Mrs Bray was the proprietress of the Mulberry Garden…Although a widow for seven years, still wore black, which lent her bulk a certain mystery; sometimes it was hard to see where she ended and night began. Dr Dormann, standing beside her, looked thinner than ever, really no more than a slice of a man who might have come off Mrs Bray in a carelessly slammed door… ( The Pleasure Garden by Leon Garfield).
Q) How do you write an effective story in a timed examination?
A) You plan it. A few words noted down before you start writing makes all the difference to your story. Otherwise, you will write yourself into a dark tunnel and the ‘match’ of your inspiration will go out. You will get lost!
Top tips- think about the following:
Stories need a protagonist. You can use I/eye, a third person(he, she, Peter, Fatimah etc) or even a ‘you’. Make sure you stick to this POINT OF VIEW.
Stories need an enemy. This could be another person, the weather, your protagonist’s emotions, outside influences.
Stories need a setting. something happens to your character(s) SOMEWHERE!
Stories need DETAILS. Make these details SPECIFIC like the example from Leon Garfield above. Focus on just a FEW details to make your story ALIVE!
Stories NEED to answer the question. Make sure you FOLLOW the implications of the TITLE. Pay attention to your use of TENSE too. Don’t muddle up your tenses.
Stories need CONFLICT. And more CONFLICT and more CONFLICT. Raise the STAKES for your protagonist. Typical themes might explore being lost, lonely, betrayed, intrigued, somewhere new, enduring an accident, learning something important and finally, remembering the way your life changed through a specific experience.
Here’s the start of a response to a story called The Change.
The night before, a tall woman in a navy coat, warned us about the wintry conditions on our local news. I had no idea why she wanted to stand by the side of a dark canal and talk about snow and ice, but she did. ‘The worst in a lifetime’ she said. I wondered whose lifetime she meant. I had only been around for ten years but my grandma was truly ancient. I hoped she meant someone like my grandmother because then I must miss school.
Not that I hated school, I just enjoyed my life not-at-school far more.
When I saw our car in the morning it looked as if someone had painted it with frosted glass or dropped it into a glass prison. We took years to reach school because no-one knew how to drive in the snow (my mother said) and she was right. It felt as if we were trapped in a slow-motion film or had even been transformed into snails.
School seemed curiously quiet. Only half my form had actually managed to reach school and we all resembled zombies with our heavy coats, ear muffs and hats. We certainly couldn’t hold a pen or do any work, because the central heating had failed. The solitary teacher who had managed to get to work clung to her cup of coffee like a life raft and didn’t sound quite as bossy as usual.
When we spoke the air seemed to dance with icy light between us. Like magic dust.
‘The world has turned into Frozen, ‘ said my best friend, Alice, laughing. Then she dropped her bombshell. ‘I’m emigrating to Australia after Christmas or maybe even sooner.’
‘Oh no,’ I said and meant it. ‘I will miss you so much!’ At that moment, I wished we hadn’t battled through the snow. I wanted to go home to cry. Now, next term looked utterly lonely and bleak until I noticed Alice’s mouth slightly twitching and I suddenly remembered that however lovely Alice might be, she tended to prefer fiction to facts. In short, lovely Alice was an enthusiastic liar.
‘How will you get to Australia by the way ?’ I asked innocently.
Alice paused, apparently deep in thought. ‘Oh by cargo boat,’ she said. ‘I want to become a stowaway and escape the entrance examination. ‘
‘Good for you, ‘ I said.’ What a brilliant idea. I think I’ll join you. When should we set off and stowaway? ‘
