Weekend Warm-Up

Think about your earliest memory with an animal (this could be a pet or wild creature). Was it positive or negative?

Now flip your experience and write about it. (i.e., a good memory turns out very badly)

Spit and Polish: Imagery

Imagery can appeal to any of the five senses (touch, smell, taste, hearing, sight). Using specific adjectives can help a reader experience the world a writer is trying to create.

Choose an object from home or classroom. Write at least one adjective for each of the five senses to describe the object. Blend your descriptions into a paragraph about that object.

Writing Prompts: Killer Quotations

"Out of life's school of war: What does not destroy me, makes me stronger."

• Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), The Twilight of the Idols (1899)

What do you think Nietzsche meant by this quotation?

Use the quote as a prompt for freewriting.

Writing Prompt: What If?

What if you could change your skin color at will? What color would you choose? Why?

Remember, you can choose any color, not just natural skin tones.

Word of the Week: Aggrieve

AGGRIEVE (uh GREEV)

• verb: to mistreat; to do grievous injury to; to distress

The hideous behavior of the troll aggrieved the neighboring townsfolk.

Now write!

Use the word aggrieve in a freewrite exercise. How many synonyms can you generate? How about antonyms?

Weekend Warm-Up

You have to hide.

Now.

Your life depends on it.

Where will you go? Will you wear a disguise? How do you feel? Who is looking for you, and why do they want you dead?

Spit and Polish: Adjectives

Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns. They can add detail and interest to writing, but beware: too many adjectives can really clog otherwise clear writing.

Add adjectives to make the following sentences more interesting:-

1. Bob wrote about an experience.
2. He flew in an airplane.
3. He ate food for dinner last night.
4. Bob's paper would have been more interesting if he had described his experience.

Remember, too many adjectives can hurt. Are there other ways to add interest to the sample sentences without adjectives?