Painting with Five Basic Brush Strokes The absolute The appositive The participle Adjectives shifted out of order Action verbs

“ An amateur writer tells a story “ An amateur writer tells a story. A pro shows the story, creates a picture to look at instead of just words to read. A good author writes with a camera, not with a pen.” Novelist Robert Newton Peck Secrets of Successful Fiction

Participle Brush Stroke The next painting technique, a participle brush stroke, is similar to the absolute, but without the noun before the –ing word. It can be defined as an –ing word (or an –ing phrase) tagged onto the beginning or end of a sentence. Here is an example added to our core sentence. Leaping with powerful lightning strides, the cheetah gained on the injured zebra. With participle brush strokes, you can use either one participle phrase as above or three single participles as follows: Trailing, tracking, accelerating, the cheetah gained on the injured zebra.

Simple Sentence The diamond-scaled snake attacked its prey.

Watch how the sentence changes Hissing, slithering, and coiling, the diamond-scaled snake attacked its prey. Watch how the sentence changes by adding participles Hissing its forked red tongue and coiling its cold body, the diamond-scaled snake attacked its prey.

Monday Describe the cliff diver by using three participles either at the beginning or end of a sentence. Then rewrite your simple sentence with a participle phrase.

Tuesday Create a sentence using a participle phrase or three participles to describe the ice climber.

Create a sentence to describe the surfer by using either one participle phrase or three participles. Wednesday Surfing in a Tsunami

Betty White Gets Tackled for Snickers Commercial Thursday Create two sentences to describe the tackle by using one participle phrase and three participles. Betty White Gets Tackled for Snickers Commercial

Identify Participle Brush Strokes Mud– all around, everywhere. The harder I struggled, the tighter it pressed, eager to swallow me whole. Soon it was all I could feel, sliding over my skin, filling my ears, pushing into my nostrils. --T.A. Barron, The Mirror of Merlin This paragraph has two different brush strokes! Men were on their feet, sliding into the water, dragging at the chains, wrenching until their wrists were bloody, shouting for help, some pleading for mercy from man and God, others cursing, thinking that they had been abandoned by both. --Celia Tees, Pirates!