Caro Clarke
Not Stopping the Reader: How to Avoid Stumbling Blocks
This is the eighth article in a series that focuses on helping the new novel author. This article looks at how the author can avoid creating stumbling blocks that disrupt the flow of the novel.
Caro Clarke
Explaining Too Much: Why More Is Less
This is the eleventh article in a series that is designed to help the new novel author. This article focuses on how to eliminate needless information in your novel. The key is to not explain too much about the action.
Caro Clarke
The Art of the Unspoken: Saying More by Describing Less
This is the thirteenth article in a series that was developed to help the new novel author. This article focuses on how good descriptions aren't necessarily connected with a lot of words, good descriptions are clean and to the point.
Caro Clarke
Historical Fiction: Who Rules?
This is the fifteenth article in a series designed to help the new novel author. This article focuses on the genre of historical fiction and the role of the author. Is the author a researcher or a story-teller?
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Characterization
This slideshow focuses on characterization including defining and discussing the 5 methods of characterizations: speech, action, description, interaction, and thoughts with examples of each. It also covers the importance of...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Characterization Through Interaction
This slideshow focuses on characterization through interaction; it discusses what character interaction can reveal about a character and what the reader should look for, such as verbs and adverb. It offers scenarios to practice and then...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Describing the Mood
Information that can be read or listened to that describes how to identify and write about the mood of a piece. Examples are provided using the story of "Tell Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe.
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Suspense
This slideshow focuses on the use of suspense in fiction by stating the purpose of suspense, discussing four ways authors create suspense, showing that all forms of literature contain suspense, and presenting an example with John...
Other
Fiction Writing Tips: Creating a Vivid Setting
Some excellent guidelines to consider when evaluating your setting in a short story or novel. Discusses the importance of setting, some examples, as well as practical advice in setting your story. W.11-12.3d Sensory/precise lang narratives
Caro Clarke
Caro Clarke: Description: What's It For?
This is the twelfth article in a series that is designed to help the new novel writer. This article focuses on how to effectively use descriptions in any writing.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Defining and Exploring an Author's Stylistic Choices
Contains plans for two lessons that teach students how to recognize an author's use of style in literature. These plans use "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston as an example, but the basic ideas can be adapted to other...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Literary Visions
A series of 24 instructional videos, each about 30 minutes in length, designed to teach literary analysis. Topics include Responding to Literature, The Elements of Short Fiction, Tone and Style in Short fiction, The Elements of Poetry,...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Their Eyes Were Watching God: Folk Speech, Figurative Language
In this lesson plan, learners will consider Their Eyes Were Watching God: Folk Speech and Figurative Language. Worksheets and other supporting materials can be found under the Resources tab. This lesson provides students with an...
Caro Clarke
Caro Clarke: Pacing Anxiety, or How to Stop Padding and Plot!
This is the seventh installment of a series giving advice to the author who is new to writing novels. This article focuses on how to take your characters and use them and their conflicts to develop the plot of your story. W.9-10.3b...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Writer's Model: High School Personal Narrative Example
This two-page essay provides an example of a personal narrative (Click on View Printable Version). Clicking on the "Writer's Guide" link in the upper right-hand corner of the page enables the user to get tips, directions, and...
Caro Clarke
Describing Your Characters Through Their Actions
This is the tenth in a series of articles designed to help the new novel author. This article focuses on how to develop characters through their actions instead of simply relying on dialogue and description of thoughts. W.11-12.3d...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Writing Narratives
Notes, a PowerPoint presentation, two videos, a song, an exercise, and a game help students to understand how to write a narrative. Elements of a narrative as well as the use of figurative language and sensory images are introduced and...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Audience and Writing Style
This slideshow tutorial focuses on adjusting writing style to fit the audience. It looks at audience characteristics and discusses how to adapt the vocabulary, sentence style, and tone to fit them. It provides an example using the topic...
Other
Storytelling in the Classroom
There are several steps to becoming a storyteller. Find out what they are and be on your way to becoming a storyteller here! Learn how to find good stories to tell, and how to tell them to an audience effectively.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Analyze Differences in Characters' Moral Dilemmas
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] Read works of fiction from various cultures and countries and analyze the differences in the characters' moral dilemmas.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Archetypes, Motifs, and Plot in Drama (English Ii Reading)
Understand and analyze how archetypes and motifs in drama affect the plot of plays.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Boundless Communications: Using Life Experience (Narrative)
This lesson focuses on using narratives or stories in speeches. It discusses the importance of stories, the power of storytelling, and how and when to use stories in speeches.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Reading and Interpreting Literary Texts: How to Analyze a Short Story
This lesson focuses on analyzing a short story including all of the elements of a short story such as setting, plot and structure, and characterization.
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Mechanical Monsters
In this lesson, students read the description of the mechanical dog from Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and then work in groups to create and write descriptions of their own futuristic pet.