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alicia-gregory
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REVISING WRITING
Creating images, emotions, and voice with your words
USE STRONG VOCABULARY
• Have your vocabulary list at your side -use words when they are appropriate, not if they stick out.
• Use a thesaurus to eradicate repetition not to sound sophisticated
• stay away from empty words that convey no image: pretty, beautiful, nice
GRAB THE READER
• Create catchy, cool first line to entice reader.
• End with conscious power.
• Create a believable, clear voice.
CREATE SCENES NOT SUMMARIES
• Use believable dialogue. Stay away from “said.”
• Use all senses to pull reader into the scene
• Show don’t tell: details, details, details!
ADD DESCRIPTION!
• Infuse writing with detailed adjectives and adverbs.
• Create novel metaphors and similes - these clever comparisons make the reader visualize.
• Use specific concrete images that you could photograph, not vague or abstract ones.
• Use as many senses as possible.
ALTER SENTENCE STRUCTURE FOR FLUIDTY
• Look at all sentence beginnings. Start with prep. phrase, adv., adj., participial phrases, and adv. clause for change in structure.
• Change length of sentences: some complex, some very short for emphasis.
CHECK ALL VERBS
• Omit all boring verbs: went, come...
• Seek verbs that create images: trudge, clamber, undulate, grope, wriggle, simmer
• Cooking verbs are often descriptive and metaphoric: dice, blend, percolate, slice...
KNOW YOUR CHARACTER
• Be able to give a clear visual description - weave the details in through dialogue and narrative
• Know what clothes your character would wear, what s/he would eat for breakfast, for a snack…
• Know what your character’s strengths and weaknesses are
USE FORESHADOWINGAND SYMBOLISM
• Think about clever names for characters that might reveal something about them
• Plant seeds if something bad is going to happen through weather, dialogue, use of color, etc.
• Use seasons and weather symbolically
• Choose Biblical references: rains to wash away sins or evil, gardens as innocent, etc.
POINT OF VIEW
• Consciously choose a point of view: first person, third person, or third person limited
• Try changing it after you finish to see which point of view creates a stronger piece
CHOOSE FORMAT
• Think about alternative ways of telling the story:– letters– newspaper articles– e-mails– poetry