In one three-paragraph scene, practice moving from distant narration to close narration. In the first paragraph, set the scene with distant, “out-of-scene” narration. In the second paragraph, move “in-scene” to depict what the reader would see and hear if she were in the room with the characters. In the third paragraph, move even closer to depict the experience of a particular character.
Find a page of your own writing (perhaps one of the exercises you’ve already completed for this class). For each sentence on the page, answer two questions:
Now, pick five sentences with a delayed verb and/or a big gap between subject and verb. Rewrite those sentences so that the reader gets through the subject-verb nexus more quickly. For each pair of sentences, which do you think is better, your original version, or your rewrite?
Think of a fictional character with a distinct voice (Puddleglum from The Silver Chair might be a good choice, or Huckleberry Finn, or any of the main characters in Winnie the Pooh). Analyze that character’s speech to understand what makes it unique. Consider grammar and sentence structure, word choice, and the use of figurative language, but also the ways in which that character’s desires and circumstances determine the kind of things he or she talks about, and the ways he or she talks about them.
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