REVISING WRITING

Creating images, emotions, and voice with your words

USE STRONG VOCABULARY

• Have your vocabulary list at your side -use words when they are appropriate, not if they stick out.

• Use a thesaurus to eradicate repetition not to sound sophisticated

• stay away from empty words that convey no image: pretty, beautiful, nice

GRAB THE READER

• Create catchy, cool first line to entice reader.

• End with conscious power.

• Create a believable, clear voice.

CREATE SCENES NOT SUMMARIES

• Use believable dialogue. Stay away from “said.”

• Use all senses to pull reader into the scene

• Show don’t tell: details, details, details!

ADD DESCRIPTION!

• Infuse writing with detailed adjectives and adverbs.

• Create novel metaphors and similes - these clever comparisons make the reader visualize.

• Use specific concrete images that you could photograph, not vague or abstract ones.

• Use as many senses as possible.

ALTER SENTENCE STRUCTURE FOR FLUIDTY

• Look at all sentence beginnings. Start with prep. phrase, adv., adj., participial phrases, and adv. clause for change in structure.

• Change length of sentences: some complex, some very short for emphasis.

CHECK ALL VERBS

• Omit all boring verbs: went, come...

• Seek verbs that create images: trudge, clamber, undulate, grope, wriggle, simmer

• Cooking verbs are often descriptive and metaphoric: dice, blend, percolate, slice...

KNOW YOUR CHARACTER

• Be able to give a clear visual description - weave the details in through dialogue and narrative

• Know what clothes your character would wear, what s/he would eat for breakfast, for a snack…

• Know what your character’s strengths and weaknesses are

USE FORESHADOWINGAND SYMBOLISM

• Think about clever names for characters that might reveal something about them

• Plant seeds if something bad is going to happen through weather, dialogue, use of color, etc.

• Use seasons and weather symbolically

• Choose Biblical references: rains to wash away sins or evil, gardens as innocent, etc.

POINT OF VIEW

• Consciously choose a point of view: first person, third person, or third person limited

• Try changing it after you finish to see which point of view creates a stronger piece

CHOOSE FORMAT

• Think about alternative ways of telling the story:– letters– newspaper articles– e-mails– poetry