Freewriting

I remember
Write lots of small memories, exploring the emotions associated with those memories Be specific

 Choose one sentence that doesnt seem to fit what you meant.
Copy it on a new line Circle the word(s)/phrase(s) that dont fit your meaning Freewrite, trying to explain what you really wanted to say Now, rewrite the sentence

From The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber

They went out through the revolving doors that made a faintly derisive whistling sound when you pushed them. It was two blocks to the parking lot. At the drugstroe on the corner she said, Wait here for me. I forgot something. I wont be a minute. She was more than a minute. Walter Mitty lighted a cigarette. It began to rain, rain with sleet in it. He stood up against the wall of the drugstore, smokingHe put his shoulders back and his heels together. To hell with the handkerchief, said Walter Mitty scornfully. He took one last drag on his cigarette and snapped it away. Then, with that faint, fleeting smile playing about his lips, he faced the firing squad; erect and motionless, proud and disdainful, Walter Mitty the Undefeated, inscrutable to the last.

From Sleepy Hollow

In this by-place of nature there abode, some thirty years since, a worthy wight of the name of Ichabod Crane, a native of Connecticut, who "tarried" in Sleepy Hollow for the purpose of instructing the children of the vicinity. He was tall and exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves, and feet that might have served for shovels. His head was small, and flat at top, with huge ears, large green glassy eyes, and a long snipe nose, so that it looked like a weathercock perched upon his spindle neck, to tell which way the wind blew. To see him striding along on a windy day, with his clothes bagging and fluttering about him, one might have mistaken him for some scarecrow eloped from a cornfield.

From Peter Pan

pg. 1 You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end. pg.2 Mr. Darling was frightfully proud of her, but he was very honorable, and he sat on the edge of Mrs. Darling's bed, holding her hand and calculating expenses, while she looked at him imploringly. pg 181 The bearded man who doesn't know any story to tell his children was once John.

From Teddy by J.D. Salinger

"I mean they don't seem able to love us just the way we are. They don't seem able to love us unless they can keep changing us a little bit. They love their reasons for loving us almost as much as they love us, and most of the time more."

Mark Twain's The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.

I found Simon Wheeler dozing comfortably by the barroom stove of the old, dilapidated tavern in the ancient mining camp of Angel's, and I noticed that he was fat and bald-headed, and had an expression of winning gentleness and simplicity upon his tranquil countenance. He ketched a frog one day, and took him home, and said he cal'klated to edercate him; and so he never done nothing for three months but set in his back yard and learn that frog to jump. Why, I've seen him set Dan'l Webster down here on this floorDan'l Webster was the name of the frogand sing out, "Flies, Dan'l, flies!" and quicker'n you could wink, he'd spring straight up, and snake a fly off'n the counter there, and flop down on the floor again as solid as a gob of mud, and fall to scratching the side of his head with his hind foot as indifferent as if he hadn't no idea he'd been doin' any more'n any frog might do.

 Language comes alive through vivid detail Use all five senses, not just sight
Sight Touch Taste Smell Sound

From The Old Man and the Sea

I can remember the tail slapping and banging and the thwart breaking and the noise of the clubbing...and the noise of you clubbing him like chopping a tree down (12)

From The Old Man and the Sea

When the wind was in the east a smell came across the harbor from the shark factory; but today there was only the faint edge of the odour because the wind had backed into the north and then dropped off (11-12).

From The Old Man and the Sea

He chewed it and noted its quality and its good taste. It was firm and juicy, like meat, but it was not red. There was no stringiness in it and he knew it would bring the highest price in the market (106).

From The Old Man and the Sea

Here he describes a Portuguese man-of-war the old man sees: the purple, formalized, iridescent, gelatinous bladder of a Portuguese man-of-war floating close beside the boat. It turned on it side and then righted itself. It floated cheerfully as a bubble with its long deadly purple filaments trailing a yard behind it in the water (35). Heres another vivid image: they passed a great island of Sargasso weed that heaved and swung in the light sea as though the ocean were making love with something under a yellow blanket (72).

Be specific!
Dont say fruit
Say Pomegranate

Learn the names of things around youplants, flowers, tools, etc. Dont say, The house smelled good
The house smelled of Pine-Sol and baked bread

Original detail
Details from things you have experienced
Transplant to other locations AKA use the layout of a store youve been to, to describe a fictional store

The right detail

What one or two details will render the rest of the room for the reader?

Word choice
Verbs and nouns are the strongest
Use active verbs Use specific nouns

Use adjectives sparingly Use adverbs even less

Horoscopes
Group 1: Aquarius Try to take greater care today -especially when you're handling work or business interactions. It's not that you are at great risk, simply that you are more likely to spot flaws now. Group 2: Scorpio Can you keep a secret? You certainly think you can. And that talent is sure to be tested more than once today. Try to ensure that you speak only to the right people throughout the day.

Elaborating sentences
Begin with a simple sentence of action and write a paragraph that provides a richness of concrete detail to show the meaning of the sentence
He was afraid of the dark.

He fell and assessed the damage. The men looked me over. She was cleaning the birds.

This is an object of great importance to someone. Write a paragraph describing the object as sensuous, beautiful, tempting Write a paragraph describing it through details that make it seem repellent

Describe a barn as seen by a man whose son has just been killed in a war. Do not mention the son, or war, or death.

Next week:
Read A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garca Mrquez Email me 3-4 pages of your stories/a summary by Friday, October 11