Dreaming+up+stories

Now that you have learnt some elements that make up ‘writing’, it is time to do the real thing. But, where can you find interesting stories to tell? Here are some possible sources you can think about: Isn’t it boring when you know what the ending of the story is going to be? Use your imagination to change an important development/element in the story. Think for example, what if in the story of ‘Cinderella’, Cinderella is a mean person instead of the kind girl we always imagined her to be? Or, what if she failed to run away at the right time? This kind of storytelling should be done in the first person. The narrator speaks as one of the minor characters in the story, as an observer of the events. For example, you could retell the Cinderella story from the stepmother’s or the prince’s perspective. How do you think they see Cinderella? Think about recent news events, such as the Olympics Games or charity marathons. Tell the story as a bystander or a participant. You would need to imagine what the moment feels like, and add in your own interesting details to build up the story. What do you imagine the story behind the reason to be? Consider for example, Kit Chan’s song, ‘There is no place I’d rather be’, our 2007 National Day song. It could lead you to write a story about homecoming after a long break. What made the character want to return to his country?
 * ** Twist of traditional story **
 * ** A minor character in a famous story **
 * ** Current affairs **
 * ** Think of a song you know **


 * Some Don’ts **

Melodramatic – father/mother/pet died. Sometimes students think that stories have to be heartbreaking to be interesting, but actually, the story can end up overdoing the sadness, and end up exaggerating the drama instead.

Take the easy way out. You don’t know how to end the story and so, suddenly, the narrator wakes up from a bad dream. That just shows poor planning and lazy thought.