Подготовка к части Writing

1. Подготовка к части Writing Всероссийской олимпиады школьников STORY

2. Типы заданий

• Формат: рассказ на основе картинки
• Что нужно сделать: придумать и написать
рассказ
• Что нужно учесть: опору в виде картинки
• Что нужно уметь: написать интересный
рассказ, использовать прямую речь

3.

4. Типы заданий

• Формат: рассказ
• Что нужно сделать: написать рассказ на
основе пословицы
• Что нужно учесть: опоры (на данные
пословицы)
• Что нужно уметь: написать интересный
рассказ раскрывающий суть одной из
пословиц

5.

CREATIVE WRITING (60 minutes — 35 points)
IMPORTANT: You should not indicate your name in any
parts of your work
Write a story based on one of the given sayings:
• Every cloud has a silver lining.
• A friend in need is a friend indeed.
• Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today
Use your imagination. Your story must have:
• A title
• Characters and their characteristics
• A setting (when and where the story is taking place)
• A plot (sequence of events)
• A conclusion based on the saying.
Total: 200–250 words.

6. Типы заданий

• Формат: рассказ
• Что нужно сделать: написать рассказ,
используя данные слова
• Что нужно учесть: правильный перевод
слов/выражений
• Что нужно уметь: написать интересный
рассказ с использованием данных
слов/выражений

7.

You have 60 minutes to complete the task.
Write a short story based on an episode from
school life.
• In your story:
1. Follow the rules of short story writing;
2. Use direct and / or indirect speech;
3. Describe feelings and emotions;
4. Make an unexpected ending;
5. Use the following words at least once:
1.play truant
2.cheat sheet
3.detention
4.dunce
5.terrific
Write 220–250 words

8.

Написать интересный рассказ, используя
данную концовку:
Write a story. The last sentence of the story is
given below.
Write between 280 and 300 words. Remember
to give your story a title.
• John looked him in the eye and said, “A
man’s got to follow his dreams.”

9. Elements of a good story

• The plot;
• The characters;
• The pace.
Continue these sentences:
1. In a good story the plot should be…
2. In a good story the characters should be…
3. In a good story the pace should be…

10. Elements of a good story

1. In a good story the plot should be gripping and not
very predictable.
2. In a good story the characters should be such that
the reader can relate to.
3. In a good story the pace should be dynamic enough.
In non-fiction and in literary fiction the pace is
normally slower than in commercial fiction. Literary
fiction is usually character-driven, while commercial
fiction is action-driven.

11. How many plots are there?

• There are various estimates of how many
archetypal plots there are. A popular estimate
of 7 was put forward by Christopher Booker in
his 2004 book “The Seven Basic Plots: Why we
tell stories”. Other researchers list more plots,
but we will explore the 7 mentioned above for
the purposes of out training.

12. Archetypal plots

1. Overcoming the Monster: the protagonist
sets out to defeat a force that threatens his
homeland or family.
2. Rags to Riches: the poor protagonist acquires
wealth, power and/or a mate, loses it and
regains, growing as a person as a result.
3. The Quest: the protagonist and companions
set out to acquire an important object or to
get to a location.

13. Archetypal plots: examples

1. Overcoming the Monster: Perseus, Theseus,
Beowulf, Dracula, The War of the Worlds,
James Bond, Star Wars...
2. Rags to Riches: Cinderella, Aladdin, Jane Eyre,
The Prince and the Pauper...
3. The Quest: The Odissey, The Lord of the
Rings, King Solomon’s Mines, Around the
World in 80 Days…

14. Archetypal plots

4. Voyage and Return: the protagonist goes to a
strange land and, after overcoming the threats,
returns with experience.
5. Comedy: a cheerful character triumphs over adverse
circumstances, resulting in a happy ending.
6. Tragedy: the protagonist’s faulty character or
mistakes results in their undoing and the fall of a
fundamentally good character.
7. Rebirth: an event forces the main character to
change and become a better person.

15. Archetypal plots: examples

4. Voyage and Return: Alice in Wonderland, Goldilocks
and Three bears, The Hobbit, The Time Machine,
Gone With the Wind…
5. Comedy: Much Ado About Nothing, Bridget Jones’s
Diary, Twelfth Night…
6. Tragedy: Macbeth, Carmen, The Picture of Dorian
Gray…The Frog Prince, Beauty and the Beast, The
Snow Queen, A Christmas Carol…
7. Rebirth:….

16. More Archetypal Plots

• https://www.vulture.com/2016/08/encyclope
dia-of-every-literary-plot-ever.html has
examples of 77 archetypal plots, e.g.:
• Family Reunion; Family Saga; Forbidden Love,
tragic; Forbidden Love, triumphant; Good Guy
– Bad Guy Alliance etc.
• No matter how many detailed plot
descriptions there are, the absolute majority
of plots focus on the following:

17. Focus of plots

• The character has an objective / desire to get
something or to get away from something. This
objective is crucial for the character (e.g. the
character needs it to stay alive, to keep life happy).
• The question of the plot is whether the character will
get what he desires.
• The character faces confrontation – an opposition
from other character or forces.
• In the end the character either achieves the
objective or doesn’t.

18. Analysing a plot

• “Goldilock and Three Bears”
• Who is the character?
• What is the character’s objective?
• Why is it important for the character?
• What character or forces oppose getting the
objective?
• Does the character achieve the objective in
the end?

19. Analysing a plot

• “Gone With the Wind”
• Who is the character?
• What is the character’s objective?
• Why is it important for the character?
• What character or forces oppose getting the
objective?
• Does the character achieve the objective in
the end?

20. Writing a story. Step 1.

• What type of plot shall we choose from the 7
listed? Overcoming the Monster, Rags to
Riches, the Quest, Voyage and return, Comedy,
Tragedy, Rebirth.

21. Writing a story. Step 2.

• Who is our main character?
• The main character should be someone our
readers can relate to. He / she doesn’t have to
be nice but he must be recognisable, with
good and bad features like other people.

22. Writing a story. Step 3.

• What is the problem that the character faces
but probably doesn’t have an immediate need
to solve? Why is the problem crucial for the
character?

23. Writing a story. Step 4.

• What is the character’s motivation? Why does
he / she decide to solve the problem? What
happens to prove that the character cannot go
on without solving the problem?

24. Writing a story. Step 5.

• What does the character do to solve the
problem? Who or what opposes him / her?
Why is there the opposing character / force?
Why is it important for the opposing character
to confront the main character

25. Writing a story. Step 6.

• What happens as a result of the attempt to
solve the problem?
• How does the character change as the result
of the attempt to solve the problem?

26. Story planning outline

• My main character is a…
• His/her objective is to…
• He/she is confronted by … who opposes
him/her because …
• The ending will be when…

27. 3 parts of the story

• Part 1: the beginning. Readers get to know the
character and some of the settings. The
problem is presented.
• Part 2: the middle. The character tries to solve
the problem. The confrontation ensues.
• Part 3: the ending. Readers learn about the
resolution of the story.

28. An effective beginning

There are several ways to grip the reader’s
attention from the first sentences. To do this,
a story can start with:
1. A paradoxical sentence: “Far out in the
uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable
end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy
lies a small unregarded yellow sun.” (Douglas
Adams. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)

29. An effective beginning

2. A flashback: “It was the day my grandmother
exploded” (Iain Banks. The Crow Road).
3. A dialogue: "Where's Papa going with that
ax?" said Fern to her mother as they were
setting the table for breakfast. "Out to the
hoghouse," replied Mrs. Arable. "Some pigs
were born last night.“ "I don't see why he
needs an ax," continued Fern, who was only
eight. (E. B. White. Charlotte’s Web)

30. An effective beginning

4. A popular opinion on the subject of the
book: ”It is a truth universally acknowledged,
that a single man in possession of a good
fortune, must be in want of a wife”. (Jane
Austen, Pride and Prejudice)

31. An effective beginning

5. By plunging into action: “Are we rising again?” “No.
On the contrary.” “Are we descending?” “Worse than that,
captain! we are falling!” “For Heaven’s sake heave out the
ballast!” “There! the last sack is empty!” “Does the balloon
rise?” “No!” “I hear a noise like the dashing of waves. The sea
is below the car! It cannot be more than 500 feet from us!”
“Overboard with every weight! ... everything!”
Such were the loud and startling words which resounded
through the air, above the vast watery desert of the Pacific,
about four o’clock in the evening of the 23rd of March, 1865.
(Jules Verne. The Mysterious Island)

32. An effective ending, analysis

1. "After all, tomorrow is another day.“ Gone
with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
2. "The creatures outside looked from pig to
man, and from man to pig, and from pig to
man again; but already it was impossible to
say which was which.“ Animal Farm, George
Orwell

33. An effective ending, analysis

3. "It's funny. Don’t ever tell anybody anything.
If you do, you start missing everybody.“ The
Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
4. "Oh, my girls, however long you may live, I
never can wish you a greater happiness than
this.“ Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
5. "'From the Land of Oz,' said Dorothy gravely.
'And here is Toto, too. And oh, Aunt Em! I'm so
glad to be at home again!'“ The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum

34. A short story as Olympiad task

Regional stage:
• 200-250 words
• based on a photo
• compulsory words
• 1 hour 15 minutes to write the story

35. Compulsory words

• Что делать, если не знаешь каких-то из
обязательных слов?

36. Compulsory words

- I say, how do you spell the word
“sophisticated”?
- Why are you asking?
- I need it for the crossword and I am not sure.
- It’s SOPHISTICATED

37. Compulsory words

- Hey, how do you use the word “eccentric’?
- I don’t. Not my kind of word, you know. Too
posh.

38.

39.

“It was a trip I’ll never forget. What almost
ended as a catastrophe started like a perfectly
fine morning”

40. A short story as Olympiad task

All-Russia stage:
• 250-500 words
• based on a text
• genre is stated in the task

41.

42. “No relation, I hope?”

• I usually go to school through the park but
that morning I decided to take the long route
and walked along the beautifully decorated
shopping street with its huge bright
Christmas-themed shop windows and the tiny
and gloomy antiques shop. I still cannot tell
what made me stop and walk inside when I
should have been hurrying to the first lesson,
but whatever it was, my life – and that of our
family - wasn’t the same ever since.

43. Story planning outline

• My main character is a…
• His/her objective is to…
• He/she is confronted by … who opposes
him/her because …
• The ending will be when…