Saturday, January 07, 2006

Use Prepositions, Sensory Detail to Jazz it Up

Keywords:

Prepositions, creativity, question words, writers block, writing tips, poetry, prose, sensory description


Keywords!

I have started a new practice in my writing. I add keywords, a short description, and take a word count. This helps me focus more narrowly on what the message or theme of the piece is, and keeps me more on track. What was I trying to say; can I put it in a few words? An additional benefit is when someone requests a piece, you are ready to submit. It is spell-checked, counted, with a keyword list, and short description.


Sensory Stimulators

Do you need a fun and easy way to stimulate more sensory description in your writing? Are you stuck with writer’s block? Unstick yourself with good ol’ prepositions and question words that you learned in seventh grade English class.


Underneath the Waterfall

You are standing in the midst of a rushing waterfall with your arms open, surrounded by prepositions and sensory descriptors. Remember the preposition and questions words your English teacher told you were so important? Well, they still are. Use them when constructing a poem to bring out rich sensory description.


Water Words

I have a picture of a woman standing under a waterfall, reaching up to catch the mist. As an exercise in a writing workshop I attended, we were instructed to label a waterfall photo with "water words." We began with prepositions-under the waterfall, beneath it, around, through....it was fun. It is a great exercise for sensory description.


Label the Photo with Prepositions

Start with a beautiful photograph of a place you have visited. Label the photo with prepositions. Remember those position words like around, through, and underneath? You can search online by putting in the words, preposition list to stimulate a list to draw from.


Okay, you have labeled the prepositions, now add those question words: who, what, why, when, where, and how? Let’s say the picture is of a waterfall and you are standing in the buff in the photo. Where are you standing? In the midst of the waterfall, behind it, in front of it; are you running through it? Think position.  Begin to add sensory descriptions. How do you feel about the experience? What does the water do, and how does it do it?


What Does Water Do?

Create a list of things that water does. It trickles, gurgles, seeps, swallows, evaporates, glistens, wets, and expands; the list is endless. How does it trickle, gurgle and seep? Does it trickle on your face; does it mist you with tenderness or pound you with fury. What is the emotion of it? Think touch and feel.


Use the Senses

What do you hear, see, feel, touch, taste and smell? How does your waterfall flow? With droplets plopping on your face, or like a rushing river over your stomach and past your navel? Does it bubble and splash with joy or roar like a river? Does it lap or trickles and tickle? .Where does it flow? Between your toes, over your breast, beneath the water, or trickle between your toes?


Who, What, Why, Where, When, How?

Why are you standing in the waterfall; what led you to this glorious place? Who are you? What is the season, the weather, the environment around the waterfall? When did this occur in time and place? Using questions words, along with a few prepositions is a good way to arouse the senses to jumpstart your creativity in writing poetry or prose.

2 comments:

Joan Beverly said...

I looked at your site, cute van.

Joan Beverly said...

No hable espanol.