Creative writing

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 2

Creative writing

Tips and tricks

Plan for today:

- Tips for creative writing

- How do you build characters?

- Important terms

Aims:

- You can use tips to become a better writer.

- You can identify different creative writing terms.

Tip 1: Show, don't tell. 

One way of making your writing more interesting is to SHOW rather than TELL.

Example:

Show=

David stomped to his desk spilling coffee as he went. Pushing past a group of people, he threw himself into his chair. With one sweep of his hand, he cleared his desk and growled at the nearest secretary.

Tell=

David walked in angrily. 
 

Tip 1: Show, don't tell.

Tell=

He was embarrassed.

Show=

He wanted to run away and hide.

His cheeks were burning with heat.

He was taking shallow breaths.

He felt his heart speed up.

He felt the need to swallow, but his throat was dry.

His mind went he couldn’t think of what to say or do 

They were filled with joy.

Tip 2: Be dramatic!

Which sentence is more dramatic?

There was an explosion and it was loud and he was thrown into the air.

Boom! It exploded… Suddenly, he was thrown into the air like a small, helpless rag doll.

Which sentence is more dramatic?

He turned around and saw the wolves and his heart beat like a drum.

Just then he turned. Wolves! His heart beat like a drum. Thump. Thump. Thump

Make the sentence more dramatic:
All of a sudden, the car came closer and closer.

Tip 3: Think your characters through before writing.

- Name and age

- Where do they live/who do they live with?

- Do they work?

- History – what has happened to them in their past which might be important to them now?

- Likes?

- Dislikes?

- What is happening in their life at the moment which they would consider to be important?

- What is it about them that might seem mysterious to other people?

Important terms:

Alliteration: every word starts with same letter. 

Metaphor: figure of speech, link between two unrelated things.

Simile: figure of speech, two unrelated things are compared.

Personification: an idea or thing is given human attributes and/or feelings 

Onomatopoeia: a word that represents a sound.

Repetition: using a word multiple times.

You're an angel.

1. Simile
2. Personification
3. Onomatopoeia
4. Metaphor

Bang, the fireworks exploded in the air.

1. Alliteration
2. Onomatopoeia
3. Repitition
4. Simile