step one:

Choose the topic

Step two:

Decide on a tone do you want it to be serious? funny? mysterious? romantic?exciting?

Step three:

Invent a main character, a time and a place for the action.


19/29



Step four:

Allow your brain to relax and play with plots.

It can help to jot down ideas as they come like this:

Mathilde 17th century Gothic village promised in marriage to mean lord byparents wedding plans M. miserable etc.

This strategy lets you change the plot without much effort. Just cross out what youdont like and change it. You havent begun writing yet and so you havent wastedany time.

Step five:

Write your draft. Underline possible spelling problems as you go, but dontinterrupt your writing flow at this time by fixing them.

Step six:

Check you have an orientation, a complication (of one or more paragraphs) anda resolution.

Show your lecturer and discuss if your story is working well. Keepany feedback you are given.

In the section that follows you will be looking at spelling, punctuation,grammar and vocabulary both generally and in relation to your story. Thefirst section is about spelling.


20/29


Improve your spelling: word families

This is a word family:

actress acting action

react act actor

reaction acts reacting

How can a word family help with spelling?

Imagine you want to write this sentence The doctor has me on a new medi.

called Nutil.

But youre stuck on how to spell that word. You cant remember if the next letteris s

or c?

You could go to a dictionary but first you could look to the words family and see if

that is of help. It might be that you do know how to spell some of its family members.

E.g. medical, medicare, medication

This gives you the clue that your word needs a c because thats the family pattern.

Youd then be quite confident in spelling the word with a c (i.e. medicine)

Heres another example.

You want to write Could you please si...n on the dotted line return to me as soon as

possible.

You can hearthe n but know theres more than n missing. (You know you dont

want sin!)

Activity 8: Spelling familiesUse the family pattern to work out whats the missing letter.

Signature Signal Si..n


21/29



Activity 9: EditIn your draft story, you have underline words you suspected werewrong. Your lecturer may have identified some others too.

Try using word families to help you fix up the problems before you resort to adictionary or spell check.

I may need to use

a dictionary now!


22/29


Apostrophes of omission

In English we often shorten expression so we can speak or write quickly.

We say:

Whats the weather like? instead of What is the weather like?

We shorten like this almost as frequently when we write informally. The apostropheof omission indicates some letters have been left out. It also shows exactly where

they would have been.

Here are some examples:

I cannot find my wallet. I cant find my wallet.

Let us decide next week. Lets decide next week.

Selwyn is not dead yet. Selwyn isnt dead yet.

What is the matter? Whats the matter?

Is she not married yet? Isnt she married yet?

Activity 10: Apostrophes of omissionComplete this table by shorting these expressions. (Remember whenyou get to the third column, the apostrophe needs to go exactly abovewhere the missing letters would have been.)

long form shortened with apostrophe

was not wasnt wasnt

is not

can not cant


23/29



Activity 11: EditTake a close look at your draft story. It is likely you are using quite an

informal tone to tell it. So you probably want to use the short forms.

Circle any you can find, and then check you have an apostrophe and

that it is in the right place.

must not

I will

she will shell

they were

he would heed

he had heed

Dont forget Practice

makes better!


24/29


Can you see the problems in these three sentences?

Both men was instantly on their feet.

The old woman washed the babys face which were covered with

mud.

The cats licked its paws.

The problem in each of these is that there is a plural subject and

singular verb or pronoun (or vice versa). The sentences do not agree in

number.

What does this mean exactly?

Look again at the first sentence: Both men was instantly on their feet.

This sentence is about 2 men. However the verb was is the singular form; it is only

used for 1 person. The sentence needs the plural form of the verb.

The sentence should have been: Both men were instantly on their feet.

In the second sentence (The old woman washed the babysface which were covered

with mud.) there is only one babys face being washed. The verb should be was

which is the singular form, not were which is the plural form.

It should have been: The old woman washed the babys face which was covered

with mud.

In the third, there is more than one cat (The cats lickeditspaws.) So, you need the

plural pronoun their before paws.

The sentence should be: The cats licked their paws.


25/29



Activity 12: AgreementThink about each of these sentences. Ask yourself is it about more

than one person or thing? If it is, youll need a matching plural form.

If its about only one person or thing, youll need the singular form.

Write your answers in the space provided.

1. Wrong sentence: Over the past 3 months we has paid $500 to your agency.

Your answer:

2. Wrong sentence: There is a couple of places Id like to visit.

Your answer:

3. Wrong sentence: Kieu met Minh often but they wasnt close.

Your answer:

4. Wrong sentence: No one want to come.

Your answer:

5. Wrong sentence: The group are deciding whether to come.

Your answer:

6. Wrong sentence: Which teams was selected?

Your answer:


26/29



Tricky points about agreement

1. The following words should take singular forms: everyone, anyone, no-one,

everybody, anybody, and nobody.

For example:

Everyone was late.

Nobody is exempt.

2. Take special care with collective nouns.

Whats a collective noun?

It is one like:

the group,

the class,

the team,

the battalion.

Singular collective nouns are still singular and take singular verbs and pronouns.

For example:

The class starts at 9am sharp. NOT The class start at 9am sharp.

The team lost its first match. NOT The team lost their first match.

Collective nouns however can have plural forms too.

For example:

the groups,

the classes,

the teams,

the battalions.


27/29



In their plural form, they take plural verbs and pronouns.

Like this:

the classes start next Monday.

The teams are well-matched.

Groups can collect their passes at the front desk.

Activity 13: Collective nounsHighlight on the correct form so that your sentences are in agreement.

1. Everyone has / have to register by Tuesday.

2. Nobody is / are allowed to leave the building.

3. Anybody who want / wants to see me, must make an appointment.

4. That class is / are going on an excursion.

5. These classes is / are staying back at college.

6. I saw a school of fish which was / were about to be attacked by a white

pointer.

Activity 14: EditIts often easiest to pick up mistakes in agreement by ear.

Try reading your story aloud and listen for any place where you need to

change a plural or singular form.


28/29



Final draft and proof read

Having planned and drafted a story, you have now also done quite a bit of editing.

Check if there were other points your lecturer raised when discussed your draftearlier. Make any further changes that she or he suggested.

Rewrite or type the story as a final, good copy.

Check it once more for any new spelling errors! Read it aloud to yourself.

When you are happy with the story, show it to your lecturer. Discusshow well it works and keep any feedback in mind for your next efforts.

WOW! What a

spooky story!!


29/29

Its now time for your assessment in what you have been studying

Choose one of the topics below. Write about 200 words.

Topics:

The Dentists Tale

Settlement on the moon

A Modern Fairy-tale

Use the checklist to help you and tick them off as you go.

Hand up all completed work including any attachments for this unit andcongratulations on completing this unit - writing a fictional story.

Choose a tone funny, romantic, spooky etc.

Invent a character and setting.

Jot down possible events in point form to get a story line going.

Think up an unexpected conclusion.

Do your first draft, underline doubtful spelling.

Check your paragraphing: separate orientation, complication andresolution.

Check each paragraph is linked by either a linking word or an idea.

Check spelling

Check your punctuation, especially shortened forms.

Check for agreement within sentences by reading aloud.

Read your story if possible to someone else to see if it flows andyou have not left out anything essential to the meaning.

Do your final copy and proof read.

consolidate writing skiils - writing a fictional story

Documents