REVIEWER IN CREATIVE WRITING metaphors, hyperboles, and other figures of

speech to make your writing more exciting.

Sensory experience through Imagery
• Types of Figurative Language
– Sensory details include sight, sound, touch,
smell, and taste. Writers employ the five senses Alliteration- it is the repetition of the same sound or
to engage a reader's interest. If you want your letter at the beginning of each or most of the words in a
writing to jump off the page, then bring your sentence.
reader into the world you are creating. When
describing a past event, try and remember what Hyperbole- A hyperbole is an overstatement that
you saw, heard, touched, smelled, and tasted, exaggerates a particular condition for emphasis.
then incorporate that into your writing. Idioms- is a phrase that has different meaning from its
– Sensory details are used in any great story, literal meaning. It’s an expression that doesn’t really
literary or not. Think about your favorite movie mean what it says.
or video game. What types of sounds and Cliché- refers to an expression that has been overused
images are used? What do your favorite to the extent that its loses its original meaning or
characters taste, smell, and touch? Without novelty.
sensory details, stories would fail to come to
life. Metaphors- compares one thing to another without the
use of ‘’like or as’.
TYPES OF IMAGERY
Simile- comparing two things using ‘’like or as’’.
 Auditory – describes what we hear.
 Tactile – describes what we touch or Onomatopoeia- is a word or group of words that
feel. imitates the sounds of what it is describing.
 Gustatory- Describes what we taste.
Personification- a figure of speech in which an
 Visual- Describes what we see.
inanimate object or abstraction is given human qualities
 Olfactory- Describes what we smell.
or abilities.
Imagery is about description. Sensory details are used
Assonance- Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds
in any great story, literary or other forms of writing.
in nearby words.
When sensory details are used, readers can personally
experience whatever you’re trying to describe, Diction
reminding them of their own experience, giving your
writing a universal feel. A universal quality is conveyed • is about word choice. Words chosen to impart a
when the writer is able to personally connect with the particular effect on the reader reflect and
readers. Without sensory details ,stories would come sustain a writer’s purpose.
fail to come to life. Levels of Diction
Figurative Language • Formal Diction- formal words are used in
• Literal Language – You say exactly what you formal situations.
mean. You make no comparison, and you do • Informal diction- uses informal words and
not exaggerate or understate the situation. conversations.
• Figurative Language – You DON’T say exactly • Colloquial diction- uses words common in
what you mean. You DO compare, exaggerate, everyday speech, which may be different in
and understate the situation. You use similes, different regions or communities.
Remember that words can be- Poetry and Its Elements
 Poetry is a compact language that expresses
• Monosyllabic ( one syllable in length)
complex and powerful feelings of a poet. To
Polosyllabic (more than one syllable).
understand the multiple meanings of a poem
• Colloquial (slang), informal (conversational), you must examine its word and phrasing from
formal (literary or old-fashioned) the perspective of rhythm, sound, images,
obvious meaning and implied meaning.
• Denotative ,and connotative Elements of Poetry
 Speaker - The poem’s speaker is the person
• Concrete( specific) and abstract (general)
who addressing the reader. Sometimes the
• Euphonious( languid, murmur)or cacophonous speaker of the poem is the poet, who addresses
( raucous, croak) the reader or another person.
 Content- The subject of the Poem.
Types of diction  Theme- It refers to a larger, more universal
message—a big idea—as well as to something
1. Slang- refers to a group of recently coined often
that you could take away from the work and
used in informal situations.
perhaps apply to life ‘’purity’’ is a subject not a
2. Colloquial expression- non standard often theme; ‘’ Purity is vulnerability’’ is a theme.
regional ways of using language appropriate to  Shape and form- Basically, the actual shape and
informal or conversational speech and writing form of poems can vary dramatically from poem
to poem. In poetry you will encounter two
3. Jargon- consists of words and expressions
forms: structured and free verse
characteristic of a particular trade, profession or
 Examples of structured: Sonnet and the haiku ,
pursuit
free verse
4. Dialect- non standard subgroup of a language  Mood or Tone - is what the author feels about
with it’s own vocabulary and grammatical the subject. Poems may express many moods—
features. humorous, sad, tragic, solemn, revengeful,
5. Concrete diction- consist of specific words that joyous, angry, or solemn. And tone—playful,
describes physical qualities and conditions. light, hopeful, lyrical, admiring. etc.
6. Abstract diction –refers to language that  Imagery and Figurative Language - refers to the
denotes ideas, emotions, conditions, or concept ‘’pictures’’ which perceive with our minds, eyes,
that are intangible. ears, nose, tongue, skin and through which we
7. Filipinisms- words or phrases that are usually experience the duplicate world created by the
grammatically incorrect or are almost always writer.
result of transliteration  Persona - refers to the voice a writer creates to
tell a story or to define a speaker in a poem.
Avoiding Problems in Diction Sometimes the writer may share real- life
experience or feelings in autobiographical
- Choosing non- sexist term
writing.
- AVOIDING OTHER OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE-
 Diction- is the poet’s choice of words. The poet
Racial remarks, sexual remarks, and gender
chooses each word carefully so that both
remarks are the biggest stereotypes.
meaning and sound contribute to the tone or
X Gender profiling
feeling of the poem.
X Culture
X Group of individuals  Sound effect Devices - Poets used sounds in a
variety of ways to enhance their poems.
Rhyming words in a variety of patterns are
 called rhyme schemes. End rhyme is the is marked with a and a stressed (heavy) syllable is
rhyming of words at the ends of the lines of marked with the following:
poetry. Internal rhyme is the rhyming of words
within one-line of poetry. Iamb: A foot with two syllables that is not stressed and
one that is, in that order.
 When labeling a rhyme scheme in a poem, you
can write uppercase letters at the end of each Trochee: A foot with two syllables, this time with one
line that denote rhymes. The first line is “A,” stressed and one that is not.
and subsequent lines continue through the
alphabet in order. If you find a line Spondee: A foot with two syllables, both of which are
that rhymes with a previous line, you label it stressed.
with the same letter as the earlier line.
Dactyl: A foot with three syllables, one stressed syllable
Poetry Elements for specific forms followed by two unstressed syllables.

TYPES OF POETRY Meter- This is the number of feet that is in line of

poetry. A line of poetry can have any number of feet,
Traditional or conventional- Follow standard rules of and can have more than one type of foot..
grammar and syntax with a regular rhythm and rhyme
scheme. The sonnet, ode, blank verse, ballad, dramatic • Monometer: A line with 1foot Dimeter: 2 feet
monologue each have elements that poets follow.
• Trimeter: a line with 3 feet Tetrameter: 4
William Shakespeare, John Milton, John Donne,
feet
Alexander Pope, William Wordsworth, and John Keats,
wrote traditional poetry. • Pentameter: a line with 5 feet Hexameter: 6
feet
Modern or contemporary- avoids rhyme and standard
grammatical organizations and seek new ways of • Heptameter; a line with 7 feet Octameter: 8
expression. It is most written in free verse and that feet
language is accessible to the common reader.

Arrangement and Structure

Form- The arrangement or method used to convey the
Line- The line is the fundamental in the perception of content, such as free verse, ballad, haiku, etc. In other
poetry. It is a unit of language into which a poem or words, ‘’the way it-is-said.’’
play is divided.
Open: poetic form free from regularity or consistency in
Verse- One single line in a poem arranged in a metrical elements such as rhyme, line length, and metrical
pattern. forms.

Ex. Free-verse, black verse Closed: poetic form subject to a fixed structure and
pattern
Stanza- A group of lines in a poem. It is a unit of poetic
lines. The stanzas within a poem are separated by blank Blank verse: Unrhymed iambic pentameter
lines.
Free verse: lines with no prescribed pattern or structure
Quatrain- a stanza of four lines.
Melody- like music, each poem has a melody. A poet
Couplet- A stanza of two lines. chooses words for their sound. One of the principle
tools of melody is rhyme—that is where two words
Foot: A foot is a combination of stressed and unstressed
have the same sound on their last accented vowel
syllables in line of poetry. An unstressed (light) syllable
preceded by different consonants such as:
Single rhyme- dame-same, love-dove Line 5 one word that is another word for the
subject. This should be a synonym for the subject.
Double rhyme- napping- tapping, weather-heather
Elegy- a poem that is sad and thoughtful, and often
Triple rhyme- mournfully-scornfully, victorious, glorious said in lament of a person who has died.
Other rhyming terms: Epic poem- is a long narrative poem that is usually
Sight eye rhyme – ‘’love and jove’’ or daughter and about heroic deeds and events that are significant
laughter. to the culture of the poet. Many ancient writers
used epic poetry to tell tales of intense adventures
Slant Imperfect rhyme – Lake-fate, again- rain and heroic feats. Some of the Famous epic poems –

Identical rhyme – two-too, right- rite Epithalamium- A poem that celebrate a wedding
and love.
End rhyme
Haiku- A poetic form invented by the Japanese.
Internal rhyme- Let’s beat the heat!
Often describe natural imagery and include a word
• Poetry Structural Contents and Techniques that reveals the season in which the poem is set.

Limerick- a short humorous form known for off-color

statements. The, limerick is a five- line poem with meter
and rhyme. The rhyme pattern is AABBA having a
specific number of syllables. 8-8-5-5-8.

Ode- a long lyric poem with elevated style and tone,

dealing with a single theme (often written to or about a
person or object).

Sonnet- have 14 lines. However there many different

types of sonnet
Ballad- usually tells a story that is similar to folktale.
It is often written in quatrains and usually in lines • Petrarchan (Italian Sonnet): each of its 14 lines
that are iambic trimeter. will be written in iambic pentameter. There will
be an octave (8lines) at the beginning, and a
Cinquain Poem- Cinq means ‘’five’’ in French. A
sestet a group of (six line).
cinquain is a special kind of poem with a very strict
form. • Shakespearean sonnet (English sonnet): each
of its 14 lines will be written in iambic
Line 1 One word- the subject of the poem. This
pentameter. There will be three quatrains, and
word is a noun
end with a couplet. Rhyme scheme: abab-cdcd-
Line 2 two words- describing the title. These words efef-gg
are adjectives, words that describe the noun.
Tanaga- is a Filipino poem that has four lines
Line 3 three words-expressing action. These are composed of seven syllabicated stress. Usually
verbs that tells what the noun in line one does. follows a rhyme scheme, aaaa, abba, abab or aabb.
Separate the verbs with commas. It deals with nature, hope, family and love.

Line 4 four words expressing a feeling. This can be a

short phrase or a series of words.
 Other Experimental Texts of Poetry • Performance Poetry- A poetry that is
specifically composed for or during
Punctuations and Line Breaks in Poetry performance before an audience, This form of
Punctuation is the modulation of written thought. poetry uses the stage as the page, transform
When you use exclamation point at the end of a poetry readings into theatrical events.
sentence, it means it surprises or shocks you. • A Genre crossing Text: A poetry into Prose.
Line Breaks are devices used to separate one line of the • Making poems become narrative essays,
poetry from another. It may or may not deal with descriptive paragraphs scripts and many more.
different lines of thought.
Elements of Fiction- Focus on Point of View
• Line breaks can be classified into end stopped
line, enjambments and caesuras.  Point of View- is the standpoint and angle from
which a story is told.
• End stopped lines put a clear rhythmic break at
the end of each line, often reinforced by a  There are several variations of POV:
comma or period.
1. First Person- Story told by the protagonist
• Enjambments conversely run into each other or a character who interacts closely with
and make meaning conjunction with each other the protagonist or other characters. ’I,
rather than independent units like end stopped me, my, our, us, we, myself, and ourselves.’’
lines. 2. Second Person- Story told by a narrator
who addresses the reader or some other
Enjambents are also called run on lines they run assumed ‘’you’’; speaker uses pronouns
into each other. ‘’Run on Lines’’ in sense and ‘’you’’, ‘’your’’, and ‘’yours’’. Remember
punctuation into the next line that in this mode of narration ‘’you’’ are the
• Caesura is Latin word for cut. Caesura is a agent.
natural pause in a verse or a sentence, usually 3. Third Person - Story told by a narrator who
reinforced by punctuation. When it is sees all of the action. Frequent use of ‘’she,
accompanied by a punctuation mark, it is called them, they, him, her, his, her and their’’ by
a strong caesura. If there is no punctuation, it is the narrator may indicate that the passage
a weak caesura. More than one caesura can is narrated by the third person-perspective.
occur in the same line or verse. Several types of third person POV:
 Third Person-Objective Narration- The narrator
Concrete Poem- is written to represents object which tells a third-person’s story (he, she, him, her)
they describe. The poem can be written in the shape of but the narrator only describes character’s
the object. This form is also known as visual poetry. behavior and dialogue. The narrator does not
reveal any character’s thought or feelings.
Shape Poem- Concrete or shape poetry is one which the
 Third Person-Limited - When a narrator uses
typographical arrangement of words is as important in
third person-limited perspective, the narrator’s
conveying the intended effect as the meaning of words,
perspective is limited to the internal working of
rhythm, rhyme and so on.
one character. In other words, the narrator
Acrostic Poem- uses the letters in the topic word to reveals the thought and feelings of the
begin each line. All line in the poem should relate to or character through explicit narration.
describe the poem.  Third-Person Omniscient - The narrator grants
readers the most access to characters’ thoughts
and feelings. The narration reveals more than
 one characters’ internal workings. The base • Realistic Details.- Making reference to actual
word omni means ‘’all’’, and scient means places, historical time periods, and actual
‘’knowing’’, So omniscient roughly translates to events. A good way to start is to read
‘’all knowing’’. In this case the etymology is newspaper.
accurate, because in omniscient narration, the
narrator is all knowing. • Facts- by making inferences to facts that are
well known to the reader, such as the popular
Elements of fiction- Focus on settings name of cities, street names, historical events,
social problems.
Setting is defined as the physical location and
the time of a story. In short stories, one or both of • Research- Research about historical period,
these elements are often not defined. social conditions or political climate.

There are multiple aspects to consider how setting • Personification- The writer assigns human
contribute to the story: attributes or characteristics to different aspects
of setting, like the weather.
• Place- Geographical Location; Where the
actions of the story taking place? Elements of fictions-Focus on character

• Time- historical period, Time of the Day, Year, Character - In fiction, it refers to a textual
etc; when is the story taking place? representation of a human being or occasionally,
another creature).
• Weather Conditions- It is rainy, sunny, story
etc. Most fiction writers agree that character
development is the key element in a story’s
• Social Condition- what is the daily life of the creation, and in most pieces of fiction a close
character’s like? identification with the character is crucial to
• Mood or atmosphere- what feeling is created understanding the story.
at the beginning of the story?. The moods AUTHORS ACHIEVE CHARACTERIZATION
created can be emotion-based adjectives such
WITH A VARIETY OF TECHNIQUES:
as sad, gloomy, foreboding, suspenseful,
ominous, dreary, brooding, tragic, hopeless,  by using the narrative voice to describe the
romantic, or mysterious. character.

Several techniques in creating a Realistic setting  by showing the actions of the character and of
for the short story: those reacting to her;

• Journalistic Question- Who? What? When?  by revealing the thoughts or dialogue of the
Where? Why? How? character.

• Concrete and Specific details- Use concrete  by showing the thoughts and dialogue of others
and specific language. in relation to the character.

• Technique of show, don’t tell!- The Writer has  by direct characterization- the narrator
a choice whether to narrate or to dramatize the explicitly describes the character; and
time and place of the story.
 by indirect characterization: character traits are
• Sensory Details- Use language that appeal to revealed through their actions.
the senses.
PROTAGONIST  Realistic and life like

 Central character.  Is anyone who has a complex personality;

he/she is often portrayed as contradictory
 Person on whom action centers and
person.
experiences conflict of the story.
FLAT
 Character who pushes the story forward.
 Not well-developed
 Character who attempts to accomplish
something  This literary personality is notable for one kind
of personality trait or character.
 Usually seen as a good person or hero/heroine
but it doesn’t have to be always good.  Sometimes stereotyped.

 Usually round and dynamic.  Most minor characters are flat.

ANTAGONIST DYNAMIC CHARACTER

 Character or force that holds the action back.  Undergoes an important change in personality
in the story.
 Character who wants something in opposition
to the protagonist.  Is a person who changes overtime usually as a
result of resolving a central conflict or facing a
 Usually seen as a bad person/force or villain major crisis.
 The cause of the conflict. The antagonist  A change occurs within the character because
doesn’t have to be a person. of the events of the story.
FOIL  The protagonist is usually dynamic but not
 Secondary or minor character always.

 Character who is contrast or opposite to the STATIC CHARACTER

protagonist.  Remains the same throughout the story
 Character who emphasizes or highlights the  Although something may happen to the
traits of the protagonist character, it doesn’t cause the character to
 Is any character (usually the antagonist or an change. Minor characters are usually static.
important supporting character) STEREO TYPE OR STOCK CHARACTER
 Personal qualities contrast with another - Instantly recognizable because of the
character (usually the protagonist). stereotype.
ROUND CHARACTER
Elements of Fiction-Focus on Plot
 Well-developed  PLOT - How the author arranges events to
 Has many traits both good and bad. develop the basic idea; it is the sequence of
events in a story or play. The plot is planned,
 Not easily defined because we know many logical series of events having a beginning,
details about the character middle, and end.
  Four primary types of plots (modified from 5. Resolution (conclusion or Denouement) - final
Anderson,2006 and lukens, 2007): outcomes of events in the story.

Episodic- the structures made up of a series of chapters Elements of fiction- focus on theme
or stories linked together by the same character, place
or theme but held apart their individual plot, purpose • Theme - Is an abstract concept that may be
and subtext. Structure can be either plot driven or represented by character, by actions, or by
character driven. images in literary work.

Linear- consists of a series of events starting with a - IDENTIFYING THE THEME OF A STORY CAN BE
beginning, middle, and ending with a conclusion. CHALLENGING. IT REQUIRES THE READER TO
IDENTIFY A MAIN IDEA IN THE STORY, THEN
Cumulative- plot with lots of repetition of phrases, EXTEND TO THE REAL WORLD.
sentences, or events with one new aspect added with - Themes are usually ‘’BIG IdEAS’’
each repetition. - Theme is sometimes define as:
- Moral of a story-though theme doesn’t have to
Circular- The characters in the story end up in the same be moral. Morals that double as theme include:
place that they were at the beginning of the story. Insight- reflects a central vision of life , truth in
Five essential parts of plot: every experience in man’s life.
Declaration of the human condition,-or truth
1. Exposition (introduction)- beginning of the that explains human behavior and a revelation
story; characters, background, and setting of human character; and
revealed. Doesn’t have to be true in the real world- they
2. Rising action- Events in the story become are true in terms of the story they come from,
complicated. These are events between the and may not be true to some readers the story
introduction and climax. has reached.
 Conflict- essential to plot, opposition ties
incidents together and moves the plot. Not Elements of fiction-focus on irony
merely limited to arguments, conflict can be • IRONY - Is a literary device in which words are
any form of struggle the main character faces. used to express a contradiction between
appearance and reality.
Internal- struggle within one’s self.
Types of IRONY
 Man Vs. Self- struggles with own soul, • 1. Verbal Irony-is when a speaker or writer says
physical limitations, choices. Etc. one thing but actually means the opposite.
Two types of verbal IRONY
External- struggle with a force outside one’s self.
Overstatement- when a person exaggerates the
 MAN VS. CHARACTER- struggles against other character of something.
people
Understatement- when a person undermines the
 MAN VS. NATURE- struggles against animals,
character of something.
weather, environment. Etc.
 MAN VS. SOCIETY- Struggles against ideas, 2. Situational Irony- Is when the outcome of the
practices, customs of others. situation is consistent with what we expect would
3. Climax - turning point of the story. logically or normally occur.
4. Falling action- resolution begins; events and
complications start to fall into place. These are 3. Dramatic Irony- Is when the audience or the reader
the events between climax and denouement. aware of something that a character does not know.
Three stages Dramatic Irony

a. Installation- audience is informed of something

that the character doesn’t know about.

b. Exploitation- using information to develop

curiosity among the audience.

c. Resolution- what happens when the character

finally finds out what is going on.

Special category of Dramatic Irony

Tragic irony- It occurs when a character in a play does

or say something that communicates a meaning
unknown to her but recognized by the audience.