Creative Writing

1. Creative Writing Capturing the moment-- one detail at a time…

2. How do I create imagery in writing? • Use figurative language • Use active verbs, not passive • Use expanded moments • Use concise vocabulary • Use dialogue • Use an appeal to the senses

3. Practice…makes permanent Directions: Add more detail to each kernel sentence. Use the techniques we discussed. 1. The boys stared at the piglet, stuck in the undergrowth.

4. Practice…makes permanent Directions: Add more detail to each kernel sentence. Use the techniques we discussed. 2. The grief-stricken man saw a figure in the night shadows.

5. Practice…makes permanent Directions: Add more detail to each kernel sentence. Use the techniques we discussed. 3. The fish swam toward the woman.

6. Practice…makes permanent Directions: Add more detail to each kernel sentence. Use the techniques we discussed. 4. The boy did not want to be noticed as he rode his bike out of town.

7. Practice…makes permanent Directions: Add more detail to each kernel sentence. Use the techniques we discussed. 5. The lonely dog howled.

8. Practice…makes permanent Directions: Add more detail to each kernel sentence. Use the techniques we discussed. 6. The violent storm attacked the harbor.

9. The Originals… 1.They were in the beginnings of the thick forest, plonking with weary feet on a track, when they heard the noises---squeakings—and the hard strike of hoofs on a path. As they pushed forward the squeaking increased till it became a frenzy. They found a piglet caught in a curtain of creepers, throwing itself as the elastic traces in all the madness of extreme terror. Its voice was thin, needle-sharp and insistent. The three boys rushed forward and Jack threw his knife again with a flourish. He raised his arm in the air. There came a pause, a hiatus, the pig continued to scream and the creepers to jerk, and the blade continued to flash at the end of a bony arm. The pause was only long enough for them to understand what an enormity the downward stroke would be. Then the piglet tore loose from the creepers and scurried into the undergrowth. They were left looking at each other and the place of terror. Jack’s face was white under the freckles. He noticed that he still held the knife aloft and brought his arm down replacing the blade in the sheath. Then they all laughed ashamedly and began to climb back to the track. “I was choosing a place,” said Jack. “I was just waiting for the moment to decide where to stab him.” From The Lord of the Flies by William Golding page 31

10. The Originals… 2. While I watched the tempest, so beautiful yet terrific, I wandered on with a hasty step. This noble war in the sky elevated my spirits: I clasped my hand and exclaimed aloud, “William, dear angel! This is thy funeral, this thy dirge!” As I said these words, I perceived in the gloom a figure which stole from behind a clump of trees near me; I stood fixed, gazing intently; I could not be mistaken. A flash of lightning illuminated the object and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filth demon to whom I had given life. What did he there? Could he be (I shuddered at the conception) the murderer of my brother? No sooner did that idea cross my imagination than I became convinced of its truth; my teeth chattered, and I was forced to lean against a tree for support. The figure passed me quickly, and I lost it in the gloom. From Frankenstein by Mary Shelley pages 59-60

11. The Originals… 3.The woman continued to swim away from the beach, stopping now and then to check her position by the lights shining from the house. The tide was slack, so she had not moved up or down the beach. But she was tiring, so she rested a moment, treading water, and then started for shore. The vibrations were stronger now, and the fish recognized prey. The sweeps of its tail quickened, thrusting the giant body forward with a speed that agitated the phosphorescent animals in the water and caused them to glow, casting a mantle of sparks over the fish. The fish closed on the woman and hurtled past, a dozen feet to the side and six feet below the surface. The woman felt only a wave of pressure that seemed to lift her up in the water and ease her down again. She stopped swimming and held her breath. Feeling nothing further, she resumed her lurching stroke. The fish smelled her now, and the vibrations—erratic and sharp—signaled distress. The fish began to circle close to the surface. Its dorsal fin broke water, and its tail, thrashing back and forth, cut the glassy surface with a hiss. A series of tremors shook its body. For the first time the woman felt fear, though she did not know why. Adrenaline shot through her trunk and her limbs, generating a tingling heat and urging her to swim faster. She guessed that she was fifty yards from shore. She could see the line of white foam where the waves broke on the beach. She saw the lights in the house, and for a comforting moment she thought she saw someone pass by one of the windows. The fish was about forty feet from the woman, off to the side, when it turned suddenly to the left, dropped below the surface, and, with two quick thrusts of its tail, was upon her. From Jaws by Peter Benchley pages 4 and 5

12. The Originals… 4. That night, Jonas was forced to flee. He left the dwelling shortly after the sky became dark and the community still. It was terribly dangerous because some of the work crews were still about, but he moved stealthily and silently, staying in the shadows, making his way past the darkened dwellings and the empty Central Plaza, toward the river. Beyond the Plaza he could see the House of the Old, with the Annex behind it, outlined against the night sky. But he could not stop there. There was no time. Every minute counted now, and every minute must take him farther from the community. Now he was on the bridge, hunched over on the bicycle, pedaling steadily. He could see the dark, churning water far below. He felt surprisingly, no fear, nor any regret at leaving the community behind. But he felt a very deep sadness that he had left his closest friend behind. He knew that in the danger of his escape he must be absolutely silent; but with his heart and mind, he called back and hoped that with his capacity for hearing-beyond, The Giver would know that Jonas had said goodbye. From The Giver by Lois Lowry pages 163-164

13. The Originals… 5. With the aurora borealis flaming coldly overhead, or the stars leaping in the frost dance, and the land numb and frozen under its pall of snow, this song of the huskies might have been the defiance of life, only it was pitched in minor key with long-drawn wailings and half-sobs, and was more the pleading of life, the articulate travail of existence. It was an old song, old as the breed itself—one of the first songs of the younger world in a day when songs were sad. It was invested with the woe of unnumbered generations, this plaint by which Buck was so strangely stirred. When he moaned and sobbed, it was with the pain of living that was of old, the pain of his wild fathers, and the fear and mystery of the cold and dark that was to them[also] fear and mystery. And that he should be stirred by it, marked the completeness with which he harked back through the ages of fire and roof to the raw beginnings of life in the howling ages. From The Call of the Wild by Jack London pages 37-38 

14. The Originals… 6. Then without warning the tempest broke. With the rapidity which, at the time, seemed incredible, and even afterwards is impossible to realize, the whole aspect of nature at once became convulsed. The waves rose in growing fury, each over-lapping its fellow, till in a very few minutes the lately glassy seas was like a roaring and devouring monster. White-crested waves beat madly on the level sands and rushed up the shelving cliffs; others broke over the piers, and with their spume swept the lanthorns of the lighthouses which [rose] from the end of either pier of WhitbyHarbour. The wind roared like thunder, and blew with such force that it was with difficulty that even strong men kept their feet, or clung with grim clasp to the iron stanchions…To add to the difficulties and dangers of the time, masses of sea-fog came drifting inland—white, wet clouds, which swept by in ghostly fashion, so dank and damp and cold that it needed but little effort of imagination to think that the spirits of those lost at sea were touching their living brethren with the clammy hands of death, and many a one shuddered as the wreathes of sea-mist swept by. From Dracula by Bram Stoker page 96

15. Identifying Descriptive Writing Techniques • In the original writing, highlight and label: • All types of figurative language • Excellent word choice • Verb tense • Appeal to senses • Smiley Face Tricks (expanded moment, magic 3)

16. It’s your turn to give it a try… • For this writing assignment, you will be writing a narrative scene that creates a mood and builds suspense. • You MUST choose a topic or focus that you are able to expand upon and describe in MUCH DETAIL. • You MUST completely organize the scene on a chart BEFORE writing it. You may choose whatever type of graphic organizer you would like to use. • You are NOT writing an entire story plot. • Follow the guidelines on the rubric given to you by your teacher.