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Writing Tidbits

Writing Tidbits. Autobiographical Incident Personal Narrative. Lead/Attention Grabber/Hook. “The most important sentence in a good book is the first one: it will contain the organic seed from which all that follows will grow. - Paul Horgan

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Writing Tidbits

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  1. Writing Tidbits Autobiographical Incident Personal Narrative

  2. Lead/Attention Grabber/Hook “The most important sentence in a good book is the first one: it will contain the organic seed from which all that follows will grow. - Paul Horgan Some writers claim that writing the lead is 90 percent of the work. Thoughts?

  3. EXPLODE THE MOMENT • Find the most important part of your piece and “explode” it. • Identify the big moment • Be sure your reader can tell it’s the big moment If there is no big moment that needs more attention, chances are that means there’s no story.

  4. The following is an example of an exploded moment written by a 9th grader (first draft): It was 4:00 a.m. on a cold Saturday morning in January. We were going to see my cousin take off to Massachussetts and then to Saudi Arabia. We were at the air base in Burlington, VT. When my mom got in the door she started to cry. I could feel the urge to cry but I held it in. All my relatives were there. Finally we went into the big cold room where we would see them go. Everyone was crying but I held it in. I felt like a walking teddy bear because I would walk over to someone and they would give me a hug, then to another person and the same thing would happen. It was now 6:30 and I was now the official helmet holder—not for very long because that thing weighed a ton. We had brought flags. One for my cousin Todd and one for us to wave at him. When it was finally time to go we all went ouside and waved as they drove in their big, big truck. I felt my heart drop and get hevy when they went away and I remember this like it was yesterday.

  5. Utilize Snapshots and Thoughtshots • Create THOUGHTSHOTS which provide the reader with your thoughts and feelings. • Example: There was a knot in my stomach and my palms were sweaty. • Create SNAPSHOTS that contain smells, sounds, colors, light, etc • Example: My long-sleeved brown suit soaked up the sun, as I waited outside the locked school door.

  6. Paragraph Pointers • SHIFT – change in thought or point of view • New idea or shift in direction • New speaker • Like a GIANT period at the end of a clump of sentences. End one at a dramatic place for effect. The last sentence of a paragraph has more punch than the one before it. • This is where you, the writer, want to create space in the reader’s mind.

  7. Remember to use “dynamite diction” “I do not choose the right word. I get rid of the wrong one.” - A. E. Houseman Eliminate those boring/dead words from your vocabulary! How much is a lot? What does “very” mean?

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