Writing Strategies

Allegory: a story made up of a multitude of symbols and figurative language that add up to form a larger, overarching idea

• A story in which all characters, settings, events, and actions are symbolic

• Teaches a lesson or reveals a truth

Tips for Using Allegory in Creative Writing

Characterization is the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character. Characterization is revealed through direct characterization and indirect characterization.

Direct Characterization: When the author, narrator, another character, or the characters themselves tells the audience what they are like through direct description.

Example: “The patient boy and quiet girl were both well mannered and did not disobey their mother.”

Indirect Characterization: When the narrator shows the reader what type of person a character is. Readers infer what the characters are like through indirect description

STEAL Chart for Using Indirect Characterization

Conflict is the struggle between two opposing forces in literature. There are two major types of conflicts in literature: internal conflicts and external conflicts.

Internal conflict: The protagonist has internal struggle. He/she/they have to make decisions on things that are in conflict with his/her/their values, morals, personality traits, and or motives.

• Character vs. Self

External conflict: The protagonist struggles with something that is outside himself/herself/themselves.

• Character vs. Character (can be physical or emotional/psychological)

• Character vs. Society

• Character vs. Nature

• Character vs. Supernatural

• Character vs. Technology

Ways to Create Conflict in Creative Writing

Dialogue: occurs when two or more characters engage in conversation

• The prefix di- means "two," "twice," or "double."

• Writers almost always use quotation marks in dialogue, but occasionally a writer will include dialogue without quotation marks as a stylistic choice.

Dialogue punctuation rules

Diction: the careful selection of words to communicate a message or establish a particular voice or writing style. For example, flowy, figurative language creates colorful prose, while a more formal vocabulary with concise and direct language can help drive home a point.

Some types of diction:

• Formal diction – Formal diction is the use of sophisticated language, without slang or colloquialisms. Formal diction sticks to grammatical rules and uses complicated syntax—the structure of sentences. This elevated type of language is often found in professional texts, business documents, and legal papers.

• Informal diction – Informal diction is more conversational and often used in narrative literature. This casual vernacular is representative of how people communicate in real life, which gives an author freedom to depict more realistic characters. Most short stories and novels use informal diction.

• Colloquial diction – Colloquial words or expressions are informal in nature and generally represent a certain region or time. “Ain’t” and “y’all” are examples of colloquial expressions, born in rural areas of the United States. Colloquialisms add color and realism to writing.

• Slang diction – These are words that originated within a specific culture or subgroup but gained traction. Slang can be a new word, a shortened or modified word, or words that take on a new meaning. Examples of common contemporary slang words are “hip,” which means trendy and “throw shade,” which is to lob an insult at someone.

Foreshadowing: when a literary element/device is used to indicate or hint to readers about something that is to follow or appear later in a story. It does not directly give away the outcome, but rather, suggests it.

Literary elements and devices that can be used to foreshadow:

• Dialogue such as “I have a bad feeling about this”

• Symbols such as blood, certain colors, types of birds, weapons,etc.

• Weather motifs such as storm clouds, wind, rain, clearing skies, etc.

• Omens such as prophecies, broken mirror, etc.

• Character reactions, such as apprehension, curiosity, secrecy, etc. (ie. The apprehension felt by the townspeople in "The Lottery" foreshadows the tragic events to come.)

• Time and/or season, such as midnight, dawn, spring, winter, etc.

• Settings, such as graveyard, battlefield, isolated path, river, etc.

Imagery: the use of figurative or descriptive language to create a vivid mental picture

• Involves at least one of the five senses: sight, sound, touch, feel, and/or taste

• Helps to establish the mood of the piece

Imagery example from “The Masque of Red Death”:

"There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution. The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim, were the pest ban which shut him out from the sympathy of his fellow-men” (Poe 1).

Using the 5 Senses to Create Imagery

Mood: the emotional feeling or atmosphere that a work of literature produces in a reader

• May be subtle and open to interpretation

• Can help the reader understand and appreciate the broader meaning of a work

Scan these emojis. Which emotion do you want your READER to feel while reading your story? What words and details will ensure that your reader feels that emotion?

Personification: a figure of speech in which an inanimate object, abstract idea, or animal is given human qualities, abilities, or characteristics

Example of personification in "There Will Come Soft Rains"

“In the living room the voice-clock sang, Tick-tock, seven o’clock, time to get up, time to get up, seven o’clock! as if it were afraid nobody would.”

Explanation of personification

The verb sang is usually reserved for humans, not machines. Although a machine can produce melodic sounds, it doesn't usually "sing." Also, the idea that the house itself has emotions such as fear launches the personification that will be extended and deepened throughout the story.

Tips for When & How to Use Personification with examples!

The point of view in a story refers to the position of the narrator in relation to the story.

First Person Singular

First person singular point of view uses the “I” pronoun to refer to the narrator. This narrator is usually the protagonist of the story, and this point of view allows the reader access to the character’s inner thoughts and reactions to the events occurring.

Second Person

An uncommon point of view is second person, using the “you” pronoun to narrate the story. This point of view either implies that the narrator is actually an “I” trying to separate himself or herself from the events that he or she is narrating, or allows the reader to identify with the central character.

Third Person

This point of view definition uses “he” and “she” as the pronouns to refer to different characters, and provides the greatest amount of flexibility for the author. There are two main possibilities for the third person point of view: limited and omniscient. In a third person limited point of view, the reader is privy only to one main character’s thoughts. In this way, it is similar to the first person singular point of view, since the focus stays tightly on one character. Third person omniscient point of view allows the author to delve into the thoughts of any character, making the narrator seem godlike.

Setting: the time, place, and environment in which a story takes place

• Authors can create setting using the following aspects:

  • • • Location

      • Weather or climate

      • Geography

      • Population

      • Mood or atmosphere (see more on mood below)

      • Time of day

      • Time of year

      • Elapsed Time

Using Aspects of Setting in Creative WritingSetting: the time, place, and environment in which a story takes place

Authors can create setting using the following aspects:

Location

Weather or climate

Geography

Population

Mood or atmosphere (see more on mood below)

Time of day

Time of year

Elapsed Time

Using Aspects of Setting in Creative Writing

Symbolism: a writer’s use of symbols in which a place, object, or event stands for a larger idea

• May be subtle and open to interpretation

• Can help the reader understand and appreciate the broader meaning of a work

Conventional Symbols in Literature

Tone: the attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience.

• Conveyed through the choice of words or the viewpoint of a writer on a particular subject.

Check out this list of 155 Words to Describe an Author's Tone with tips for creating tone in your writing