1. Image Grammar The Writer as an Artist

2. Writing as Seeing Compare the following two images:  It was winter. Everything was frozen and white with snow. Snow had fallen from the sky for days. The weather was horrible.  Flowers lay deep in the grip of midwinter beneath a sky of leaden gray that showed tinges of scarlet and orange in the horizon. A cold mantle of snow draped the landscape, covering the hills to the west. Snow was everywhere, filling the ditches, drifting high against the hedgerows, making paths invisible, smoothing the contours of earth in its white embrace.

3. Writing as Seeing The first image was written by a high school student; the second was written by well-known novelist Ernest Hemingway. The qualities of a writer’s images—the details, colors shapes, movement—derive from visual perception. An ineffectual writer sees broad impressions that evoke vague labels. A powerful writer visualizes specific details that create a literary virtual reality.

4. “Telling” and “Showing” There are two categories of “seeing”: showing and telling.  An amateur writer tells a story.  A professional writer shows the story & creates a picture to look at instead of just words to read. The amateur writes: “Bill was nervous.” The professional writes: “Bill sat in a dentist’s waiting room, peeling the skin at the edge of his thumb, until the raw, red flesh began to show. Biting the torn cuticle, he ripped it away, and sucked at the warm sweetness of his own blood.” “A good author writes with a camera not with a pen.” - Robert Newton Peck

5. It was Fall… *Example #1 *imagery and description! As I stepped outside, I felt the icy wind blowing through my hair. I almost instantly started shivering when I started walking through the dead leaves. As I looked up, I saw the leaves were a pretty mixture of red, orange, and yellow. I could distinctly smell a fire burning in the distance. I was getting cold, so I moved out of the shade into the warm sunlight and lay in the luscious green grass. As I was staring up into the nice blue sky, I eventually drifted away into sleep.

6. It was Fall… *Example #2 The air around was brisk, going into my lungs and cooling my breath. The leaves on the ground crunched like potato chips under my feet. As I trudged forward, scarlet, orange, and brown swirled around. I took a deep breath through my nose, the smell of burning wood drifting lazily on the wind. The flags snapped in the background, and a car drove by, exhaust condensing into a fog trail.

7. It was Fall… *Example #3 All of the oranges and yellows mixed throughout the air filled with burning leaves off in the distance.

8. Painting with Five Basic Brush Strokes The participle The absolute The appositive Adjectives shifted out of order Action verbs and Active Voice

9. Painting with Participles Participle  An -ing verb tagged on the beginning or end of a sentence.  Notice the difference:  “The diamond-scaled snakes attacked their prey.”  “Hissing, slithering, and coiling, the diamond-scaled snakes attacked their prey.”  You can see how the participles evoke action.

10. Painting with Participles Participial phrases  A participle along with any modifiers that complete the image.  “Hissing their forked tongues and coiling their cold bodies, the diamond-scaled snakes attacked their prey.” Write two of your own sentences that include participial phrases.

11. Painting with Participles Participles Painted by Hemingway  Shifting the weight of the line to his left shoulder and kneeling carefully, he washed his hand in the ocean and held it there, submerged, for more than a minute, watching the blood trail away and the steady movement of the water against his hand as the boat moved. --- Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway Participles Painted by Students  Flying through the air on the wings of a dream, the Olympic long jumper thrust the weight of his whole body forward.  Melody froze, dripping with sweat, hoping with all her might that they wouldn’t hear the noise. A beam of light swung out into the darkness, searching.  The clown, appearing bright and cheerful, smiled and did his act with unusual certainty for someone who had just killed a man.

12. Painting with Participles Take a look at the following two pictures. Write down any words that come to your mind.  These words and phrases may or may not be related to the pictures. Write a descriptive paragraph about one of the photos using at least one participle or participial phrase.

15. Write two sentences that describe this image. Use at least one participle or participial phrase in each sentence.

16. Participles Continued Participles do not only end in -ing. Participles can also end in -ed, -en, -n, and -t depending on the tense of the verb. Participles may be either present or past. The present form ends in -ing (eating, running, describing). The past form usually ends in -ed (described). Note that some end in -en (eaten).  Screaming, I jumped out of bed. [Present participle]  Delighted, we accepted his invitation. [Past participle]

17. Passive and Active Voice Passive Voice occurs when the subject of the sentence is acted on by the verb. In Active Voice the subject is doing the acting.

18. Examples Passive forms of verb “be”: is, am, was, were, are SubjectPassive Verb Original Subj. The roof was repaired(by the carpenter) She was complimented(by someone) My survival was called a miracle (by the doctor) Victory was brought to England (by Wellington) Active Subject Verb Direct Obj. The Carpenterrepaired the roof. Someone complimented her. The doctor called my survival a miracle. Wellington brought England victory.

19. Action Pick an activity that you enjoy doing and describe, in detail, what takes place during that activity.  Think of sights, sounds, smells, feelings, and tastes that will help paint the image for your reader (imagery).  Try to avoid using is, am, are, was, and were (Passive Voice).  Try to use participles (verbs that end in –ing).

20. Painting with Absolutes An absolute is a two-word combination—a noun and an -ing or -ed verb added onto a sentence.  The cat climbed the tree.  Claws digging, feet kicking, the cat climbed the tree. Close your eyes and picture a mountain climber moving along a steep cliff.

21. Painting with Absolutes Now I am going to add to the sentence using a noun combined with an -ing participle.  The mountain climber edged along the cliff, hands shaking, feet trembling.

22. Painting with Absolutes Absolute Phrases  As with participle absolute phrases are also effective. Feet trembling on the snow-covered rocks, the mountain climber edged along the cliff.

23. Absolutes Mind racing, anxiety overtaking, the diver peered once more at the specimen. I glanced at my clock, digits glowing florescent blue in the inky darkness of my room. Jaws cracking, tongue curling, the kitten yawned tiredly, awaking from her nap.

24. Write two sentences for each one of these photographs.  Your first sentence must contain a participle (verb ending in -ing).  Your second sentence must contain an absolute (noun + verb ending in –ing).  Make them powerful.  These are due in three minutes.

25. The Short Story Plot  Plot is the structure of events within a story and the causal relationship between them.  The plot of a story is a chain of events, each event the result of some prior events, and the cause of some subsequent events. The plot of a story will extend beyond the bounds of the story itself. Setting  The time and place in which the events happen.

26. The Short Story Character  A person, an animal, a thing, or a natural force presented as a person - appearing in a literary work. Motivation - the stated or implied reason behind the character’s behavior. Characters may be motivated by external events or by inner needs or fears. Conflict  A struggle between two opposing forces or characters in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem. Internal - conflict between two elements struggling for mastery within a person. External - conflict between two persons, between a person and society, or between person and nature.  You want to begin with a character in crisis. The reader should find characters in difficulty within the first chapter, the first page, or (ideally) the first paragraph.

27. Assignment— Due Friday For Friday, I want you to bring five things for the short story that we will begin writing next week: 1. a title 2. the names of at least 3 characters 3. a setting (time and place) 4. at least one conflict for your characters 5. a summary (one paragraph) of your story

28. Appositive A noun that adds a second image to a preceding noun. An appositive restates the preceding noun. An appositive expands details.  The raccoon enjoys eating turtle eggs. -- No appositive  The raccoon, a scavenger, enjoys eating turtle eggs. “a scavenger” functions as an appositive. It renames the raccoon.

29. Appositive Phrases An appositive plus all its modifiers. If you add more details to an appositive the entire phrase becomes an appositive phrase.  The raccoon, a midnight scavenger who roams lake shorelines in search of food, enjoys eating turtle eggs.  “a midnight scavenger who roams lake shorelines in search of food” is the appositive phrase.

30. Appositives Continued The volcano, a ravenous God of fire, spewed forth lava and ash across the mountain. The old Navajo woman, a weak and withered lady, stared blankly. The waterfall, a tilted pitcher, poured the fresh, pure spray into the creek. The essence of natural beauty, tranquil and majestic, it seemed to enchant the forest with a mystical rush that echoed throughout the untouched virgin paradise. The fish, a slimy mass of flesh, felt the alligator’s giant teeth sink into his scales as he struggled to get away.

31. Write two sentences using an appositive or appositive phrase in each. Be prepared to share them with the class.

32. Punctuation Quotation Marks Use double quotation marks to enclose a direct quotation from speech or writing.  “Don’t dive from that rock,” she warned me.  It was Emerson who wrote, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” Remember not to set off indirect quotations.  She warned me not to dive from that rock.  It was Emerson who wrote that a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.

33. Punctuation Quotation Marks Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence.  He said, "Treat her as you would your own daughter.”  "Look out!" she screamed. "You almost ran into my child.” Note that in dialogue, each change of speaker is indicated by a new paragraph. “I’m going to drain the pool today, Mr. Gatsby. Leaves’ll start falling pretty soon, and then there’s always trouble with the pipes.” “Don’t do it today,” Gatsby answered. He turned to me apologetically. “You know, old sport, I’ve never used that pool all summer?”

34. Punctuation Quotation Marks Explanatory words such as he said are ordinarily set off from quotations by a comma when they precede the quotation. However, when the quotation that follows is grammatically closely related, it may be followed by no punctuation. These examples do not need a comma. The quoted material is closely related to the rest of the sentence.  I yelled “Stop!” and grabbed the wheel.  It was President Franklin Roosevelt who said that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

35. Punctuation Quotation Marks These examples should have a comma.  The old rancher said very quietly, “Under no circumstances will I tell you where the money is hidden.”  The chairman asked him, “Have I stated your motion clearly?”

36. Punctuation Quotation Marks Use a comma to separate an opening quotation from the rest of the sentence unless the quotation ends with a question mark or an exclamation point.  “The man is leaving,” he said with finality.  “Is the man leaving?” he asked.  “Oh, no!” he screamed hysterically. “My brother can’t be leaving.”

37. Participles, Absolutes, and Appositives Write a mini-story (100-150 words) using the following words in order: shell, comic book, postcard, rollerblades, mechanic, and streetlight. Use at least one participle, one absolute, and one appositive. Also, include some dialogue in your story. Mini-Story

38. Adjectives Shifted Out of Order Adjectives are words that describe or modify a noun or a pronoun. Adjectives shifted out of order amplify the details of an image by moving adjectives out of their normal place in the sentence to another place. This changes the rhythm of the sentence.

39. Adjectives Shifted Out of Order For example:  The large, red-eyed, angry bull moose charged the intruder.  The adjectives in this sentence (large, red-eyed, and angry) all come before the noun they are modifying. When an author wants to include adjectives in a descriptive sentence he or she will shift one or two or more adjectives after the noun.  The large bull moose, red-eyed and angry, charged the intruder.

40. More Examples And then, suddenly, in the very dead of the night, there came a sound to my ears, clear, resonant, and unmistakable.  The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Pavilion was a simple city, long and rectangular.  Alienist by Caleb Carr I could smell Mama, crisp and starched, plumping my pillow, and the cool muslin pillowcase touched both my ears as the back of my head sank into all those feathers.  A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck

41. More Examples Adjectives Out of Order by Students  The woman, old and wrinkled, smiled upon her newborn great- grandson with pride.  The boxer, twisted and tormented, felt no compassion for his opponent.  The cheetah, tired and hungry, stared at the gazelle, which would soon become his dinner. Take five minutes to write three of your own sentences demonstrating the correct use of adjectives shifted out of order. Be prepared to share them with the class.

42. Passive&Active Voice: Review Verbs of passive voice communicate no action. Passive Verbs: is, am, was, were, are, be, being, been. Passive  The runaway horse was ridden into town by an old, white- whiskered rancher. Active  The old, white-whiskered rancher rode the runaway horse into town. Passive  The grocery store was robbed by two armed men. Active  Two armed men robbed the grocery store.

43. Passive&Active Voice: Review Action verbs replace still photos with motion pictures. A writer can even bring an inanimate object to life by adding an action verb. Passive  The gravel road was on the left side of the barn. Active  The gravel road curled around the left side of the barn.

44. Assignment Write a short story. It will be due Tuesday, September 16. Use description, imagery, and dialogue. Your short story needs to be at least two pages long. Please double space your story and use a 12 point font. Also, use Times New Roman or Times font (or something else easy to read). You can include illustrations if you would like, but they DO NOT count towards your page total. Be sure you format your story correctly.

45. The Artist’s Eye Seeing Specific Detail  Specific Nouns Noun - person, place, thing, or idea General nouns - tree, boat, car, store, shoe Specific nouns - oak, yacht, Honda, Target, Nike Or you can add adjectives to make the nouns more specific - fishing boat, sporting goods store, worn-out wrestling shoes Specific nouns add detail - the reader can picture what a Target store looks like or what an oak tree looks like.

46. The Artist’s Eye Specific Nouns and Verbs - Example General nouns and verbs  The child ran out of the shelter toward the beach, went into the water, and swam. Specific nouns and verbs  The naked child ran out of the hide-covered lean-to toward the rocky beach at the bend in the river…She splashed into the river and felt rocks and sand sift under her feet as the shore fell off sharply. She dived into the cold water and came up sputtering, then reached out with sure strokes for the steep opposite bank. --Jean M. Auel

47. The Artist’s Eye Using Specific Verbs  Specific nouns capture the still images, but specific verbs project motion pictures.  Try to use verbs that portray a more specific action. Ryan looked at Betty. Ryan stared longingly at Betty’s beautiful blue eyes. He went downstairs. He raced downstairs to see what Santa Claus had left him for Christmas.

48. The Artist’s Eye Rewrite this passage to include more specific nouns and verbs.  They presently came out of the bushes. The coast was clear, so they got in the boat. They had lunch and smoked. As the sun went down, they went out on the water. Tom moved along the shore. He talked and then came back to shore shortly after dark.

49. The Artist’s Eye Mark Twain --  They presently emerged into the clump of sumac bushes, looked warily out, found the coast clear, and were soon lunching and smoking in the skiff. As the sun dipped toward the horizon, they pushed out and got under way. Tom skimmed up the shore through the long twilight, chatting cheerily with Huck, and landed shortly after dark.

50. Adding details with Metaphors and Similes Metaphor  A comparison of two unlike objects usually using the word “is” or “was” to make the comparison. Simile  A comparison of two unlike objects usually using the words “like” or “as.”

51. Simile Examples A pure white mist crept over the water like breath upon a mirror --- A. J. Cronin His eyes skewed round to meet yours and then cannoned off again like a pool-ball. --- Sean Virgo His smile was like that of a man with a terminal headache. --- T. C. Boyle Her white silk robe flowed over her like a milk shower. --- Harold Adams A desolate, cratered face, sooty with care like an abandoned mining town. ---Joseph Heller Love is like a wind stirring the grass beneath trees on a black night. --- Sherwood Anderson He felt like a deer stepping out before the rifle of a hunter. ---Piers Anthony It was as eerie as a man carving out his own epitaph—Wm. McIlvanney

52. Sample Metaphors Death is a dry leaf crumbling in your hand.--- James Smith Ignorance is a closed door.---Christina Todd Life is a mountainous train track.---Karen Jones A pet is a brother you never had.---Scott McGuire A seed is an unborn baby.---John Benton

53. Activity Write two similes (like or as) and two metaphors (is or was) of your own.

54. Activity Select a setting that you perceive as crowded with people and objects. Describe the setting using as much detail as possible. Describe the cafeteria during lunch period. Describe the people and place in as much detail as possible. If you want, you can include any dialogue that you overheard and/or you or your friends spoke.

55. Searching For Details There are photos on the following slides. With each photo try to describe what you see in as much detail as possible. Try to use some of the techniques we have learned in class to describe each photo. I will give you one to two minutes per slide.

60. Assignment Take one of your descriptions and modify it so that you can include it in this assignment. Write a 75 word mini-story set in one of the scenes we just observed. Include at least two of the techniques we have discussed:  Absolutes (branches rustling, trees falling)  Appositives (The forest, a green wonderland, was alive.)  Participles (Splashing and shouting, the children swam.)  Adjectives out of order (Green trees, old and majestic,…)  Metaphor (The old tree is a grandfather of the forest.)  Simile (The old tree was like a wise grandfather.)  Specific nouns ( Oak, Ponderosa Pine, Joshua Tree)  Specific verbs (skipped, sobbed, ranted)

61. Forms of Poetry Acrostic: Any poem whose lines' first letters vertically form either the alphabet, the poet's or a person’s name, a concept word, or even entire sentences, if the poem has sufficient length. These go back to the Babylonians, but many poets, even modern ones, have fooled around with them.

62. Acrostic - Example A Peace Sign By Paul McCann People need love care and friendship. Every word that we let slip. All the prayers that come from our heart Could be the sign for peace to start Everyone must play their part.

63. Acrostic - Activity Write an acrostic of your name ( first + middle or last ). The poem should describe you. *Write one more about anything ( LOVE, HATE etc. ). He rarely gets angry Except when he’s ill Loves all in his family Likes to read when it’s quiet and still English is his first love Not mathematics Grammar coos like a dove And A3 is full of problematics.

64. Syllables A word can be divided into syllables. Each syllable is a sound that can be said without interruption and is usually a vowel which can have consonants before and/or after it. SYLLABLE EXAMPLE:  Elevate has three syllables: el-ev-ate

65. Limericks The first, second and fifth lines each have eight syllables, and rhyme with each other. The third and fourth lines have only six syllables and a separate rhyme. To write your own limerick, begin by choosing a character and a place name. (Note here that if your place name is longer than one syllable you may expand your lines to nine instead of eight syllables.) Think of some words which rhyme with your place name. Because the limerick is meant to be humorous, your rhymes may be silly - for example:  Sydney; kidney; didn' he.

66. Limericks Use two of these words to end the first two lines of your limerick, which introduce your character. There was a young man from Sydney. Who only would eat steak and kidney. Next, think of a problem for your character, and present it in your two short lines: When the kidney ran out, Though he started to shout, Finally, finish with a resolution (ending) to your limerick, which should make your reader laugh.  He had to go hungry, didn' he?

67. Limericks Try this process to write limericks of your own. You will also find there are other ways of beginning your limerick:  A man with a very large nose...  While traveling one day in Peru...  I was startled one day by a hen... Despite these differences, the basic limerick pattern remains the same.

68. Assignment Write two humorous limericks.

69. Sonnet Terminology Iambic Pentameter: 10 syllables per line (5 are unstressed and 5 are stressed…da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM) Rhyme scheme: the arrangement of rhymes in a poem Quatrain: a 4 line group of poetry Couplet: a 2 line group of poetry Elizabethan or Shakespearean Sonnet: *14 Lines *10 Syllables Per Line *Every Other Line Rhymes *The Last Two Lines Rhyme

70. Example: Sonnet 130, by William Shakespeare My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; (A) Coral is far more red than her lips’ red; (B) If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; (A) If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. (B) I have seen roses damask’d, red and white, (C) But no such roses see I in her cheeks, (D) And in some perfumes is there more delight (C) Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. (D) I love to hear her speak, yet well I know (E) That music hath a far more pleasing sound; (F) I grant I never saw a goddess go, (E) My mistress when she walks treads on the ground. (F) And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare (G) As any she belied with false compare. (G)

71. Step One Select the subject matter for your Sonnet (love, hate, family, a prized possession etc.). Step Two Start Writing: *14 Lines *10 Syllables Per Line *Every Other Line Rhymes *The Last Two Lines Rhyme