SMILEY FACE
TRICKS
This is a great way to get you to
think and write more creatively.
How many times have your teachers told you that
your writing needs more creativity, length, sentence
variety, etc.?
• That kind of information is worth about as much
as a snow blower in the Mojave Desert on a 102
degree afternoon. That kind of information does
not show you SPECIFICALLY HOW to fix your
writing. However, Smiley-Face tricks show you how
you can enhance your writing like never before.
• What are smiley-face tricks? Smiley-face tricks
are writing “riffs” or “moves” that a writer has
(and uses) in order add pizzazz or spice to his or
her writing (along with adding creativity, length,
sentence variety, etc.). In basketball, a player
might have moves that consist of “driving the lane”
or the “fade away” shot. In ballet, the dancer
might perform a pirouette or maintain a fifth
position. However, whether you are a basketball
player, ballet dancer, or writer, you need “riffs” or
“moves” in order to execute what exactly it is that
you want to do. By utilizing smiley-face tricks
correctly, I guarantee an improvement on your
writing. The 8 smiley-face tricks that you are
responsible for mastering are as follows.
1) MAGIC 3 (or 4, 5, 6, etc.):
• Three examples in a series can create
a poetic rhythm, or at least add
support for a point, especially when
the three items have their own
modifiers:
Example of Magic 3
If I had a sticker on my shirt that read
“Loser” or if my hair looked like a
zombies or if I had spinach stuck
between my teeth, she would tell me
the truth no matter what.
.”
Another example of Magic 3
• Sometimes I wonder why the geeks get
picked on. It’s always, “Hey, look, it’s nerd
boy again, going to his daily session of chess
club,” or “Where you think you’re going,
smarty pants, I thought we had a deal––you
carry my lunch tray, and I won’t give you a
wedgie,” or “Brain on feet, do my homework
for a while––say till school’s out––and I’ll try to
get you a date with the girl who has glasses
thicker than yours
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A. "She blinked her blue-green eyes, chewed on a
lacquered nail and frowned at the interviewer.”
B. "I'm afraid to jump," said one chicken.
"Oh, " said the others.
"Me too."
"Me three."
"Me four."
"What if we can't jump that far?"
"What if we fall in a ditch?"
"What if we get sucked into the mud?"
The chickens tutted, putted, and flutted. They butted
into themselves and each other until... (Helakoski)
2) COLON/SEMI-COLON MAGIC 3:
• Like the magic 3 except the examples are
longer.
Example:
Last night was awesome! We did the following:
Worked arduously on our homework to where our
brains were frazzled beyond repair; drank so much
coffee to where we started acting like a bunch of
knife-wielding ring-tailed lemurs; engaged in a ton
of it-is-not-so-important-but-it-is really-fun
conversation; and played “Yikes! You’re Blue”—the
Hold-Your-Breath game until one of us had to be
resuscitated.
She really likes Snooky a lot. You can tell by the way
she: gets nauseas to the point of vomiting when
he’s around; screams, “Yee haaaaaa! Whoop-dedoo” at the mere mention of his name; and
perpetually denies her admiration for him when
her friends tease her about her Snooky-adoration.
Exercise for Magic Three:
• Exercise: Write a paragraph about a person using
the Magic Three to describe that person’s actions.
2. Figurative Language
• Nonliteral comparisons–– such as similes,
metaphors, and personifications–– add
“spice” to writing and can help paint a
more vivid picture for the reader.
~SIMILIES~ comepare using like or as...stiff AS a board
~METAPHORS~ compares without using like or as... her
face is an opsn book
~HYERBOLE~ an extreme exaggeration... so hungry i
could eat a horse
~ONOMATOPOEIA~ a word that sounds like what it
means... BAM! BOOM! ZAP! CRUNCH!
~ALLITERATION~ repetition of beginning consonant
sound...peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers...gives
noise and music to the piece of writing
~ASSONANCE~ related to alliteration, the dark side of
it, repetition of vowel sound in neighboring words...rain
in spain....but it doesn't have to rhyme...hEat of the mEan
girls' argument is a near rhyme
Example of Figurative Language:
It was a hot July morning and the last few days
of freedom before school were slipping by
faster than a greased ten-foot-long boa
constrictor at the ice capades. In other
words, I only had a week and a half to play
my brains out, both inside and outside, and
a week and a half before the evil
schoolwork monsters took over my time, a
week and a half before the life as I had
known it these past two months was over.
"When the teacher asks us all to hold
hands and Wyatt reaches for mine, this jolt
of electricity floods out of his fingers and
ricochets through my whole body like I'm
this human pinball machine and Wyatt's the
ball."
Exercise:
Exercises:
Make Your Own Similes and metaphors
That girl was as skinny as________________________.
The chickens were as nervous as__________________.
Grandma's hug was as warm as__________________.
The librarian was wound as tightly as_______________.
He was as skittish as___________________________.
Her stomach growled like________________________.
The howl ripped through the air like a______________.
The breeze from the window was like_______________.
Fear crawled over him like_______________________.
3. SPECIFIC DETAILS FOR
EFFECT
Instead of general, vague descriptions,
specific sensory details help the
reader visualize the person, place,
thing, or idea that you are describing.
Example of Specific Details for Effect
“The smell rushed at me as soon as I
stepped inside. The hallway had that
mama-don't-cook-nothin-withoutonions smell. It lingered on top of
musty cigarette smoke, the kind that
never quite comes out of the carpet, no
matter how long ago the smoker left.
My arms rippled with goose bumps. I'd
been here before."
Exercise:
Exercise: Describe a place you have seen.
Use specific details and appeal to at least 3
of the 5 senses as you describe the scene.
4. Repetition for Effect––
Writers often repeat specially chosen
words or phrases to make a point;
to stress certain ideas for the
reader.
Example of Repetition for Effect:
She said it was as though I had my own carriage I
could ride on Thursdays or any day or at the snap of
my fingers, like she does. She knows I’m only
allowed a driver on Sundays. She knows the old
woman lives three estates and one house down the
way–– the long, long, way. She knows I have to walk
the road and back, and she knows the maid was
supposed to hem up that stupid petticoat–– too long
and all. the only reason I was asked to do such an
outrageous favor for her was because everybody
else on the estate was concentrating on her–– how
lovely her hair looked, how lovely her dress fit, and
how lovely her gold broach looked with the pearls
she had had to buy herself.
Another Example of Repetition For
Effect
"I’m going away from this place. Away from
my disapproving mother, away from my
groping brother and away from this
infernal heat.” (Leslie)
Exercise:
• Write a paragraph about your typical
school-day morning. Use repetition to
emphasize a particular thought or idea.
5. Expanded Moment
Instead of “speeding” past a moment,
writers
often emphasize it by “expanding” the
actions.
Example:
“I wonder where them dumb old girls went?” one asked.
“They’re probably off painting their nails,” the other
said. A few more insults like that, and by then my
friend and I had heard enough. I looked at Annie and
noticed she had the same look on her face. Two
windows stood before us so we walked to one quietly
and looked at each other. She had that same
expression on her face that she had before she rolled
down “Dead Man’s Hill” in a barrel. I knew what she
was thinking. She mouthed, “One, two, three....” Then
we jumped from our fifteen-foot-high tree house and
landed miraculously on our feet. We scared the living
daylights out of those boys, and they took off
running like two little sissy girls. Annie and I burst out
laughing until our jaws hurt. We spent the rest of the
day giggling and remembering.
Another Example:
Placing my foot on the edge of the shovel, I push down
with my arms and leg. My muscles strain as the blade
breaks through the soil. Once it’s in, I tilt the handle back
toward the ground and push until the earth is loosened. I
dump the pile of soil onto the ground. Bending down I
grab clumps of earth and begin shaking away the loose
dirt and returning stray worms to their underground
homes. The unneeded grass is deposited in my garbage
sack. The ground is tilled to break up the clumps of sod
and to smooth the dirt. Using my hand spade, I dig small
holes in which to plant my future flowers. I then tuck my
tulip and daffodil bulbs into their new beds so they can
sleep warmly through the winter.
Exercise:
Write a scene where you wake up in a dark
house after hearing an odd sound. Expand
the moment to build suspense.
6. Humor
Professional writers know the value of
laughter; even subtle humor can help
turn a “boring” paper into one that can
raise someone’s spirits.
Example of Humor:
“Why you lyin’, cheatin’, stinkin’, hairy, little double
crossin’, yellow-bellied sapsucker! Me and Pa
done looked all over fifteen dadgum counties for you,
and yer just roaming around out here in a bear suit
laying monkey eggs or something all over
creation. You think gasoline comes cheap
nowadays? That receipt had a three-digit figure on
it! Pa’s gonna turn you over his knee and beat the
livin’ daylights outa you! I’m tellin’ you, girl, I’m a slap
you so hard your uncle’s gonna say ‘Ouch!’ Now
take off that mask!” The creature did as it was told
and removed the mask. “Good lord, sis! Am I going
blind or are you just gettin’ uglier? For the love of
Snoopy put that thing back on before you get
arrested!”
Exercise:
Write a paragraph that places a character
in an environment or situation you
wouldn't expect him to be. Example: A city
boy in a ballet class or a pig in a chicken
coop. Exaggerate the circumstances to
create humor.
7. Hyphenated Modifiers
Sometime a new way of saying
something
can make all the difference; hyphenated
adjectives often cause the reader to
“sit up and take notice.”
Example:
Little did I know that when Mom asked if
I like the new neighborhood in town that
that one innocent question would be the
beginning of the destruction of my life. I
was going to choose “yes” as my
answer, but I had one of those I-don’twant-to-lose-my-friends looks.
Example:
"She rolled her eyes at her mother and
turned her nose up with a "god-I-can'tbelieve-you-actually-said-that sniff."
Exercise:
Write your own hyphenated modifiers.
1. Mom and Dad went in the back room for one of
their_________________________________talks.
2. The most popular girl in school threw me one of
her_________________________________looks.
3. The dog had a_______________________face.
4. His fingernails were of the____________variety.
5. She put her feet into the _____________shoes.
8. Full-Cirlce Ending
Sometimes writers need a special
ending, one that effectively “wraps up”
the piece. One “trick” is to repeat a
phrase from the beginning of the piece.
Example of a Full Circle Ending:
Do I seem mad to you? I’m not mad! I’m furious! Does my face seem
as red as an apple? It’s not! My face is a fire! The divorce was taking
my heart and crushing it into oblivion. My tears were a flowing steam,
my brain an exploding bomb. My dad had this I-don’tcare- about-myfamily-I’m gonna-get-wasted kid of look,. But do I seem mad? He used
to have my sister and me in his back pocket, but now he has his new
I-like-you-right-now-but-when-we-get-serious-I’ll-stab-youin- the-back
“perfect” girlfriend there instead. But do I seem mad? Dad just got
married. They had been dating for about an hour and he popped the
question. But do I seem mad? I just sit there with my fake smile while
she puts on the biggest show and says, “Oh, I love your kids, they’re
so cute” and fake smiles back at me. But do I seem mad? My dad
used to be my best friend and protector of my childhood. Now he is my
enemy. But do I seem mad? His new wife has me in her death-grip,
waiting for me to do something bad. She is a cobra waiting to strike.
But do I seem mad? I’m not mad! I’m furious!
Exercise:
• A 300-400 word descriptive narrative essay about
a time in your life when you made a choice that
did not make you feel good. You may want/need
to embellish (to improve by adding details; often
fictitious details.) the story a bit. The idea is for
you to tell a story that is both descriptive and
entertaining. Use 5-7 Smiley Face Tricks in your
essay. Have fun with this. To help with ideas, you
can brainstorm by listing words that relate to your
topic or by stream of consciousness writing