Lecture Notes Creative Writing - Lesson 1
Lecture Notes Creative Writing - Lesson 1
Lecture Notes Creative Writing - Lesson 1
4. PERSONIFICATION - Personification projects 13. IDIOM - Idioms are non-literal turns of phrase so
human qualities onto inanimate objects, or common that most people who speak the same
perhaps animals or natural elements. language know them.
Examples: the flowers dances in the field; the Examples: hit the hay (to sleep)
sun greeted me under the weather (not feeling well)
tie the knot (to get married)
5. HYPERBOLE - Hyperbole is extravagant,
intentional exaggeration. 14. PUN - A pun is a play on words. It exploits the
Examples: I love you, dear, I'll love you different meanings of a word or its homonyms,
Till China and Africa meet. usually to humorous effect. It has more than one
-Joseph Conrad, "The Heart of Darkness" possible meaning.
Examples: Using that pencil is pointless
LECTURE
The tallest building in town is the library of words can easily confuse listeners or readers or divert
— it has thousands of stories! them with what you intend to mean. This eventually results
Her cat is near the computer to keep an in misinterpretation of the message intended to be
eye on the mouse. conveyed and generally in miscommunication.
Proper diction depends on several factors. 3. Colloquial diction. This uses words common in
1. The word must be correct and accurate. everyday speech which may be different in
2. The words should be appropriate to the context in different regions or communities.
which they are used.
3. The choice of words should be such that the A. Words
listener or reader understands easily. Anon (2015) also emphasized on regional
differences: One famous colloquial difference in
One reason why a communication process the United States is the way a someone refers to a
becomes successful or not is because of diction. carbonated beverage. There are regional borders
Proper diction is important so readers and listeners could that separate the usage of the words “soda, “pop”,
get message across. On the other hand, the wrong choice
LECTURE
“soft drink”, and “Coke” (used as a generic term Ex: "I low key love KPOP, but don't tell
and not just to refer to the brand). anyone!"
1. Contractions: Words such as “ain’t” and H. On point: Outstanding, perfectly executed.
“gonna” are examples of colloquialism. These are Ex: "Her ideas are on point. She’s so
not widely used in English speaking countries. brilliant."
2. Profanity: Some words are considered I. Woke: Slang for "awakened," as in being
profane in some dialects of English where they are highly aware of social injustices.
not at all bad in other dialects. A good example is Ex: "If you're so woke, why did you just let it
the word “bloody” which is a common adjective in happen?"
American English; but in British English it means J. YOLO: An acronym for "you only live
curse. once," encouraging people to seize the day.
Ex: "Live each day like it is your last. YOLO!
B. Phrases
Old as the hills FUNCTION OF DICTION IN WRITING
Eat my dust In literary works, diction plays a pivotal
role in setting the perfect tone, mood and
C. Aphorisms setting of a piece. Tone is the attitude of a writer
I was not born yesterday. toward a subject or an audience conveyed
To see is to believe. through word choice and the style of the writing,
while Mood is the overall feeling, or
4. Slang diction. This is the use of words that are atmosphere, of a text often created by the
newly coined, or even impolite. Also, it is a author's use of imagery and word choice.
language peculiar to a group of people. Anon Authors must choose the correct words to
(ND) stated that one of the characteristics of effectively tell their story or put their message
slang is that it changes through time. Here are across. If the diction is edgy, the whole piece will
the examples of modern slang terms: come across as edgy, and so on. In short, diction
is everything in literature as it affects the reader’s
A. Bae: A term of endearment, meaning attitude and impression towards the overall
"before anyone else," used between quality of a literary work.
romantic partner that can also be used In poetry writing, unique linguistic
between close friends. style, vocabulary and metaphors are used.
Ex: "Bae, you always be my number one.” Poetic diction is usually creative in nature as it
B. Basic: A put-down describing someone or usually includes the usage of rhyming words,
something that's very common or a figures of speech, etc.
conformist In short stories and novels, authors
Ex: "Those game techniques are so basic. employ diction in molding or describing their
Playing ML is not thrilling without those. characters. For instance, if the character is a
C. Coin: Another way to refer to money. teenager, the author is at liberty to use a
Ex: "She's earned a lot of coin by just selling modern-day language; if the character is from
online.” the slum, urban or street slang can be expected,
D. Epic: If somewhat was "epic," it was highly and so on.
enjoyable. In summary, literally everything that is
Ex: "His latest movie was epic." written has diction, with its mood, tone and
E. Fierce: Usually attributed to Beyoncé, depth depending on how the author play with
"fierce" signifies a strong, independent the words.
person.
Ex: "I love him to death. He’s so fierce!" SPECIFIC EXPERIENCES
F. Lit: If something is "lit," it means it's super Another technique in appreciating literary work
cool or "on fire." is to identify the specific experiences of the writer and
Ex: "The Senior High ball was so lit." how the readers relate this experience to their lives.
G. Low key: If someone or something is "low Through this specific experience, the writer and reader
interaction become alive, and they get connected to
key," it means it's being done under the
each other.
radar, or they don't want anyone to know.
LECTURE
"It snowed, and it cleared and I kicked and pounded
VIGNETTE: Definition and Examples in Prose the snow. I roamed the darkening snowy
by Richard Nordquist neighborhood, oblivious. I bit and crumbled on my
tongue the sweet, metallic worms of ice that had
formed in rows on my mittens. I took a mitten off to
In composition, a vignette is a verbal
fetch some wool strands from my mouth. Deeper the
sketch—a brief essay or story or any carefully blue shadows grew on the sidewalk snow, and longer;
crafted short work of prose. Sometimes called a the blue shadows joined and spread upward from the
slice of life. A vignette may be either fiction or streets like rising water. I walked wordless and
nonfiction, either a piece that's complete in itself unseeing, dumb and sunk in my skull, until—what was
or one part of a larger work. that?
The term vignette (adapted from a word "The streetlights had come on—yellow, bing—
in Middle French meaning "vine") referred and the new light woke me like noise. I surfaced once
again and saw: it was winter now, winter again. The air
originally to a decorative design used in books
had grown blue dark; the skies were shrinking; the
and manuscripts. The term gained its literary streetlights had come on; and I was here outside in
sense in the late 19th century. the dimming day's snow, alive."