1. Descriptive Language and Narrative Techniques
Professor Danielsen

2. Warm Up Question
On a piece of paper or in your notebook, please describe your all time favorite meal using the 5 senses. (Sight, Sound, Smell, Touch, Taste.)
After you are finished, please share with a partner.

3. Importance of Description and Narrative Techniques
Makes your story:
memorable
vivid
engaging
possibly persuasive

4. Basic Story Structure

5. Word KNOWLEDGE Meaning(s) Form (Written and Spoken)
To know a word you must know:
Meaning(s)
Definition (denotative v. connotative)
Form (Written and Spoken)
Grammatical Behavior
how a word behaves in a sentence or with what inflections
Collocations
words that usually go together
Register
formality/informality
Associations
meanings associated with word
Frequency
how common a word is

6. Examples: Present Beseech Record Betrothed
“Large sums of people were present.”
Silverware
Hot water heater
cloud
Big bucks
access
Stars are out
mouse
Lights are out
Wear; ware
homeworks
weed
“I spilled my intestines to my therapist.”

7. Writing Descriptive Details
Details – be specific!
Ex: dog -> golden retriever
Sensory Details
sounds, odors, tastes, physical sensations, and sight
Objective v. Subjective:
Objective: use neutral, unbiased language removing personal opinions
Subjective: allow writer’s emotions to come through (possibly using loaded words, etc)
Vantage Point:
stationary or moving
Dominant impression
creating an overall feeling

8. Model sentence enhancing:
The car pulled into the parking space.
(soo boring)
The shiny ebony Mercedez-Benz with glorious chrome spinning rims, black leather interior, and a Swarovski crystal-studded license plate Tokyo-drifted into the very last available parking space on the 6th floor of the East Nutwood Parking Structure at Cal State Fullerton.

9. Activity: Sentence Enhancing
I was in the park, there were birds flying and people walking.
In groups of 3-4 people, expand the sentence using one of the following Netflix genres using as much descriptive detail as possible:
1: Horror (Suspense/Slasher/Zombie/Vampire/etc)
2: Comedy(Romantic/Zany/Slapstick)
3: Drama / Film Noir (hardboiled detective etc)
4: Action/Adventure (Westerns/Espionage/Heist)
5: Sports (Martial Arts/Baseball/Basketball)
6: Animation (Disney/Tim Burton/Looney Tunes/Miyazaki/Anime)
7: Documentary

10. Dialogue Why add dialogue? Brings in voices other than your own
Shows rather than tells about people or places
How to add dialogue:
Spoken dialogue: (Punctuation, Indentation, Signal phrases)
I asked, “Do you think you can finish all that pizza yourself?”
“Every pizza is a personal pizza if you try hard enough,” she replied.
Internal monologue: (Italics, Signal phrases)
Every pizza is a personal pizza if you try hard enough, I thought.
Interviews: (Transcription)
Interviewer: Do you think you can finish all that pizza by yourself?
Woman: Every pizza is a personal pizza if you try hard enough.