How To Improve VCE Creative Writing Using Pop Song Techniques

When I say pop songs, what jumps to your mind? Electric lighting, drinks and endless cheers at late night parties? Is it the exhilarating, energising atmosphere of your favourite artists’ concerts? Or is it the catchy melodies that dominate the background vibes of Instagram stories and reels? I have my favourite songs playing in my headphones right now as I am writing this blog.

But, you might be wondering: we aren’t even allowed to write lyrics or verses in the exam! Why are you mentioning pop songs in a study guide blog?

The answer is ‘VIBES’.

Vibes thrive in pop songs.

Why Vibes Matter in Pop Songs and VCE Creative Writing

What do vibes have to do with Creative Writing (a notoriously subjective and compulsory part of VCE English and EAL)? Well, Creative Writing thrives on the way you deliver your emotions, and creating a vibe will be one of the most efficient ways of making what you want to say flow beyond the pages of writing.

In this blog, I will be teaching you two common yet extremely effective techniques that pop songs use to create their vibes: imagery and connotations. By learning how to effectively implement these techniques in your writing, you will elevate your Creative piece in no time!

For more info about VCE English/EAL Creative SACs and exams, check out The Ultimate Guide to VCE Creative Writing.

The Main Skill Is Purposeful Writing!

Two key assessment criteria that VCAA explicity outlines for VCE Creative Writing are:

• ‘creation of a cohesive text that connects to a clear purpose(s) and incorporates an appropriate voice;
• use of suitable text structures and language features to create a text’

These two dot points bring me to what I call ‘Purposeful Writing’, which can be summed up as:

knowing your intention before you write, so that every technique serves a purpose rather than being simply decorative.

You can’t include a button that plays a melody in the SAC or exam, so you must rely on your writing to convey meaning. For many students, especially those who are completing EAL, if you know your purpose first, you won’t feel as much pressure to rely on sophisticated vocabulary.

Now, pop songs often use simple language, but they are emotionally clear - which is why you never feel confused when listening to them. Strong writing is about controlling how techniques shape meaning, rather than simply using complex vocabulary.

Imagery: The Technique of Mental Experience

‘And I snuck in through the garden gate
Every night that summer just to seal my fate (oh)
And I screamed “For whatever it’s worth
I love you ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?”
He looks up grinnin’ like a devil’

~ Taylor Swift’s, Cruel Summer

On a sweaty summer night, stomach tingling, a girl recklessly slips across the garden. Heart still racing, she looks up to find him ‘grinnin’ like a devil’. Many readers will instantly recognise the reference here - the feverish intensity of Taylor Swift’s Cruel Summer lingers in every image. We can almost taste the emotional roller-coaster of that night as she ‘sneaks in’ through the gates and ‘cries like a baby’ on the drive home.

See how we are instantly teleported into Taylor Swift’s world through imagery? The power of imagery lies in the way the writer can communicate complex emotions without naming them directly. Here is a snippet from an original piece that uses visual imagery to amplify emotions:

I finally close my eyes, and let my body gently wobble with the tram’s motion, hoping that periodic swaying will help me tame the butterflies in my stomach. It’s just a job interview, I repeat to myself for the 500th time, as I gaze sheepishly at the passengers dropping on and off. A formidable middle-aged woman in a razor sharp suit stares straight ahead. A teenager texting frantically on his phone. A blackbird perching on a street sign. A piece of gum on the railing. The tight, collared shirt wrapping my chest like a swimsuit, making my breaths short and ragged. Then the tram suddenly stopped, jerking me back to the present. The muffled loudspeaker crackled out my station. My heart dropped.

The Importance of Context When Using Imagery

An easy trap to fall into when you are trying to paint an atmosphere is ambiguity. Therefore, you need to know what physical and/or emotional context you are trying to capture before writing. In the example above, the context is clear: a person feeling nervous on their way to a job interview. In this way, all the visual imagery, including the middle-aged woman, the teenager, the blackbird, even the gum, feels anchored within the anxious atmosphere.

Tips for EAL Students Specifically

You don’t need sophisticated vocabulary such as disquietude or perturbation (which both mean anxiety and unease, by the way) to depict the exact emotion. You can use sensory descriptions to instantly immerse your readers in the precise emotions you want them to feel.

Connotations: Our Creative Word Choices

‘Called you up in the middle of the night
Wailing like an imbecile
If you don’t end things, then I will’

~ Conan Gray’s Vodka Cranberry

In Vodka Cranberry, Conan Gray captures the bitterness of an ending relationship. The stolen T-shirt and polo cap, the brown eyes that look green. These small, specific details ground memories of the relationship in an intimate, personal way. Among these memories, the way he describes himself as an ‘imbecile’ instantly intensifies the regret for chasing the relationship. The interesting word here is ‘imbecile’. Originally with a derogatory meaning of a very stupid person, Gray uses this almost theatrical insult to convey not only heartbreak, but also regret and self-directed frustration.

You need to understand that denotation is the dictionary meaning of a word, whereas connotation is the emotion it carries. Connotation is about loading a word with feeling. Why not fool or naive instead of ‘imbecile’? Because ‘imbecile’ is harsher and more exaggerated, it suggests he is almost judging himself for falling into the relationship.

How Do Connotations Link Back to Purposeful Writing?

Remember what I said earlier about Purposeful Writing? And how you need to ‘know[] your intention before you write, so that every technique serves a purpose’? Well, in order to load meaning into words, you need to first know what meaning you want to convey. You never need to choose more sophisticated vocabulary when there are simpler, clearer words for you to use. Remember, precision always matters more than sophistication!

A Creative Sample Focused on Connotations

To make the concept of connotations more concrete, let’s work through an actual writing process. Here is an emotionally generic sentence:

He walked away, closing the door behind him.

To imbue it with more meaning, ask yourself: what feeling do I want to evoke? If we want to make him a bit frustrated, we could write:

He strode away, shutting the door irritably behind him.

Or even angrier:

He stormed away, slamming the door behind him.

Boom! We are already worried about the person who made him storm away. Notice how we never used the word angry? Connotations allow us to express emotions without boringly revealing them to the reader.

The Golden Rule For Writing A Purposeful Creative

Language techniques are powerful. Although the use of creative techniques in your writing can help elevate the quality, you mustn’t overload your writing with them. This is exactly like the Goldilocks zone of not too hot, not too cold - not too much, not too little! Just remember, purpose comes first, techniques exist to serve it. Like good pop songs, good Creative Writing prioritises clarity and intention. And I promise, after this, you won’t hear pop songs the same way again - this time, you’ll know exactly why they hit!

For more info about VCE English/EAL Creative SACs and exams, check out The Ultimate Guide to VCE Creative Writing.