Improving Descriptive Writing

1
Improving Descriptive Writing

• Painting an Original Picture

2
Purpose of Descriptive Writing

• Describe something in an original and unique so
  that it appeals to the five senses

• Touch it

• Taste it

• Hear it

• See it

• Smell it

3
Keys of Being Descriptive

• Be original
• Be creative
• Stretch your imagination
• For example, instead of this

• Try this

• The sun cut itself on a sharp peak and bled into
  the valley.John Steinbeck

• The hot, yellow sun went behind the mountain and
  covered the valley in red.

4
Hows This?

• She was super hero beautiful. Her hair was as
  black as coal, her lips red as blood.

Is it original and creative?
5
Clichés The Descriptive Killer

• 1 a trite phrase or expression Also the idea
  expressed by it
• 2 something (as a menu item) that has become
  overly familiar or commonplace

6
Finding Clichés Through Experience

• If you have seen it

• Or heard it

• Its probably a cliché

7
Finding Clichés Through Others

• Ask someone really old

• (You know, anyone over 21)

8
Finding Clichés On-line

• Choose a keyword to look up
• Go to a cliché website and look up the keyword
• Cliché finder is one of the best places to look
  http//www.westegg.Com/cliche/
• You may have to try more than one keyword

9
Fixing Clichés

• Identify the clichés
• Replace them with more descriptive writing
• Think of a new comparison
• Look up words in a thesaurus
• www.m-w.com

10
A Little Practice

• Each of you will be given a poem
• Identify ALL the clichés
• Replace half of them (you can choose the easiest
  ones if youd like)
• Dont worry about making it rhyme
• Well do the first stanza together

11
Which of the following do think are clichés?
Shes as pure as the driven snow,
Her face is as white as a sheet,
Her hands are as smooth as silk,
Her nails as red as a beet.
12
Same Old New Girl

• Shes as pure as the driven snow,
• Her face is as white as a sheet,
• Her hands are as smooth as silk,
• Her nails as red as a beet.
• Her hair is like the golden sun,
• Her eyes blue like the sky,
• Shes as beautiful as an angel,
• and as hot as a firecracker on the 4th of July.
• Her temper is as quick as lightning,
• Her hatred cold as ice,
• Her laughter is loud and clear,
• But her crying is as quiet as mice.

• Her beauty may be skin deep,
• But her mind is as sharp as a knife.
• Im just small potatoes,
• And she seems larger than life
• They say shes one in a million,
• But I dont believe what they say.
• If shes all that and a bag of chips,
• Why say it with a cliché?

Assignments turned in tomorrow at the beginning
of class will be eligible for full credit