1) Try not to have too many characters. No more than four.
2) Write about something that is familiar to you.
3) Keep it simple.
4) It doesn't have to be chronological. Plays can jump forward or backward in time.
5) Dialogue! Remember there isn't a whole lot of descriptive writing. It's all stage directions and dialogue unless your character is singing or giving a vivid image of something he or she sees/has seen/ would like to see one day.
6) Turning point. Remember to focus on a play in which the character changes by the end of the piece.
HAVE FUN!
Showing posts with label writing tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing tips. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
10 Important Reminders
Things Fall Apart
Typed revisions due Friday with originals attached. Please adhere to MLA guidelines.
General Notes for Class:
1) Introductions—stick to your thesis statement. If you promise you are going to write about setting, imagery, and point of view, that’s what you need to write about. Don’t go off topic UNLESS you are using the subtopic as a means to prove your thesis statement.
2) Novels are underlined, short stories get “”quotations. A novel is “entitled.”
3) Not a bad idea to start off the intro with the quote and then paraphrase its meaning and then explain how it is related to TFA.
4) Avoid 2nd person pov when possible
5) Don’t be afraid to take a stand in your essay. This book has an agenda –to show you the African pov, don’t be afraid to vehemently articulate this.
6) Citations must be in the proper, MLA format. “ blah blah blah,” (Achebe, 62).
7) Try to neatly embed your support rather than an awkward insertion.
8) Pay attention to your verbs. If you are using lots of helping verbs,--there is a hint that your verbs aren’t strong enough.
9) Choose a tense and stick with it. Generally, the present tense is stronger.
10) Don’t forget to address the ambiguities and the complexities. Nothing is simply black and white in a text. Achebe is both a powerful warrior and a misogynist. The Christians destroyed a culture in the belief that they were “saving” it. Be sure to define your terms and the questions those terms may provoke.
Typed revisions due Friday with originals attached. Please adhere to MLA guidelines.
General Notes for Class:
1) Introductions—stick to your thesis statement. If you promise you are going to write about setting, imagery, and point of view, that’s what you need to write about. Don’t go off topic UNLESS you are using the subtopic as a means to prove your thesis statement.
2) Novels are underlined, short stories get “”quotations. A novel is “entitled.”
3) Not a bad idea to start off the intro with the quote and then paraphrase its meaning and then explain how it is related to TFA.
4) Avoid 2nd person pov when possible
5) Don’t be afraid to take a stand in your essay. This book has an agenda –to show you the African pov, don’t be afraid to vehemently articulate this.
6) Citations must be in the proper, MLA format. “ blah blah blah,” (Achebe, 62).
7) Try to neatly embed your support rather than an awkward insertion.
8) Pay attention to your verbs. If you are using lots of helping verbs,--there is a hint that your verbs aren’t strong enough.
9) Choose a tense and stick with it. Generally, the present tense is stronger.
10) Don’t forget to address the ambiguities and the complexities. Nothing is simply black and white in a text. Achebe is both a powerful warrior and a misogynist. The Christians destroyed a culture in the belief that they were “saving” it. Be sure to define your terms and the questions those terms may provoke.
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