We are not students of Dr. Frankenstein. Rather, we are writers exploring the figurative alchemy of breathing life into our work, so that our audience can understand our experience.
Descriptive details that appeal to the reader's senses enrich our writing, helping our readers to be right with us--hearing what we hear, smelling the aromas and odors around us, seeing what we see...
We will begin with reading excerpts from narrative essays written by scholar-artists in my class three years ago, identifying sensory details. I will challenge you to choose a weak detail and revise it so that it more effectively relates the writer's experience and helps the reader understand it.
Then we will practice using sensory details while closely examining an object I offer you, something from my home. (Yes, I do have an actual necklace molded from the vertebrae of a snake, a camel-etched inside a lead crystal from Kuwait, and tinctures--small cymbals-- I use for yoga and meditation, among the objects I have brought in for you.)I challenge you to do more than describe the object. Use your imagination.
- If your object made a noise, how would it sound?
- If it could talk, what would it say?
- If it emitted an odor or aroma, how would it smell?
- If it fell and broke into pieces, how would it look then?
Let's use our senses as we perceive the world around us. What do you notice?
I invite you to reply to this blog post with an example. Choose an object from your surroundings and write a phrase (or two or three) describing the object.
Now I invite you to use sensory details in writing your narrative essays, the Map of Your Creative Journey. Please see the assignment sheet for this GRASPS writing project, and choose 1 of the 3 prompts to focus your essay on a specific moment in time.
I look forward to reading your work.
Hi! This is Ariel Noriega! I wanted to describe to you a bottle of Nail Polish laying about my room. It has a gold color, that when you put it under direct sunlight, shines like the sun. Also, the smell of the nail polish is absolutely obtrusive to the nose, it hurts to smell it for to long, so the in order to use the object, I must be in a rush.
ReplyDeleteAriel, you are the first awesome scholar-artist to reply to this challenge. You provide clear details that effectively convey this gold nail polish so that we not only see it, but we perceive it in a whole new way, as you describe the way that it "shines like the sun." And then you follow with describing the smell...
ReplyDeleteWhat is the name of your gold polish? I always enjoy reading the names of nail polish and wonder how people come up with such inventive names as "Chinatown" or "Don't Walk Away Renee."
Hi, This is Danielle Martin and I wanted to describe my mom's hot Chili! As I was walking into the house, I could smell a delicious smell coming from my mom's kitchen. I walked into the Kitchen and saw a pot of boiling, red Chili in it. I asked my mom if I could I get a taste. She picked up a spoon and feed a little. Because I didn't blow enough it burned my tough but it was still some great Chili.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing like a bowl of hot chili to warm you up from the inside out on a cold day. Your mom's chili sounds delicious, Danielle. Do you eat chili over noodles or rice? I prefer noodles, with cheddar cheese grated on top and a generous dollop of sour cream.
ReplyDelete*baCHINK*
ReplyDeleteMy English muffin quickly emits from the toaster, sending heat waves out with it, as well.
I walk over to retrieve my beloved English muffin; protting at it, wary of the heated metal. I pinch the flaky edge of it, holding on for dear life and slightly flinching at even the least bit of warmth.
Quickly, I drop the muffin onto my plate. *tink*
I sit down, ready to feast, taking in the wispy scent of burnt (not too much, though) in the atmosphere of my kitchen.
The first bite is delicate; soft, alomst fluffly--but with a gentle crisp.
Needs something...
Cashew butter. =)
By the way, for the final draft of our creative journey essay, can it now be in the form of a poem?
~Lisa B
*almost
DeleteI too love English muffins, the little pools of warm butter collecting in the nooks and crannies--yum!
ReplyDeleteWe will discuss creating a collage poem and have the opportunity to practice tomorrow.