All About English Creative Writing

[The Alternative Story]

jasmineong:

do you have any other examples of composition startings to share?

Hi Jasmine,

There are a few more composition startings that can be used:

1) Description of weather or place

Eg (1)- weather (relating to hearing a scream) :

-(a) The heat from the hot sun weighed me down as I trudged
home after school. Perspiration made my uniform stick like glue to
my back. I just could not wait to get out of the heat.

As I laboured on, suddenly, I heard a faint cry coming from a
nearby void deck. Too tired to do anything about it, I decided
to continue walking.

\"Help me!\" I could hear the cry again. This time, it sounded more
urgent. Despite the heat, I began to run towards the void deck.

- (b) As I walked home in the gathering darkness, I could see
elongated shadows dancing on the pavement ahead. The wind
started to blow and leaves rustled in accompanying harmony
to the wind. Shivering, I walked faster. The road ahead
seemed deserted. The scenes from the horror show I had just
seen began to play on my mind.

\"Arghh!\" a sudden shout pierced through the stillness of the night.

Turning around, I tried to peer into the darkness. There was no
one there. Where had that scream come from?

Eg (2) - place (relating to hearing a scream)

- The old deserted house stood at the end of the street. Its windows
were boarded up. Paint was peeling off the wooden frames of the
door. My friends and I opened the gate and walked in.

As we did so, it seemed as though the eerie silence of the house
had hemmed us in. We no longer heard the cries of the birds or the
traffic sounds from the main road. Looking at my friends'
faces, I knew they would laugh at me if I backed out.

Walking slowly, we began to venture in deeper. Tall grass
scratched our legs. The garden was overrun by weeds.
Creak..creak..the floorboards creaked underneath our
feet as we walked onto the porch. An old rocking chair
sat, forlorn and forgotten, in one corner of the porch.
Long strands of grey cobweb dangled from it. I tried not to
look at the chair, fearing that it would start to move.

\"Are you afraid?\" Lynn looked at me, a sneer on her face.

Shaking my head, I followed the rest as they opened the
main door. Dust notes floated in the air as we
stepped into the house. Furniture that must have once
looked grand still stood proudly in their place.

A grand piano, its wood eaten away at places, was
placed right in the middle of the room.

\"Heelllp!\" a soft cry seemed to come from upstairs.

Petrified, I clutched Lynn's hand.

Here, when you use descriptions of a place or weather to start
a composition, they introduce the reader to the world
of the writer- the writer struggling in the heat, the writer
entering a deserted house etc. It gives context and sets the
'atmosphere' in the story.

Point to note:
Some children memorize descriptions of weather and put it
into their compositions which is fine but there must be a link
to the story. Sometimes their weather descriptions have no
link to the story.

Eg:

- The sun rose majestically in the blue sky. Ducks from a
nearby pond quacked comically. The trees swayed gently
in the wind.

Ring! The bell rang for recess and I could finally get my food.

There is no reason to put in the description of the weather here
and the child will not get marks for the vocabulary used.
Hence, it is good to let your child know that the descriptions must
be tied into the story.

TAS

[The Alternative Story]

iamyoung:

The Alternative Story:

In addition, if you are interested in an East location, we might have a
place soon (not guaranteed but quite possible), we have 2
tentative class timings that we have put up at the same link above.
If you could tell us your child's age and as long as we have 2
students of that age, we will start a class. However, all this is
still very tentative.

TAS

Would you consider weekend morning classes? Have been waiting for ages
for your east branch, my PIL stay in the east and they help me to ferry my kids to tuition (I work during wkends too) they are only free in the morning for weekend, could you consider it?

Hi iamyoung,

Sorry but currently, we might only open the 2 slots, however, it is
not confirmed yet that we would have a place in the East, it
is just highly probable as we are exploring some options
in the East.

TAS

[jasmineong]

The Alternative Story:

jasmineong:

do you have any other examples of composition startings to share?

Hi Jasmine,

There are a few more composition startings that can be used:

1) Description of weather or place

Eg (1)- weather (relating to hearing a scream) :

-(a) The heat from the hot sun weighed me down as I trudged
home after school. Perspiration made my uniform stick like glue to
my back. I just could not wait to get out of the heat.

As I laboured on, suddenly, I heard a faint cry coming from a
nearby void deck. Too tired to do anything about it, I decided
to continue walking.

\"Help me!\" I could hear the cry again. This time, it sounded more
urgent. Despite the heat, I began to run towards the void deck.

- (b) As I walked home in the gathering darkness, I could see
elongated shadows dancing on the pavement ahead. The wind
started to blow and leaves rustled in accompanying harmony
to the wind. Shivering, I walked faster. The road ahead
seemed deserted. The scenes from the horror show I had just
seen began to play on my mind.

\"Arghh!\" a sudden shout pierced through the stillness of the night.

Turning around, I tried to peer into the darkness. There was no
one there. Where had that scream come from?

Eg (2) - place (relating to hearing a scream)

- The old deserted house stood at the end of the street. Its windows
were boarded up. Paint was peeling off the wooden frames of the
door. My friends and I opened the gate and walked in.

As we did so, it seemed as though the eerie silence of the house
had hemmed us in. We no longer heard the cries of the birds or the
traffic sounds from the main road. Looking at my friends'
faces, I knew they would laugh at me if I backed out.

Walking slowly, we began to venture in deeper. Tall grass
scratched our legs. The garden was overrun by weeds.
Creak..creak..the floorboards creaked underneath our
feet as we walked onto the porch. An old rocking chair
sat, forlorn and forgotten, in one corner of the porch.
Long strands of grey cobweb dangled from it. I tried not to
look at the chair, fearing that it would start to move.

\"Are you afraid?\" Lynn looked at me, a sneer on her face.

Shaking my head, I followed the rest as they opened the
main door. Dust notes floated in the air as we
stepped into the house. Furniture that must have once
looked grand still stood proudly in their place.

A grand piano, its wood eaten away at places, was
placed right in the middle of the room.

\"Heelllp!\" a soft cry seemed to come from upstairs.

Petrified, I clutched Lynn's hand.

Here, when you use descriptions of a place or weather to start
a composition, they introduce the reader to the world
of the writer- the writer struggling in the heat, the writer
entering a deserted house etc. It gives context and sets the
'atmosphere' in the story.

Point to note:
Some children memorize descriptions of weather and put it
into their compositions which is fine but there must be a link
to the story. Sometimes their weather descriptions have no
link to the story.

Eg:

- The sun rose majestically in the blue sky. Ducks from a
nearby pond quacked comically. The trees swayed gently
in the wind.

Ring! The bell rang for recess and I could finally get my food.

There is no reason to put in the description of the weather here
and the child will not get marks for the vocabulary used.
Hence, it is good to let your child know that the descriptions must
be tied into the story.

TAS

Tk you so much! Once again, your help is invaluable..must pass this writing skills to my kids hahaha..if only you have a branch at Toa Payoh lah..but nvm I will be the one to try to help them for now.

If you have anymore compo tips, can pls post it tk you!

[singapore45]

The Alternative Story:

Hi iamyoung,

Sorry but currently, we might only open the 2 slots, however, it is
not confirmed yet that we would have a place in the East, it
is just highly probable as we are exploring some options
in the East.

TAS

Hi TAS,

So glad that you are exploring the East, when would it be confirmed?
Which part of East are you looking at, would it be far east like Pasir Ris or more central east, I am interested in East Coast area as my cousin's kids stay in that area. She needs to give notice to another centre so if you can provide us a rough estimate of when you are starting, it will be great. :lol:

[singapore45]

Hi TAS,


Sorry, just to let you know my cousin’s kids are in K2 and P2, you do have classes for K2? She is advanced for her age…
Sorry to bombard about the east but if you are still looking for a place, could you consider somewhere central east, like where kids from east coast and kallang area can go to? Cos my sister stays at kallang and my cousin stays at east coast so if you have somewhere assessible for both, that would be great.

[rocklee]

Hi TAS


I have learnt a lot from your thread. The tips given are really useful as I have forgotten about some of the grammar rules too.

Please keep me informed if you do confirm a branch in the east. I find teaching creative writing a big challenge as I myself can’t write well.

[The Alternative Story]

jasmineong:

Tk you so much! Once again, your help is invaluable..must pass this writing skills to my kids hahaha..if only you have a branch at Toa Payoh lah..but nvm I will be the one to try to help them for now.

If you have anymore compo tips, can pls post it tk you!

Hi Jasmine,

Glad the tips have been helpful and sure we will post more compo tips
from time to time.

TAS

[The Alternative Story]

singapore45:

Hi TAS,


Sorry, just to let you know my cousin's kids are in K2 and P2, you do have classes for K2? She is advanced for her age..
Sorry to bombard about the east but if you are still looking for a place, could you consider somewhere central east, like where kids from east coast and kallang area can go to? Cos my sister stays at kallang and my cousin stays at east coast so if you have somewhere assessible for both, that would be great.

Hi Singapore45,

No problem, for K2 kids, we will need to see if she or he is advanced
enough to join the P1 class. So when she or he comes for assessment,
we will let you know.

For the East, we are in the midst of looking at a location that is more
towards Katong side so I think it should not be a problem for your
sister and cousin.

TAS

[The Alternative Story]

rocklee:

Hi TAS


I have learnt a lot from your thread. The tips given are really useful as I have forgotten about some of the grammar rules too.

Please keep me informed if you do confirm a branch in the east. I find teaching creative writing a big challenge as I myself can't write well.

Hi Rocklee,

Really happy that we can help you here with the grammar and
writing. Writing is one area that is quite 'vague' and it can be
hard for parents to teach.

We will inform you when we confirm the location. Could you pm us
the age of your child as there have been a few queries and the age
range so far is from P2 to P4. As we can only start 2 classes presently
if we do confirm the place, we need to know which age group has
more demand and we will start with that age group first..
Thanks

TAS

[Hellokitty2]

The Alternative Story:

Could you pm us the age of your child as there have been a few queries and the age range so far is from P2 to P4. As we can only start 2 classes presently if we do confirm the place, we need to know which age group has
more demand and we will start with that age group first..
Thanks

TAS

Hi TAS,

I am considering sending my child to your centre if you do have one in the East.

He is in P2, do you have many P2s waiting to form a class? How many students do you need before you start a class?