Over the past couple of weeks, our class has been exploring some of the ways that we can develop our creative writing skills. The post below takes you through the tasks we have done to expand or refresh our knowledge of the devices we can employ in our writing.
Metaphor
Metaphor: a direct comparison between two things which allows the reader to gain insight into one via characteristic it shares with the other.
All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players…”
As You Like It by William Shakespeare
Extended Metaphor: a comparison between two things which is consistently develop throughout a paragraph or piece of writing. The development comes from a consistent theme in the word choices and direct correlations, all centered around the connecting characteristic of the two things. It is used to specifically project an impression or idea upon the reader, which can be understood by recognising the shared characteristic of the two things being compared.
https://literarydevices.net/extended-metaphor/
Class Constructed Example
As the sunlight streams through the grimy glass that protects the delicate buds inside, the frost creeps closer to the door. The only indicator of life inside the greenhouse is the buildup of condensation the windows. Sliding the entrance open, a breath of warm humid air embraces me.
Students were asked to complete the extended metaphor of our classroom as a greenhouse. These can be found on their individual blogs.
Connotation
Connotation refers to a meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly. Words carry cultural and emotional associations or meanings, in addition to their literal meanings or denotations.
https://literarydevices.net/connotation/
The Task: Close your eyes and imagine a place you remember as a child. This can be a place that you have any kind of memory of. Look down, what are you standing on? Look to the left, what can you see? Is there any noise? When you look up, what is above you?
From the prompt above, the students were asked to describe the memory they were taken to. Their goal was to develop a positive or negative tone by thinking carefully about the connotations the language they were using gave off. We then went around, shared our memories out loud and tried to guess the feeling attached to that memory.
Prepositions
Prepositions are words or phrases used in front of nouns or pronouns to describe the relationship between the noun/pronoun and other words in the sentence. They can describe position, time or the manner in which something is done. Using prepositions allows your reader to orient themselves inside your scene, developing a richer image and a stronger impression.
The rain fell onto the leaves, dribbled along the branch and pooled in the puddle below.
Mrs. Plunkett
The Task: Students headed to Pobble 365 and selected an image of a setting that appealed to them. They then had to describe their scene (inspired by the image) with sentences that began only with prepositions.
More Preparations Tasks
The ‘No W Zone’
A task designed to make students think about varying their word choices and sentence openers. Our class found this a tricky one! Students were instructed to pick any setting and describe it. There were two rules to follow:
1. You may not use any words that have the letter ‘w’ in them.
2. Your sentences must not start with the word ‘the’.
Quizlet: Revision for Language Devices
We used Quizlet as a way of revisiting the language devices that we could use in our writing. This task was all about reminding ourselves of the features that we know of.
Sentence Types Discussion
We touch very briefly on the types of sentences and their effects on a reader during the sharing of work with the class.
The Short Sentence: a sentence that communicates a single idea using minimal words. It is often no more than 5-7 words long and needs to be surrounded by other more developed sentences in order to make sense.
The Simple Sentence: think of this as the silghtly older sibling to the short sentence. The simple sentence still serves to communicate a single idea but it should be able to stand alone and make sense on its own.
Why use them? Short sentences are often used to create tension and urgency in writing. They can be also be used for impact- like a shock or jolt- throughout a piece of writing. Another common reason for their use is to clarify or reinforce an idea after a long winded sentence.
The dog let out a low growl. Its eyes glowed yellow. Jen scrambled to her feet. She needed to move. Fast. Her legs pumped as she ran. Sweat trickled down her neck. To her left, a phone-box stood. She glanced over her shoulder. It was close.
Mrs. Plunkett
TBC
