Year 11 English Creative Writing

Creative Writing Parts of language Linguistic tools Descriptive Writing Sense of place and environment Your identity and voice Keeping a journal Purpose and Audience

Parts of language

Linguistic tools

Descriptive Writing

Sense of place and environment

Your identity and voice

Keeping a journal

Purpose and Audience

Parts of Language Nouns - Words that name people, places and things. - EG. Bob; Colac; table; chair; beanie - Singular and plural forms, tables, chairs, beanies Adjectives - Describing words (including colours) - EG. slim; slimy; fruity; blue-green Verbs - Doing words; actions - EG. run; sit; stand; knit - In the past tense, these words become ran, sat, stood, knitted

Nouns

- Words that name people, places and things.

- EG. Bob; Colac; table; chair; beanie

- Singular and plural forms, tables, chairs, beanies

Adjectives

- Describing words (including colours)

- EG. slim; slimy; fruity; blue-green

Verbs

- Doing words; actions

- EG. run; sit; stand; knit

- In the past tense, these words become ran, sat, stood, knitted

Parts of Language ctd… Thinking about the parts of language will make your writing more descriptive and structured, BUT… Don’t feel like all of your writing has to be formally structured EG. “ Brick walls turn mossgreen. Pepper vines snake up electric poles. Wild creepers burst through laterite banks and spill across the flooded roads. Boats ply in the bazaars.

Thinking about the parts of language will make your writing more descriptive and structured, BUT…

Don’t feel like all of your writing has to be formally structured

EG. “ Brick walls turn mossgreen. Pepper vines snake up electric poles. Wild creepers burst through laterite banks and spill across the flooded roads. Boats ply in the bazaars.

You don’t have to be formal all the time…

Linguistic Tools There are a range of features that you can use in your writing to make it more sophisticated and poetic. Alliteration Assonance Personification Similes Metaphors Onomatopoeia Colours

There are a range of features

that you can use in your writing to

make it more sophisticated and poetic.

Alliteration

Assonance

Personification

Similes

Metaphors

Onomatopoeia

Colours

Alliteration Alliteration is the “repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words” (The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary) EG. “ C ool, c alm and c ollected”; “ s lanting s ilver ropes s lammed into loose earth” Alliteration can be used to introduce a hard or soft sound in the sentences that you use. Soft sounds are s, w, a, e, i, o, u. Hard sounds are b, c, t, p. Harder sounds make your writing more punchy and direct, whereas softer sounds make it flow together more.

Alliteration is the “repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words”

(The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary)

EG. “ C ool, c alm and c ollected”; “ s lanting s ilver ropes s lammed into loose earth”

Assonance Assonance is the “resemblance of sound between two syllables in nearby words” (The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary) EG. “ In the undergrowth a rat snake rubbed i ts elf again st a gli st ening st one.” This feature works in a similar way to alliteration but is a bit more subtle and uses the sounds within words to create a sequences of similar sounds.

Assonance is the “resemblance of sound between two syllables in nearby words”

(The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary)

EG. “ In the undergrowth a rat snake rubbed i ts elf again st a gli st ening st one.”

Personification Personification is the “representation of an abstraction or thing as having human characteristics” (The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary) EG. “The Mars Bar was just asking to be eaten”; “ The old house on the hill wore its steep, gabled roof pulled over its ears like a low hat.” This feature can be used to make inanimate or non-human objects seem more alive, or to make your description of them more vivid. It allows you to add more detail to your descriptions, and not have to use a succession of adjectives which say the same thing

Personification is the “representation of an abstraction or thing as having human characteristics”

(The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary)

EG. “The Mars Bar was just asking to be eaten”; “ The old house on the hill wore its steep, gabled roof pulled over its ears like a low hat.”

Similes Similes involve “the poetic comparison of one thing with another, using the words ‘as’ or ‘like’. (The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary) EG. “The water was as clear as glass”; “Cherry blossoms lay thick like driven snow on the lawn” Similes form part of everyday speech, EG. “Mad as a cut snake”; “run like the wind” Similes make descriptions more vivid and powerful by comparing a new idea to a everyday thing, like the clarity of glass.

Similes involve “the poetic comparison of one thing with another, using the words ‘as’ or ‘like’.

(The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary)

EG. “The water was as clear as glass”; “Cherry blossoms lay thick like driven snow on the lawn”

Similes form part of everyday speech, EG. “Mad as a cut snake”; “run like the wind”

Metaphors A metaphor describes the “application of a name or description to something which it is imaginatively but not literally applicable” (The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary) A metaphor goes further than a simile by saying that something is something else that it would not normally be related to. EG. “The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas”; “burning ambition”; “the long arm of the law”

A metaphor describes the “application of a name or description to something which it is imaginatively but not literally applicable”

(The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary)

A metaphor goes further than a simile by saying that something is something else that it would not normally be related to.

EG. “The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas”; “burning ambition”; “the long arm of the law”

Onomatopoeia Words are onomatopoeic when they sound like what they are describing These words can be used to add emphasis to the image that you are trying to create Bang! Sizzle Cuckoo Pop Splash

Words are onomatopoeic when they sound like what they are describing

These words can be used to add emphasis to the image that you are trying to create

Bang!

Sizzle

Cuckoo

Pop

Splash

Colours Colours are adjectives and can be used to add more power to your descriptive images EG. Sky  slate grey sky Sea  aquamarine sea Brick walls  mossgreen brick walls

Colours are adjectives and can be used to add more power to your descriptive images

EG. Sky  slate grey sky

Sea  aquamarine sea

Brick walls  mossgreen brick walls

Descriptive Writing Descriptive writing helps to put your reader in the scene that you are trying to create and makes the events more realistic Descriptive writing is particular to fictional writing as it is more poetic and less factual and informative than other types of writing

Descriptive writing helps to put your reader in the scene that you are trying to create and makes the events more realistic

Descriptive writing is particular to fictional writing as it is more poetic and less factual and informative than other types of writing

Sense of place and environment By creating a scene in which the events happen, the reader is able to better understand your characters and their motivations Your sense of place, where you are from, informs what you write about and the scenes that you create: this is why so many great writers are well travelled! You will write about what is familiar to you. How would you write about these scenes, for instance…

By creating a scene in which the events happen, the reader is able to better understand your characters and their motivations

Your sense of place, where you are from, informs what you write about and the scenes that you create: this is why so many great writers are well travelled!

You will write about what is familiar to you. How would you write about these scenes, for instance…

Your identity and voice EG. The Beastie Boys song An Open Letter to NYC describes images that the writers are familiar with You need to be reflective about what is important to you You need to ask questions of yourself and notice when this comes through in your writing

EG. The Beastie Boys song An Open Letter to NYC describes images that the writers are familiar with

You need to be reflective about what is important to you

You need to ask questions of yourself and notice when this comes through in your writing

You are surrounded by culture, images, sounds, opinions and advertisements. How do these influence how you think and feel? What culture and image do you associate with? What brands do you like? How do you dress, act and talk? All of these things will come through in your writing, whether on purpose or not

Keeping a journal Keeping a journal is a good idea in the long term if you plan to do any creative writing It helps you keep a record of: Thoughts Things you hear people say Events Writing/story ideas

Keeping a journal is a good idea in the long term if you plan to do any creative writing

It helps you keep a record of:

Thoughts

Things you hear people say

Events

Writing/story ideas

Purpose and Audience The two most important considerations when undertaking any writing (not just creative) Purpose in creative writing informs: What you write about (content) Where it is set (setting) Who is in it (characters) How you write it (genre) Audience determines: How you write (style) Who it is aimed at When you have determined these elements, your writing will have direction

The two most important considerations when undertaking any writing (not just creative)

Purpose in creative writing informs:

What you write about (content)

Where it is set (setting)

Who is in it (characters)

How you write it (genre)

Audience determines:

How you write (style)

Who it is aimed at