Introduction to Descriptive Writing

1. Introduction to 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. How’s 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 • DEFINITION: • 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 • A cliché is a WORD or PHRASE that is overused in language.

6. Finding Clichés Through Experience • If you have seen it • Or heard it • It’s probably a cliché

7. Finding Clichés Through Others • Ask someone really old • (You know, anyone over 21)

8. 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

9. She’s 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. Which of the following do think are clichés? She’s 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.

10. She’s 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, She’s 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. I’m just small potatoes, And she seems larger than life They say she’s one in a million, But I don’t believe what they say. If she’s all that and a bag of chips, Why say it with a cliché? Same Old New Girl

11. Precise Language and Sensory Details Allowing readers to SEE your writing.

12. Precise Language • Makes writing vivid and detailed • Gives the reader a clear mental picture of what is being described

13. Precise Language • Example: • Read the following simple statement: • The dog jumped up on the boy. • Now, see what happens when the writer replaces dog with a precise word, Saint Bernard. The scene is changed dramatically. • The Saint Bernard jumped up on the boy.

14. Precise Language • Or, see how unclear this sentence is compared with the one using precise language… • When the officer ran past the gate, the dog turned on him. • By using precise language, the images in the sentence become MORE vivid. • The officer sprinted past the gate when the Chihuahua turned on him.

16. Precise Language • From the terms in parentheses, choose the one that is precise and accurate in describing the animal in each sentence. • The young of both a lion and a bear is called a (foal, cub). • Each of these large beasts has (nails, claws). • Lions and bears both have thick (coats, coverings) of (hair, fur).

17. Sensory Details • Specific details that help the reader see, feel, smell, taste, and/or hear what is being described. • Seeing is believing!

18. Sensory Details: Show, Don’t Tell • “Seeing is believing” • Writing that tells the reader something is not as strong as writing that shows the reader something. • Look at the following statements: • I rode on the roller coaster. It was frightening but fun.

19. BORING!

20. Sensory Details: Show, Don’t Tell • As the roller coaster topped that first big hill, I could see my mom down below. She looked so small. Then the coaster began to surge down the hill. My hands went up, my heart jumped into my throat, and I let out a sound that was half laugh and half scream.

21. Sensory Details: Show, Don’t Tell • The first paragraph simply tells the reader that the roller coaster ride was “frightening but fun”. The second paragraph shows just how “frightening but fun” it really was. • Take a look at another example: • The sandwich was difficult to eat.

22. Sensory Details: Show, Don’t Tell • The cucumbers slipped out first. I squeezed the Kaiser roll together more tightly. But a tomato was soon hanging out and dripping. Next came a slice of onion. I carefully rebuilt the sandwich. Again, the cucumber was first to escape.