Creative Writing Lesson 2 & 3: Sensory Images and Imagery

Lesson 1: Imaginative Writing vs Other Forms of Writing Sensory Image

An apprehension of an object thought or emotion through the
What is Creative Writing? senses.

 Creative = Art/Artistic Writing + Skill Imagery

 It is any form of writing which is written with creativity of  A literary device that refers to the use of figurative
mind. languages to evoke sensory experience.
 The purpose is to express something.

Tactile Imagery
Imaginative Writing (Creative)  Describing something you can touch or feel using your skin.

 Any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, Visual Imagery
journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature.  Describing things you see using your naked eyes.

Expository Writing Auditory Imagery

 Expository writing’s main purpose is to explain. (without voicing  Describing things related to sounds, music, noise or silence.
opinions)
Gustatory Imagery
Descriptive Writing  Describing things related to taste.
 Descriptive writing’s main purpose is to describe.
Olfactory Imagery
Persuasive Writing  Describing things that are related to smell.
 Persuasive writing’s main purpose is to convince. (with opinions
and biases of the author) Kinesthetic Imagery
 Describing things with movements and motions.
Narrative Writing
 Narrative writings’ main purpose is to tell a story. Organic Imagery
 Describing things that can be felt or related to internal
sensations. Depicting the feelings through the actions.
 Note : Words with similar denotations can have ‘positive’ ‘neutral’
Lesson 4: Diction or ‘negative’ connotations.

Diction
 It refers to the choice of words and style of expression that
an author makes and uses in a work of literature.

8 Types of Diction Example:

Formal Diction - found in professional texts, and legal papers. WORD DENOTATION CONNOTATION

Informal Diction - more conversational. Group a number of people Neutral

Gang an organized group of criminals. Negative
Pedantic Diction - highly detailed or academic, Club an organization that has a particular interest. Positive

Colloquial Diction - informal nature generally represent a certain

region or time. Factors of Diction
1. The word has to be right and accurate.
Slang Diction - it can be a new word, words that take on a new 2. Words should be appropriate to the context in which they are
thing. used.
3. The choice of words should be such that the listener or reader
Abstract Diction - things the reader cannot experience through understands easily.
their five senses.

Concrete Diction - the use of words for their literal meanings.

Poetic Diction - lyrical words and sometimes set to a beat or

rhyme relate to a specific theme reflected in a poem.

 Denotation and Connotation

Denotation - dictionary/literal meaning.

Connotation - far from the shades of literal meaning.
Lesson 5: Figure of Speech A figure of speech that utilizes extreme exaggeration to emphasize a
certain quality or feature.
Figure of Speech Example: I would give up everything for you.
 It is a phrase or word having different meanings than its literal
meanings.  Irony
Contradictory statements or situations reveal a reality that is
Difference of Idioms and Figure of Speech different from what appears to be true.
Example: It is good of you shaming me in front of many people.
Idiom
 Its nonliteral meaning is already familiar to speakers of the  Paradox
language. A figure of speech that appears to be self-contradictory but actually
reveals something truthful.
Figure of Speech Example: War is the key to have peace.
 It is possible to understand a figure of speech even if you have
never heard it before. Difference of Irony and Paradox

Irony
Different Types of Figure of Speech Incongruity between what a person expects and what happens.

 Simile Paradox
An expression that uses the words “like” or “as’ to describe Clear contradiction.
something by comparing it with something else.
Example: You’re pretty like the sunset.
 Pun
 Metaphor A figure of speech that contains a play on words, such a using words
Compares two different things without the use of the terms “like” or that mean one thing to mean something else or words that sounds
“as”. alike or means of changing meaning.
Example: You are my sunshine. Example : Seven days without pizza makes one weak.

 Personification  Oxymoron
A figure of speech that attributes human characteristics to A figure of speech that connects two opposing ideas, usually in two-
something that is not human. words phrases, to create a contradictory effect.
Example: The kettle whistled impatiently. Example : Big baby

 Hyperbole  Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part of something stands for the whole
Example : “I've got wheels” for “I have a car” and the phrase "hired Lesson 6: Poetry: Structure and Elements
hands" can be used to refer to workers.

 Euphemism Poetry
Refers to figurative language designed to replace words or phrases  Poetry is a type of literature that conveys a thought, describes a
that would otherwise be considered harsh, impolite, or unpleasant. scene or tells a story in a concentrated, lyrical arrangement of
Example : I have to spend a penny. (I have to urinate) words.

 Onomatopoeia
Refers to a word that phonetically mimics or resembles the sound of Structure and Elements
the thing it describes.
Example : buzz - sound of a bee. Form
A poem may or may not have a specific number of lines, ryhme
 Antithesis scheme, and/or metrical pattern, but it can still be labeled according
Two opposites ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a to its form or style.
contrasting effect.
Example : It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Types of Poetic Forms
1. Blank Verse - poetry written with a precise meter- almost iambic
 Anaphora pentementer- that does not rhyme.
Features of repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of
succesive sentences, phrases , or clauses. 2. Rhymed Poetry - in contrast to blank verse, ryhmed poems
Example : Give much, give often, give freely. rhyme by definition, although their scheme varies.

 Assonance 3. Free Verse - free verse poetry is poetry that lacks a consistent
A literary device in which the repetition of similar vowel sounds takes rhyme scheme, metrical pattern, or musical form.
place in two or more words in proximity to each other within a line
of poetry or prose. 4. Epics - an epic poem is lengthy, narrative work of poetry. These
Example : The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain. (the repetition long poems typically detail extraordinary feats and adventures of
of similar vowel is -ai) characters from a distant past.

 Alliteration 5. Narrative Poetry - similar to an epic, a narrative poem tells a

A literary device that reflects repetition in two or more nearby words story.
of initial consonant words.
Example : But a better butter makes a batter better. (leter b is the 6. Pastoral Poetry - a pastoral poetry is one that concerns the
consonant letter that repeats) natural word, rural life, and lanscapes.
7. Haiku - a haiku is three-line poetic form orinating in Japan. The Couplet 2 lines
first line has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables, and Tercet 3 lines
the third line again has five syllables. Quatrain 4 lines
Cinquain 5 lines
8. Sonnet - a sonnet is a 14 line poem, typically (but not Sestet (Sexain) 6 lines
exclusively) concerning the topic of love. Septet 7 lines
Octatve 8 lines
9. Limerick - a limerick is a five-line poem that consists of a single
stanza, an AABA rhyme scheme, and whose subject is short, pithy
tale or description. Sound Patterns

10. Ballad - a ballad (or ballade) is a form of narrative verse that Rhyme
can be either poetic or musical. It typically follows a pattern or  The repetition of similar sounds. The most common kind of
ryhmed quatrains. rhyme is the end rhyme, which occurs at the end of two or more
lines.
11. Soliloquy - a soliloquy is a monologue in which a character
speaks to him or herself, expressing inner thoughts that an audience Internal Rhyme
might not otherwise know.  Rhyme that occurs in the middle of the line. Sometimes reffered
to as “middle rhyme”.
12. Lyric poetry - a formal type of poetry which expresses
personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. Continous Rhyme
Examples are your Sonnets, Ode and Elegies  Rhyme that has aaaa bbbb cccc scheme per stanza.

Rhyming Couplets
13. Elegies - an elegy is a poem that reflects upon death or loss.  Rhyme that has aa bb cc scheme per stanza.
Traditionally, it contains themes of mourning, loss, and reflection.
Alternate Rhyme
14. Ode - much like an elegy, an ode is a tribute to its subject,  Rhyme that has abab cdcd scheme per stanza.
although the subject need not to be dead-or even sentient.
Embracing Rhyme
Stanza  Rhyme that has abba cddc scheme per stanza.
 A stanza is used to describe the main building blocks of a poem.
 It is a series of lines grouped together in order to divide poem. Unbounded or ballad quatrain Rhyme
 Rhyme that has abac or abcb scheme per stanza.
Types of Stanzas
Chain Rhyme
 Rhyme that has aba bcb cdc scheme per stanza.

Tail Rhyme What are the Essential Elements of Poetry?

 Rhyme that has aab ccb scheme per stanza.  Tone
 Mood
 Theme
Meaning and Poetry  Motif
Poetry is not always about hidden or indirect messages (sometimes
called meaning play) Tone
The writer’s attitude towards the subject of the piece, the audience,
and self. Also known as the way feelings are expressed.
 Concreteness and Particularity
In general, poetry deals with particular things in concrete language, Conveyed through the used of :
since our emotions most readily respond to these things. Diction (the words that the author uses in his/her writing)
e.g ticking of clock = mortality Point of View (the author’s view and how it affects his/her writing)
Syntax (the arrangement of words to create sentences)
 Denotation and Connotation The authors level of formality (how formal or informal is the piece?)
Word meanings are not only restricted to dictionart meanings.
e.g A tiger is a carnivorous animal of the cat family.
Mood
 Figurative/Connotative Devices Emotion evoked by a text. It is the atmosphere that is prevalent to
These are various figurative devices used in poetry. Such as the poem.
imagery, Idioms, Diction, and Figure of Speech.
e.g A tiger is a carnivorous animal of the cat family. Function of Mood in Literature?
 It enables writers to take their readers on a journey that is
emotional in addition to being imaginary or imagistic.
 It helps convey the central themes of the work. For instance,
Lesson 7: Essential Elements of Poetry a play about death might have a mournful or gloomy mood.
 It can help the reader identify more fully with the writer or
characters by causing readers to feel the same emotions the
Poetry writer or characters feel.
 Poetry is a type of literature that conveys a thought, describes a  It helps works of literature "come alive" by imbuing the
scene or tells a story in a concentrated, lyrical arrangement of language with human emotions.
words.
*** Though tone and mood are closely related, the tone tends to
be associated with the poem’s voice. The narrator of the How does the reader identify a motif?
poem creates the voice of the poem, and voice is associated Motifs may be more obvious than themes because they are repeated
with the writer’s attitude toward the poem. In other words, throughout the novel
the tone relays something about the writer’s attitude toward the  A symbol is often a form of motif, an object that is repeated
subject of the poem. This attitude, in turn, creates some sort throughout a novel that represents more than their obvious
of atmosphere or mood, which then evokes a certain meaning
emotion or frame of mind in the reader. 
Example: Mirrors and Trees in Speak, both symbolize the
Theme motif of identity
The underlying message that the writer or artist wants to convey.

How does the reader identify the theme?

- May it be stated clearly in the story or implied through the story’s
plot.
- Might be presented by the actions, thoughts, and feelings of the
main character.
- Can be deep or difficult to understand.
- The reader may slowly come to realize the theme of a story as she
processes the text and reads the story in its entirely, all the way
through and end.

*** A theme should be expressed by a complete sentence,

not one word.
Not every piece of literature has a theme.
A theme can be the “moral” of a story, or lesson, but it does not
have
to be.

Motif
A recurring object, concept, or structure in a piece of
literature.
Unlike a theme, a motif can be expressed in a single word or
fragment.

It could be 2 or more words that are related or synonyms