descriptive & narrative writing
DESCRIPTION
Descriptive & Narrative Writing. Foundations of Writing II. DESCRIPTION. Which story would you rather read? Why?. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Descriptive & Narrative WritingFoundations of Writing II
DESCRIPTION
Which story would you rather read? Why?When I got up this morning, I had a good breakfast. Then I took the kids to school and went to work, which I hate. After work was school, which was long. Later I picked up the kids. We had dinner, I did my homework, and we went to bed. This morning I awoke with a craving for omelets and bacon, so I treated myself and my kids. With the aroma of bacon lingering in the air, I rounded up the little rascals and dropped them off at Hogwarts Elementary before heading a few blocks further to my prison cell cubicle at ABC Company. Thankfully, it was only a half day for me, and at noon I darted out to join my Foundations of Writing II class at Globe University. Despite the activities, class dragged on forever, and 4 o’clock seemed light years away. It finally came, though, and as soon as I wrangled my kids, made a pot of Mac & Cheese, tucked them in, and finished my assignment, I finally had some free time. Unfortunately, by that time it was nearly midnight, and I was sprawled out on the couch, resisting sleep—as I knew tomorrow would bring the same routine!
Traits of Descriptive Writing• Appeals to the senses
◦ Describes things in ways you can smell, see, hear, taste, and touch◦ Ex. Airplane
◦ Smell: Jet fuel, the person next to you?◦ See: Seats, wings, cockpit◦ Hear: Crying children, captain over the intercom, whirring engine◦ Taste: Free mini-packages of pretzels, $10 drink◦ Touch: Knees pressed up against seat in front of you, person next to
you hogging arm rest, head hitting ceiling when you stand
• Uses concrete, specific nouns◦ Ex. Lieutenant vs. officer◦ Ex. Sedan vs. car◦ Emphasizes people, places, and things more than ideas
Traits of Descriptive WritingUses specific, unique descriptions (adjectives and
adverbs)◦ Ex. Pot-bellied stove, smiled icily ◦ Avoid abstract descriptions, whenever possible, like “good,”
“beautiful,” “evil,” etc.◦ Weak: My daughter has a beautiful smile.◦ Stronger: My daughter has straight, porcelain teeth and full
lips that seem to extend to her ears.
Sometimes, incorporates brand names◦ Adds specificity, but over-branding can become
overwhelming or annoying◦ Ex. .44 Magnum vs. gun
Traits of Descriptive Writing• Varies in verb choice• Use a thesaurus!• Ex. Wrecked vs. dead, glimpsed vs. saw, emerged vs. got out
of, etc.
• The Writer’s Motto: Show Don’t Tell• Lead your reader to where you want to be• Allow him/her to figure out what happened by setting the
scene• Weak: My dad was angry.• Stronger: The vein in my dad’s forehead was bulging. As
he yelled, bits of foam began to gather at the corners of his mouth.
Descriptive Example (CD)
Organizing DescriptionSpatially
◦ Move right to left, top to bottom◦ Useful when describing physical attributes of a person, place, or thing
◦ Ex. George the Cowboy
Chronologically◦ Recall events in time order◦ Useful when describing a process; also useful when telling a story
◦ Ex. My Eventful Ride to Work
• Order of Importance• Start and/or end on most important/dominant trait(s)• Useful when you are providing a catalog of specific (sometimes
diverse) descriptions about something• The Different Personalities on my Hockey Team
General Tips• Consider Tone and Audience• Who will be reading your description? What kind of description
will be most effective for your intended reader?• Match you word choice to your mood, your mood to your crowd
• Attributes• With the emphasis on concrete vs. specific words, it may be easy
to forget about non-physical attributes• As often as you write about the color or shape of something, try
to be specific about the feelings, motives, and fears of your subject, too.• Ex. Physical attributes: straight hair, white walls• Ex. Non-physical attributes: kind to strangers, cavern-like
atmosphere
General Tips• Examples• Draw on particular instances/examples over long-standing
generalities• Often help keep your writing concrete (showing) vs. abstract
(telling)• Weak: My son hates doing his homework.• Stronger: Each night, when I tell him to do his homework, my
son stamps his feet and wails for at least thirty minutes.
• Perspective• As the narrator, always remember where you are in space and
time• Move on to descriptions of new people or places only after you
have made it explicitly clear the scene is changing
NARRATION
The Inverted Checkmark:The Structure of a Story• Rising Action• Small Crisis• Falling Action
• Continued Rising Action• Larger Crisis• Falling Action
• Critical Rising Action• Climax• Denouement
Addressing the 5 Ws• By the end of your piece, the reader should have
a good idea of the 5 Ws/1 H• Ex. The Three Little Pigs
• Who: Three pigs• What: They need to build houses to protect themselves from the
wolf• Where: A magical land where pigs build their own homes• When: A magical time when pigs build their own homes• Why: To teach reader importance of doing something well the
first time• How: Show two failures (taking short cuts) and one success
(taking time/effort)
• Try to show rather than tell as much as you can
Point of View• First-Person: “I”• Started becoming common in late 1800s and onward• I am the narrator of my own story
• Second-Person: “You”• Very modern/postmodern• Used in experimental work; rare• Whole story is what “you” (often reader—but not always)
do
Point of View• Third Person: “He/She”• Omniscient:• Oldest form of narration• Follows events and consciousness of multiple people
• Limited:• Use came into fashion between 3rd Person Omniscient
and 1st person• Follows events and consciousness of one person
(primarily), but narrator is a separate being
CD/Textbook Tips
CD/Textbook Tips
CD/Textbook Tips
CD/Textbook Tips
CD/Textbook Tips
Activities• Working together in small groups:• Create a narrative that tells the story of the picture on
pg. 128• Make sure you• Determine the 5Ws & 1H• Use all 5 senses in your description• Try to create build tension and create a story that
adheres to the Inverted Checkmark structure• Aim for at least 1 notebook page
• As a large group:• Share the principles that make your story a strong piece
of descriptive & narrative writing