1. FOLIO Descriptive Writing (Creative)

2. Descriptive Writing Most forms of writing involve description. - Characters and Places need to feel REAL - Descriptions of events, feelings and atmosphere help to achieve this. Here are some ideas to help improve your descriptive writing ….

3. Consider Word Choice Example One: It was so hot. The soldier felt sweaty and uncomfortable Example Two: The heat was brutal. A slow trickle of sweat slid down the soldier’s red face carving a track through his filth.

4. Appeal to your senses

5. Identify each sense and good word choice. Ali swaggered into the classroom, sighed loudly and crossed to his desk. The carpet was worn where years of impatient students had kicked, scuffed and pushed in their rush to escape. A damp, sickly-sweet aroma arose from the pile of jackets crushed in one corner and a twisted grey curtain tap, tapped against the window where a stone or ball had cracked the glass. Mrs Woods rubbed her hand slowly across the smooth polished surface of her desk and examined her finger tips for dust……

6. Using Adjectives and Adverbs to bring things to life … What is it? What is it doing? How is it doing it? Why is this happening? e.g. A grey helicopter flew slowly over the rice paddies searching for movement in the undergrowth. Describing a landscape. http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zdknb9q/re vision/2

7. How Much Description do I use? How much description you put in depends on the purpose of your writing. If you want to set a scene for a story you will need less than if you are opting for a descriptive essay. It is possible to put in too much description. You should select details which are needed to create Focus on what is needed for plot, to create a mood, or to capture atmosphere.

8. Describing People When describing people, you must ensure they are believable. –What would this sort of person say? –What would this sort of person do? –What would this sort of person think? –How would they react in situations? Do not simply describe a character's appearance. Instead, select aspects of appearance which help to reveal the character's personality.

9. He looked worried. Or … His tanned face was marred by deep lines and creases caused by fear and lack of sleep. The dullness in his eyes reflected the pain of too much fear, too much loss and very little hope.

10. Show me … Don’t Tell Me!! (i.e. create mental pictures) Use similes, metaphors, personification – don’t force the description. (It was windy. The lake was choppy. or “the wind screamed in anger and vexed the surface of the lake”) Onomatopoeia – the ratta tat tat of a distant machine gun… Long/Short/Fragmented sentences Word Choice (Words with strong emotional connotations.) = CREATE TONE AND ATMOSPHERE

11. PLANNING THE STORY Narrator Who is telling the story? First Person: “I, me” = Emotional and personal point of view. Third Person: “He, his” = More objective point of view. Observing and commenting on what you see.

12. Things to consider … Who are you? Where are you? Why are you there? What is happening to you? How do you react? Why do you react this way? How does the story end? Is there a message/moral/theme to this story?

15. Start Planning I want a SOLID PLAN / FIRST DRAFT by the end of next week! EMAIL: karenwoods.scotland@gmail.com