Do NOW
Identify the structure (fragment, simple,
compound, complex, compound-complex, and
run-on) of each of the following sentences:
1.The morning is always a noisy time for the zoo
as animals tend to announce their awakening.
2.The snakes hiss, and the llamas cry.
3.Meanwhile, the bats go to sleep they’re
nocturnal.
4.The baboons and the apes howl and yowl,
respectively.
5.The bears who often sleep late in the morning.
6.As the lions roar, the zebras hide, but the
giraffes don’t move a muscle.
What is genre and why is it
important?
Genre is a category of artistic composition,
as in music or literature, characterized by
similarities in form, style, or subject matter.
Why is genre important?
• It is important for the writer to select a genre
to know what topics/elements to include, how
to structure the storyline, and who the target
audience will be.
Fiction
Drama
Realistic
Fiction
Historical
Fiction
Nonfiction Folklore
Comedy
Tragedy
Informational
Writing
Persuasive
Writing
Poetry
Fairy Tale
Legend
Tall Tale
History
Science
Fiction
Biography
Fantasy
Autobiography
Myth
Fable
Fiction Subgenres
• Historical Fiction: set in the past and based
on real people and/or events.
• Science Fiction: is sometimes set in the
future or an alien setting, but always
includes unrealistic technology/science.
• Realistic Fiction: is not based on real
people or events, but is set in a
real/realistic setting and contains plausible
events and characters.
• Fantasy: is set in an unrealistic universe
and always contains magic/supernatural
elements.
Creative Writing
• You’ll have exactly 5 minutes to compose
a short story based on an image.
• Base characters, settings, mood, and
conflicts on what is appropriate to the
genre of the image.
• Do NOT only describe what you see in the
picture; this is only one moment in the
whole story, and you’re narrating the
whole story.
• Write in any P.O.V., verb tense, and style.
Creative Writing
5 minutes
Creative Writing
Who would like to share?
Do we want to do another one?
Do we have time?
Do NOW
Write the first line(s) of a story based on this image.
Announcements/Reminders
• The mid-quarter exam is this week;
review all notes and the summer
reading.
• Pre-AP folks, your essay on A Gathering
of Old Men is due Mon., Sept. 16th.
• Please bring the following to class
beginning Mon., Sept. 16th:
o Eng. III Hon. – The Great Gatsby
o Pre-AP – A Gathering of Old Men
o Eng. II Traditional - Literature textbook
Announcements/Reminders
• Please pass up your homework from the
weekend if you have not turned it in
already.
Fiction Subgenres
• Historical Fiction: set in the past and based
on real people and/or events.
• Science Fiction: is sometimes set in the
future or an alien setting, but always
includes unrealistic technology/science.
• Realistic Fiction: is not based on real
people or events, but is set in a
real/realistic setting and contains plausible
events and characters.
• Fantasy: is set in an unrealistic universe
and always contains magic/supernatural
elements.
Due Tues., Sept. 17th
• Compose a 5-7 page
fictional short story on any
subject.
• Write the story in any
P.O.V., verb tense, style,
genre, etc. Just be
consistent!
• Follow Freytag’s Pyramid
for story structure. Don’t
forget the conflict.
• Must be school appropriate.
What are the specifics?
• Double-spaced. Do NOT put extra space between
paragraphs. Don’t forget to indent each new
paragraph AND to start a new paragraph with
each new quote.
• One-inch margins all the way around
• 12 pt. serif font, black
– What’s serif?
– Example: Times New Roman, Century, Calisto, Cambria,
Georgia, Baskerville, etc.
How do you begin a story?
Suggestions:
• In the middle of the
action or an important
event
• With a thorough
description of the setting
or a character
• In the middle of
narrative reflection
• With an anecdote (not a
cliché)
General tips for writing
creative fiction?
• Find your voice and be
true to it.
• Avoid clichés. Be unique in
your style.
• Experiment. Write in ways
and about things that are
different to you.
• Be visceral. Descriptions
are meant to come to life,
not just have a bunch of
adjectives.
Let’s look at some first pages.
From Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Let’s look at some first pages.
From The 14th Reinstated by Bryce Towsley
Let’s look at some first pages.
From Clashes by Night by Doreen Owens Malek
How about top ten best opening lines of novels?
1. Cat’s Eye, Margaret Atwood, 1998
“Time is not a line but a dimension, like the dimensions
of space.”
2. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, 1953
“It was a pleasure to burn.”
3. Gone With The Wind, Margaret Mitchell, 1936
“Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom
realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton
twins were.”
4. The Gunslinger, Stephen King, 1982
“The man in Black fled across the Desert, and the
Gunslinger followed.”
5. The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien, 1937
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”
How about top ten best opening lines of novels?
6. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov, 1955
“Lolita. Light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul.”
7. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides, 2002
“I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably
smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again,
as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey,
Michigan, in August of 1974.”
8. Peter and Wendy, J. M. Barrie, 1911
“All children, except one, grow up.”
9. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, 1813
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man
in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a
wife.”
10. Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut, 1969
“All this happened, more or less.”
More Writing Tips
1.Use active voice, not passive voice!
•Passive Voice: the subject is the receiver of the action.
The tax return was completed before the April 15 deadline
by Mr. Doe.
•Active Voice: the subject does an action to an object.
Mr. Doe completed the tax return before the April 15
deadline.
2.Vary your sentence structure!
•Simple: Tom and Mary got lunch at the sandwich shop.
•Complex: Although both ate meals there, they had not
come to eat together.
•Compound: They sat on opposite ends of the shop from
one another, and they never made eye contact.
•Compound-Complex: As he rose from his table, Tom
intensely stared at Mary, and then he violently sneezed.
More Writing Tips
3.Avoid wordiness!
•Wordy: The reason that General Lee invaded Pennsylvania
in June 1863 was to draw the Army of the Potomac away
from Richmond.
•Revised: General Lee invaded Pennsylvania in June 1863 to
draw the Army of the Potomac away from Richmond.
•Avoid Redundancies: My personal opinion, at the present
time, the basic essentials, connect together
•Avoid Unnecessary Phrases/Clauses: The reason why is
that, this is a subject that, in spite of the fact that, due to the
fact that, in the event that, because of the fact that, until
such time as, by means of
4.Write good!
•Hopefully everyone corrected me: “good” is an adjective; it
should say “Write well!”