Australia Day - Melanie cheng - Writing Style - Guide - Hyphenated - Asides - Dialogue - Action teaching , book , novel , annotation guide , features , melanie , cheng , writing , style , approach , consistent , vce , english , eal

1. Features of Melanie Cheng’s writing
(Thingsyouwill needtocopyinyour ownstory,or consciouslydosomethingdifferent as a response
to this)
 ‘Hyphenatedasides’
i.e: It was a goodday – besidesmyappallinghair–whichwas aboutto get worse.
 Italicisedinternal dialogue
i.e.: She said‘Hi’, Whatthe hell, how dareshe, hassheforgotten so quickly! I smiledback
 ‘dialogue withsingle quotationmarks’
i.e.: ‘Neville.’Pamshootsherhusbandalook.
 Minimal use of ‘He said’/ ‘She said’/ ‘Troysaid’
i.e.:‘It’sall undercontrol,Kevin’
‘AndthenI sawwho we were dealingwith’
‘I have workto do,Kevin’
 Commitwhole paragraphstoa single scene orimage
 Use Intertextualreferences (initalics),intertextandallusionsheavilyasashortcut to
description andcharacterisation
i.e.: He wasmovedto watching back-to-backepisodesof Making a Murderer
 Use Australiancolloquialisms
i.e.:S’alright whose face the derrohad threatenedtoslash
 Normal, everydaycharacters
 Use humourinlimitedways(the storiesare alwaysserious,butsome characterscan be
funny)
 Use of irony(usuallybitterirony,ratherthansomethingfunny)
 MostlyfocussedonDescription,thendialogue,thenaction(inorderof frequencyof use)
 Charactersas symbolicandrepresentativesof theiroriginorbackground,eithertosupport
or counterstereotypes
i.e.:
 Use ‘doctors-speak’,anatomical terminology anddiseasesasa shortcutto characterisation
and precise description of yourcharacters
i.e.: She was febrile (Thismeans havingafever)
 Use writingasa form of internal dialogue
i.e.: Rowenascribblesinher notebook.CourtOrder.Twelvebeersa day.Old track marksleft
arm