Writing better

Writing

It's not as hard as you think...but it does require patience.

start

Think of writing this way

Quotes

“I am irritated by my own writing. I am like a violinist whose ear is true, but whose fingers refuse to reproduce precisely the sound he hears within.” – Gustave Flaubert

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.” –John Steinbeck

“Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of a job: it’s always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins.” -Neil Gaiman

“Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.” –E. L. Doctorow

Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.” –Pablo Picasso

“Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” –E. L. Doctorow

Writing is like walking on a bed of coals, and then finding oneself on a tropical beach.

There are six writing traits

And you CAN master them

Trait 2

Trait 1

Trait 3

ORGANIZATIONCreate lead, use sequence words, structure body, end with resolution

VOICEEstablish tone, convey purpose, connect to audience, take risks

IDEAFind topic, focus topic, develop topic, use details

Trait 4

Trait 5

Trait 6

WORD CHOICEStrong verbs, select striking words, accurate words, deepen meaning

SENTENCE FLUENCYWell built sentences, varying sentence types, rhythmic flow, break rules

CONVENTIONSSpelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar usage

And of course we could add another

Presentation

Let's start with an idea

Read the following exerpt ”Unoka, for that was his father’s name, had died ten years ago. In his day he was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow. If any money came his way, and it seldom did, he immediately bought gourds of palm-wine, called round his neighbors and made merry. He always said that whenever he saw a dead man’s mouth he saw the folly of not eating what one had in one’s lifetime. Unoka was, of course, a debtor, and he owed every neighbor some money, from a few cowries to quite substantial amounts.”

DO

Pick a word or phrase from this passage and write a quick 3-4 sentence narrative. The word is simply your idea for writing about any idea that comes to mind. It does not (and probably should not) need to be about the topic that is in THIS passage.

My School

Organization

Now, let’s focus on how we can lead in to the passage you have written. Here are 10 ways to consider starting a non-fiction or fiction piece writing.

• This might be the hook
• It doesn;t have to be
• You may need to write two sentences

• Analogy/comparison
• Anecdote or case history
• Direct address
• Fact
• Metaphor
• Description
• One word/phrase
• Controversial statement
• Statistic
• Summary

Write a lead in statement based on the organization you chose. Example: “He was a beast on the court”, at least that is what they said.

How does each sentence connect to the next. Think of a bridge that is held together tightly from one plank of wood to the next, or steps leading to the top. Add or revise to include at least one transition word.

Transition words

How does each sentence connect to the next. Think of a bridge that is held together tightly from one plank of wood to the next, or steps leading to the top. Add or revise to include at least one transition word.

Connect each sentence and each paragraph

Examples

Sent 1

Sent 2

Sent 4

Sent 3

Do you want to swim with sharks?

The world is full of sharks, waiting to attack, but you can''t let them.

Most people would not; however, sometimes people are forced to.

You have to be clever and watchful, but enjoy the swim in the ocean.

Thesis

Sent 5

The jounrey is more important than the destination because we experience many wonderful things, and we learn from the not so wonderful things.

sent 6

Life is like the swim we take in th ocean; it can be scary and dangerous, but it can be fun and beautiful.

But we would never experience anything if we didn't jump in the water and njoy life.

You just demonstrated Organization traits

Give Voice

Give voice to your writing. Do you want it to be sad? Happy? Informative? Sarcastic? Establish the tone. Start with your adjectives

Delete the adjectives and you have the truth-Atticus Finch

Strengthen word choice

Consider trying to strengthen VERBS. The stronger the verbs, the more descriptive the rest of their writing will become.

Strengthen word choice

SENTENCE FLUENCY

Let’s go a little old school and do some sentence calculations to strengthen your writing.

Sentence Fluency

History

Crafts

Crafts

History

Biology

Math

Crafts

Music

Math

Biology

Music

Math

Literature

Literature

History

Biology

Music

History

Biology

Literature

You demonstrated the six traits of good writers!!Now-apply this to your paper

1. Strengthen word choice (replace verbs and adjectives with stronger words)2. Add transitions (make sure each sentence connects) 3. No first or last words should be the same. 50% of your last words should be one syllable. Each sentence should be 5 or more words shorter or longer than the sentence before and after it. The final word of the paragraph should mimic the tone of the paragraph.