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Essay inspiration
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 9:04 pm
by ggd
My DS has a vivid imagination and can write some very imaginative work. He is also a keen reader which feeds his imagination.
However he only seems to be able to write something if he likes the title otherwise he has a complete writers block and produces nothing.
How can we get beyond this, in an exam he will only get one chance to impress and by the time he does the essay he may already have sat maths and VR and be feeling a little worn.
Has anyone any tips on getting beyond an uninspiring title?
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 9:08 pm
by moved
Try to find something interesting within the title. Even the most mundane can usually be turned around. Do you get more than one choice?
At home get him to write anything first of all on the mundane subject and then see how this can be adapted to make it more inspiring and more "him". Can he get a twist into the story that will allow him to use his imagination?
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 9:41 pm
by Ed's mum
My only suggestion would be that he has some characters that he starts to dream up now. He can create a whole back-story about them. That way, if the title is uninspiring, he can imagine how THEY would react in that situation, how they speak, the relationships between them etc etc etc - rather than having to think about what HE wants to happen in the story.
He would need to realise that he would need to be selective about what went into the essay. He could not just twist the title back to the same one story each time.
He could also think of a few different settings and begin to see them in his head. familiarise himself with what could be in that particular setting, the sight, sounds, smells etc.
Not saying it would definitely work, but it's worth a shot.
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 6:13 pm
by ggd
Thanks Moving, we have been trying to suggest many different directions he can go with a title, unfortunetly I think he will have no choices on title.
Thanks Eds mum, he likes the idea of writing in the third person, I think it enables him to detach from the title a little.
I have also spoken to someone else who suggests writing out key words that relate to the title to help to inspire him, and possible give him new directions to think- I think this may be a useful step forward.