One of the main things that separates creative writing from non-fiction or analytical writing is the use of language to create:

• moods,
• feelings,
• atmosphere and
• more vivid images of things.

Descriptive words are vital to your creative writing question in the exam, and can make the difference between a bland, detached piece of writing and a story which conjures up strong images and feelings in the reader.

Creative writing is about "showing rather than telling". Rather than just "telling" the bare facts of a story, try to "show" them using descriptive language that conveys a sense of:

• touch,
• sound,
• smell, and
• atmosphere.

A good exercise to improve your use of descriptive words is this:

1. Find a newspaper article (newspaper articles are often fairly plain and objective, with little use of adjectives)

2. Starting at the beginning, go through each sentence and try adding in descriptive words that "show" what has happened rather than just "telling". It won't end up looking like a proper newspaper report, but it's a good way to practise adding descriptive words to sentences to create feeling and colour!

For example:

"A recent surge in armed robberies has left the community of River Bend in shock. Local authorities say that they are looking for a man of short stature and red hair, who was last seen in the general store on Ronald Street. Residents are advised to lock their doors at night and keep an eye on children."

And with descriptive words added, it may look like this:

"A sudden, recent surge in violent armed robberies has left the sleepy rural community of River Bend in shock. Local authorities say that they are looking hard for a dwarfish man with flaming auburn hair who was last seen in the well-loved general store on historic Ronald Street. Residents are advised to lock their doors securely at night and keep a watchful eye on children."

While it is now a bit extravagant for a newspaper article, this demonstrates the powerful effect that the use of descriptive words can have on your writing.

Now let's go through some examples:

Item	Writing Paragraphs in Relation to a Story about an 11 year old child going to their best friend's birthday party held at the movie theatres.
Setting – Physical Environment
Setting – Social Environment
Actions
He/She went/goes…
He/she saw….

Key Rules to remember:

• Try to "show" them using descriptive language that conveys a sense of
  • touch,
  • sound,
  • smell,
  • atmosphere.

Now it's time to do your assignment.

1. Download the assignment question here.
2. Print it out or if you want to do it electronically, save it.
3. Complete the questions to it.
4. Then check the solutions on the video below.
5. To get the worded solutions/sample essays, download them here.

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