Literacy Speaks Volumes

Planning Your Story Professional writers plan their stories before they actually begin drafting. This is part of the prewriting stage of the writing process. Of course, writers still make changes along the way. Planning your story sounds boring, but it will make the drafting much easier. Imagining Characters If you want readers to pay attention to your story, your characters should seem alive. The best way to create alive characters is to describe them with sharp, specific details. You can make up details: a lavender kitten with one orange eye and one purple eye. Or you can borrow details from real people: a Civil War general who has your grandfather's twinkling green eyes. The following questions will help you imagine your characters and make them more solid. What does your character look like? What is your character's name? How would you describe the character's personality? What does the character love and hate? What does the character ...

Installment 2 is a companion to the following: Literacy Speaks Volumes: Writing Creatively Installment 1 : Imagining Other Worlds You probably like to go to the movies. Most people do. It's a chance to escape, just for a little while, to ... Ways to Write Creatively Write a television script about a child prodigy who longs for a normal life. Write a story about a Seminole girl who saves a panther cub in the Floriday Everglades. Write a song about a beautiful girl with long hair and sparkling eyes. Write a description of New York City in the year 4000. Write a poem comparing envy to a wasp's sting. Write a novel comparing the life of a big-city girl with that of a small-town boy. Write a poem about the amount of billboards that have been erected along a scenic highway. Write a play about how pride can drive away good friends. As you write, keep the following in mind:  A good piece of writing entertains the reader. A good piece of writing so...

Imagining Other Worlds You probably like to go to the movies. Most people do. It's a chance to escape, just for a little while, to other worlds. Movies allow our imaginations to run wild. Anything can happen. And, best of all, things usually come out okay in the end. Writers use their imagination to write movie scripts, novels, stories, plays, poems, and even comic strips. They tickle our own imagination by creating, and having us believe in, people and places that never were and never will be. They make us burst with excitement, fear, unreal expectations, and fun. Have you ever used your imagination to make up a story for a little child? Read the following myth to see how writers use their imagination to explain the world around them. This type of myth is called a creation story. Once upon a time, there were five wolf brothers who always traveled together to find meat. They would always share their meat with Coyote. One evening, Coyote saw the wolf brothers lo...