Transcript Image Grammar 5 Brushstrokes

When writing, much like in art, a
writer must use two different types
of perception:
the visual eye
and
the imaginative eye
The visual eye is what the writer
actually sees
The imaginative eye is what the
writer imagines
Many times writers must use the
imaginative eye to provide extra
details and create a stronger image
Most writers only use the visual eye,
however, good writers mix the
visual and imaginative eye as they
write.
Good writers…
Appeal to the five senses:
touch, feel, sound, smell, and taste
We will work on doing this
using brushstrokes.
How we will begin using brushstrokes
•We will begin all examples with a core sentence.
•A core sentences simply describes what we can
see is going on in the picture or in the moment.
•It should be rather literal
•For example, a good core sentence for the picture
below would be: The girl went horseback riding.
•After we have our core sentence, we can begin to
improve our writing by applying
brushstrokes.
Image Grammar Writing Prompt 1
Choose One
Describe a scene from your favorite movie.
Describe the last public place you went to.
Describe your favorite place to go.
Absolute Brush Strokes
Absolute: noun + -ing word
Noun: person, place, thing or idea
The car went into the field.
Engine smoking, gears grinding, the car went
into the field.
The car went into the field, wheels
squeaking, bumper dragging.
The mountain climber
edged along the cliff.
Lips quivering, hands shaking,
the mountain climber edged
along the cliff.
Now write your own
sentence based off this
picture with two absolutes!
1. Create a core sentence describing the image.
2. Paint two absolutes at the beginning and the end of
your sentence.
Activity 1: Description 1
1. Create a core sentence describing the image.
2. Paint two absolutes at the beginning and the end of
your sentence.
Activity 1: Description 2
1. Create a core sentence describing the image.
2. Paint two absolutes at the beginning and the end of
your sentence.
Activity 1: Description 3
Picture a nature scene in your mind. Imagine
the sensory details – the sounds, the smells,
the feel of items you touch. Using two
absolute brush strokes, write a sentence
describing what you imagine.
Activity 1: Description 4
Now it’s your turn!
Go back to the writing prompt you did and add
absolutes where you can.
You MUST add absolutes to your response.
Note: You may have to rework the way you
wrote your response.
Creating a mood using absolutes
Activity 1: Description 5
Appositives Brush Strokes
Appositives: add a second image of the subject to
the sentence.
The car went into the field.
The car, a 1936 Ford, went into the
field.
Brainstorm nouns that could be a substitute for the
word volcano.
God
Beast
Creature
Weapon
Machine
The volcano ravaged the mountainside.
The volcano, a vicious beast with claws of molten
lava, ravaged the mountainside.
1. Create a core sentence about the soldier.
2. Now add a second image of the soldier with an appositive.
Activity 2: Description 1
1. Create a core sentence about the little girl.
2. Now add a second image of the soldier with an appositive.
Activity 2: Description 2
Think of an interesting place that you saw on
television or in an advertisement. Picture the
scene and write two sentences describing
what you saw, using an appositive brush
stroke in the description.
Activity 2: Description 3
Participle Brush Strokes
an ing phrase
What is a phrase?
A phrase is a group of related words that
does not contain both a verb and a
subject; therefore, it isn’t a complete
sentence.
Participle Brush Strokes – an ing phrase
The car went into the field.
Sliding on the loose gravel, the car went into the
field.
The skier raced down the steep slope.
Leaping high over jagged ice rocks, the skier
raced down the steep slope.
The skier raced down the steep slope.
Jumping high, breathing hard, thinking fast, the skier
raced down the steep slope.
Develop a core sentence
about this image.
Add a Participle Brush
Stroke to your core
sentence.
Activity 3: Description 1
If you used a long
participial brush stroke to
describe this image try
painting the same image
with three short
participles.
If you used three short
participles, try one long
participle brush stroke.
Activity 3: Description 2
Think of a dramatic event you observed or were
in: an athletic event, a car crash, an argument.
Describe the event in a sentence that includes a
participle brush stroke.
Activity 3: Description 3
Think of an action scene in a movie or television
show that you recently watched.
Use a participle brush stroke in a sentence that
captures a snapshot of that scene.
Activity 3: Description 4
Adjectives Out-of-Order
What is an adjective?
A word that describes a noun
Examples:
Small, giant, warm, bright, short, cute
Adjectives Out-of-Order
The car went into the field.
The car, dented and rusty, went into the field.
Adjectives Out-of-Order Brush Strokes
The _____________, ____________, _____________
pit bull turned toward the intruders.
Brainstorm:
List 6 adjectives that could describe a pit bull?
long
lean
beastly strong
gruesome
mighty
Adjectives Out-of-Order Brush Strokes
You can also shift the placement of the adjectives in
the sentence to give more of an effect.
The _____________ pit bull, ____________ and
_____________ turned toward the intruders.
Adjectives Out-of-Order Brush Strokes
Description 1.1
The ________, ________, ________ baby
leopard listened to his father’s commanding
roar.
Brainstorm a list of 6
adjectives you might
use in this sentence
Image Blanks
•Next eliminate adjectives writers call “image
blanks.”
•Image blanks are adjectives that don’t
create a picture in your mind.
•Examples: neat, beautiful, fascinating,
and horrible
•These sorts of words label how you feel,
but they don’t paint an image.
Image Adjectives
Description 1.2
•Image adjectives leave a picture in your mind.
•Examples: tiny, red, furry, narrow, toothless,
and sharp
•Now revise your sentences about the leopard
using only image adjectives.
Image Adjectives Out-of-Order
Description 1.3
Use this sentence template to create a
sentence with adjectives out-of-order.
The ______________ baby leopard,
_____________ and ____________, listened
to his father’s commanding
roar.
Adjectives Out-of-Order
Description 2
Using the sentence below. Rework the adjectives to
where they appear out of order.
His ________
soiled, wrinkled,
_________ calloused
___________ hands portrayed a life
of hard labor.
1st: Identify the adjectives.
2nd: Create a new order for them in the sentence that
will have a greater impact.
Adjectives Out-of-Order
Description 3
Fill in the blanks with adjectives that create a visual
image.
The _____________ jogger, _______________ and
__________________, slowed from a fast sprint to a
slow walk.
“Nothing is as critical as the
use of action verbs. This is
absolutely – utterly,
completely, with shrieking
boldface and CAPITAL
LETTERS – CENTRAL to good
writing.”
- Jon Franklin, two time Pulitzer Prize winner
Being Verb:
The car WENT into the field.
•What image do you get in your head when
reading this sentence?
•Is it a powerful image?
Adding an active verb:
The car CHUGGED into the
field.
•What image do you get in your head when
reading this sentence?
•Is it a powerful image?
Linking Verbs and Helping Verbs:
is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been, has,
have, had, do, does, did, shall, will, should,
would, may, might, must, can, could
Eliminating Linking Verbs and
Helping Verbs
These verbs show no emotion and
give no help in adding an image.
Eliminate as many of these verbs as
possible in the following passage.
You’ll have to replace these verbs with
action verbs.
Eliminating Linking Verbs and
Helping Verbs
I went on an African safari last year. While
there, I had a scare. People were yelling and
screaming because an angry rhino was on
the loose. I thought I would die. But I got
through it.
Eliminating Linking Verbs and
Helping Verbs
I journeyed to Africa for a safari last year.
People ran scared and screaming because
an angry rhino was on the loose. Faced with
death, I forged through it.
Eliminating Linking Verbs and Helping
Verbs by Combining Sentences
Sometimes you can eliminate being verbs by
simply combining two sentences.
Eliminating Linking Verbs and Helping
Verbs by Combining Sentences
Derek Jeter recently signed a six-year
contract for $88.5 million. He ___
is one of the
Yankees’ best short-stops.
How can we combine these sentences to get
rid of the being verb?
Eliminating Linking Verbs and Helping
Verbs by Combining Sentences
Derek Jeter, one of the Yankees’ best shortstops, recently signed a six-year contract for
$88.5 million.
Brushstrokes can Replace
Linking Verbs
The storm woke me in the middle of the
night. The lightning was striking. The
thunder was exploding like grenades.
Any ideas???
Brushstrokes can Replace
Linking Verbs
Lightning striking, thunder exploding like
grenades, the storm woke me in the middle
of the night.