Using the FIVE SENSES

To the right, you should see an image of people walking in the rain. This picture is from a previous Boston Marathon. Please select a person from the photograph and write 15-20 sentences from your perspective. Make sure to use the FIVE SENSES to describe you and your surroundings. Think about the temperature outside, the water in your sneakers, and the mix of water and sweat on your clothing. You want your reader to feel like he or she is a part of the picture. Please use at least five different types of sentence constructions that we reviewed last class. Please post your response below.

Vietnam

Below you will find a link that will show you pictures of Vietnam. Spend some time looking at the images, and let me know what you think!

http://www.terragalleria.com/vietnam/

Narrative Preparation

Select an image for the basis of your 3rd narrative of the semester. We're doing a nice job of "showing vs. telling", but we can do more. Today, we'll strip down the process and prepare for our 3rd story. This time, I am asking you to focus on a specific task: developing characterization through imagery.

1. Study the image.

2. Characterization: Create your protagonist. List several qualities of this character. What drives him or her? What fears does he or she have?

3. Write a passage which describes the physicality and psychology of your character. Reveal these qualities through detail so that the reader is left to determine them. Here's an example: avoid: "Johnny was a roofer from the midwest who worked really hard. He was sick of his job." The problem? The reader is disengaged from the get-go. Everything is revealed; there is no puzzle, question, or curiosity to compel the reader to move forward.

Try something more like this: "His fingers, seasoned by the unmistakable breath of the Dakotan winter, clutched the dusted chrome of the handle. His red '76 Chevy, tinted a faded pink by the glow of twilight, groaned and coughed to a start. He sighed and plucked a cluster of bills from his mottled dungarees and tossed them into the passenger seat among the pile- rusty tools, foam coffee cups, faded receipts. He popped the truck into drive but his boot remained heavy on the break. An orange sliver of the fading sun pulled his gaze to the top of the roof, its shingles a crisp mosaic of sparkling grey. And on this night John sat for a moment, his flesh and bone drooping slowly into the torn fabric of his seat."

4. Post your brainstorming results and a draft of your passage here.

Outside Reading

What are you reading for outside reading? What books would you recommend?

Tasteful Waste

Visit the link below to view the artwork of American artist Chris Jordan. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think of it.

The art of Chris Jordan: http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=?view=XXX_09NNN

Video Clip:http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show/segments/view/chris-jordan/