Writer's Craft.pptx

This presentation is about Writer's craft as one of the topics in Creative Writing.

1. Writers’ Craft The Art of Writing

2. What makes a good story great?

3. Writers’ Craft T he specific techniques and tools writers use to capture reader’s attention and convey meaning.

4. Ideas 01 “Sometimes the ideas just come to me. Other times I have to sweat and almost bleed to make ideas come. It’s a mysterious process, but I hope I never find out exactly how it works. I like a mystery, as you may have noticed.” —  J.K. Rowling

5. Is the heart of a composition—the message and its meaning Writers pick a topic they’re knowledgeable about and stick to it. IDEAS

6. — Stephen King “Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. It is this genuine caring, not your games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive element in your style.”

7. 01 Choosing a Topic Writers select a topic that’s personally meaningful and important. Focusing the Topic Writers address the topic with a clear sense of purpose 02 Identifying the Genre Writers choose the genre—biography, story, or letter, for example—that best suits their purpose. 03 Developing the Topic Writers expand and clarify the topic by including details to make their compositions more vivid. 04 COMPONENTS

8. — Natalie Goldberg, Chicken and In love “Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.”

9. Organization 02  “Ideas are cheap. It’s the execution that is all important.” — George R.R. Martin

10. Provides the skeleton or structure for a composition, and when it’s effective, this enhances ideas by providing readers with a clear sense of direction . Elements of story structure, expository text structures, and poetic forms provide organization. Writers also use flashbacks, alternating or different voices in each chapter to provide organization. ORGANIZATION

11. — Aldous Huxley, Brave New World "Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly -- they'll go through anything. You read and you're pierced." 

12. 01 Crafting the Lead Writers create interesting leads to quickly grab their readers’ attention. Structuring the Composition Writers present ideas logically using structures and genre patterns they’ve learned. 02 Providing Transitions Between Ideas Writers use transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and sections of a text to clarify the organization and signal relationships among ideas. 03 Ending With a Satisfying Conclusion Writers wrap up their compositions thoughtfully. They satisfy readers and answer important questions. 04 COMPONENTS

13. VOICE 03 “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” —Robert Frost

14. The writer’s distinctive style. The quality that breathes life into writing. Each writer’s voice is unique. “Voice allows the reader to hear an individual human being speak from the page” - Murray VOICE

15. 01 Choosing Personally Meaningful Topics When writers care about their topics, their voices are stronger Writing With Passion When writers are passionate about a topic, their voices have more energy. 02 Writing With Knowledge Writers’ confidence shines through their writing when they understand what they’re writing about and can use related terminology. 03 Adopting a Tone A writer’s tone is his or her opinion or feeling about a topic; it ranges from serious to silly and casual to formal. 04 COMPONENTS

16. WORD CHOICE 04 .

17. Writers choose words carefully to convey the precise meaning they intend. Word Choice

18. 01 Painting a Picture With Words Writers use descriptive language, including words representing the five senses, to bring their writing to life. Choosing Precise Words Writers select specific, accurate, powerful, and engaging words to add depth, enhance meaning, and clarify understanding 02 Energizing Writing With Strong Verbs Writers add energy by avoiding all forms of the verb to be and replace common action words, such as ate, said, or walked, with more descriptive ones, such as gulped, insisted, or trudged. 03 Playing With Words Writers use poetic devices and other inventive techniques to evoke images and make their writing memorable 04 COMPONENTS

19. SENTENCE FLUENCY 05 "So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads." -   Dr. Seuss

20. Sentence fluency is the rhythm and flow of language. Writers vary the length and structure of sentences so their writing has a natural cadence and is easy to read aloud. They vary how they begin sentences, use sentence fragments sparingly, and invent natural-sounding dialogue to add style Sentence Fluency

21. 01 Achieving a Rhythmic Flow Writers invent natural-sounding dialogue and use transition words so that their writing flows smoothly. Constructing Effective Sentences Writers carefully craft complete sentences that enhance the text’s meaning. 02 Varying Sentence Patterns Writers vary the structure of sentences, including types of sentences, sentence beginnings, and sentence lengths, to create a natural cadence. 03 Breaking the Rules Sometimes writers break the rules and use sentence fragments, nonstandard English, or slang to create fluency. 04 COMPONENTS

22. CONVENTIONS 06 "The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do. " - Thomas Jefferson

23. Refers to the correct application of the rules of Standard English spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar and usage. When these conventions are used effectively, they reinforce writers’ ideas and enhance the readability of compositions. Writers check each word, sentence, and paragraph as they prepare their pieces for publication. Conventions

24. 01 Spelling Words Conventionally Writers spell words correctly as a courtesy to readers. Paragraphing Accurately Writers use paragraphing to highlight the composition’s organization and hierarchy of ideas. 02 Punctuating Effectively Writers use within-sentence and end-of-sentence punctuation correctly to make their compositions more reader-friendly. 03 Capitalizing Correctly Most of the time, writers capitalize proper nouns and adjectives correctly; sometimes, however, they avoid using capital letters, especially in poems. 04 COMPONENTS

25. 05 Applying Standard English Grammar and Usage Rules Writers use Standard English and adhere to mainstream usage rules unless they’re writing dialogue. 03 COMPONENTS

26. PRESENTATION 07  "It is perfectly okay to write garbage as long as you edit brilliantly." -   C. J. Cherryh

27. Means making the final copy of a composition look good. The way the text is formatted enhances readers’ ability to understand the message. Writers use titles, headings, margins, and white space to emphasize their purpose, and they integrate the words and illustrations and make clear connections between them. Presentation

28. — Stephen King "When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt; revising a story down to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but it must be done." 

29. 01 Adding Text Features Writers add titles, headings, and bullets to guide readers through the text and experiment with font styles and symbols to represent words. Arranging Words and Illustrations on the Page Writers consider margins, headings, paragraph breaks, and placement of titles and illustrations because they want to make the best use of white space to enhance their presentation. 02 Using Legible Handwriting When writers handwrite their final copies, their goal is legibility. 03 Using Word Processing Effectively Writers want their compositions to be “reader-friendly” so they choose legible fonts for their compositions, make sure the font size is appropriate, and limit the number of fonts they use on a page. 04 COMPONENTS

30. 01 Adding Text Features Writers add titles, headings, and bullets to guide readers through the text and experiment with font styles and symbols to represent words. Arranging Words and Illustrations on the Page Writers consider margins, headings, paragraph breaks, and placement of titles and illustrations because they want to make the best use of white space to enhance their presentation. 02 Using Legible Handwriting When writers handwrite their final copies, their goal is legibility. 03 Using Word Processing Effectively Writers want their compositions to be “reader-friendly” so they choose legible fonts for their compositions, make sure the font size is appropriate, and limit the number of fonts they use on a page. 04 COMPONENTS

31. 01 Adding Text Features Writers add titles, headings, and bullets to guide readers through the text and experiment with font styles and symbols to represent words. Arranging Words and Illustrations on the Page Writers consider margins, headings, paragraph breaks, and placement of titles and illustrations because they want to make the best use of white space to enhance their presentation. 02 Using Legible Handwriting When writers handwrite their final copies, their goal is legibility. 03 Using Word Processing Effectively Writers want their compositions to be “reader-friendly” so they choose legible fonts for their compositions, make sure the font size is appropriate, and limit the number of fonts they use on a page. 04 COMPONENTS