Grade Level SHS Grade 12

Subject Creative Writing

TOPIC: Creative Writing WEEK: 1

Objectives:
You are expected to create short paragraphs, articles or short essays using imagery, diction, figures
of speech, and variations of language.

Specifically, this week’s module will help you to:

 Use imagery, diction, figures of speech, and specific experiences, and;
 Write/compose a brief essay, description or a short paragraph through making sense of
pictures.

Lesson Proper:

 Imagery as a general term covers the use of language to represent objects, actions, feelings,
thoughts, ideas, states of mind and any sensory experience. It is a figurative language used to
appeal to the senses through vivid descriptive language. Imagery creates mental pictures in
the reader as they read the text.

Example:
An excerpt from Peter Redgrove’s Lazarus and the Sea
contains imagery:

The tide of my death came whispering like this

Soiling my body with its tireless voice.
I scented the antique moistures when they sharpened
The air of my room, made the rough wood of my bed, (most
dear),
Standing out like roots in my tall grave.

 Diction refers to the selection of words in a literary work.

A work’s diction forms one of its centrally important
literary elements as writers use words to convey action,
reveal character, imply attitudes, identify themes, and
suggest values. It includes the formality of the language,
the emotional content, the imagery, the specificity, and the
sounds of the words.

Example:
“I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold, Or all the riches that East doth hold.”
– Anne Bradstreet, “To My Dear and Loving Husband”

 The use of antiquated words such as “thy” instead of “your” and “doth” instead of “do”
gives the poem a formal diction.
 These antiquated words are considered grand, elevated, and sophisticated language.

 Figures Of Speech

 Figures of speech are words or phrases used in a non-literal sense for rhetorical or vivid
effect.
 The most common figures of speech are simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, personification,
apostrophe, hyperbole, synecdoche, metonymy, oxymoron, and paradox.

1. Simile – a stated comparison (formed with “like” or “as” between two

fundamentally dissimilar things that have certain qualities in common.

Example: “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?”

-Langston Hughes, “Harlem”
2. Metaphor – an implied comparison between two unlike things that have
something in common.

Example: “Hope is the thing with feathers – That perches in the soul –”
- Emily Dickinson, “Hope is the Thing with Feathers”

3. Onomatopoeia – uses words that imitate sounds associated with objects or

actions.

Example: “The crooked skirt swinging, whack by whack by whack.”

- James Joyce, “Ulysses”

4. Personification – endows human qualities or abilities to inanimate objects

or abstraction.

Example: “Ah, William, we’re wary of the weather,” said the sunflowers
shining with dew. – William Blake, “Two Sunflowers Move in the Yellow
Room”

5. Apostrophe – is addressing an absent person or thing that is an abstract,

inanimate, or inexistent character.

Example: “Death be not proud, though some have called thee.”

- John Donne, “Death Be Not Proud”

6. Hyperbole – a figure of speech which contains an exaggeration for

emphasis.

Example: “To make enough noise to wake the dead.”

– R. Davies, “What’s Bred in the Bone”

7. Synecdoche – a figure of speech in which the part stands for the whole, and
thus something else is understood within the thing mentioned.

Example: “Give us this day out daily bread” *Bread stands for the meals taken
each day.

8. Metonymy – a figure of speech in which the name of an attribute or a thing is

substituted for the thing itself.

Example: “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” – William

Shakespeare, “Julius Caesar” * Lend me your ears = to pay attention; to listen

9. Oxymoron – a figure of speech which combines incongruous and apparently

contradictory words and meanings for a special effect.

Example: “Here’s much to do with hate, but more with love. Why then, O
brawling love! O loving hate! O anything! of nothing first create! O heavy
lightness! serious vanity! Mis-shapen chaos of well-seeming forms!”
- William Shakespeare, “Romeo and Juliet”

10. Paradox – a statement which seems on its face to be logically contradictory

or absurd yet turns out to be interpretable in a way that makes sense.

Example: “One short sleep past, we wake eternally And death shall be no
more; Death, thou shalt die.”
- John Donne, “Death Be Not Proud”
 Grade Level SHS Grade 12
Subject Creative Writing

TOPIC: Elements and Structure of Poetry WEEK: 2

Objectives:
You are expected here to write a short poem highlighting the structure of poetry.

Specifically, this week’s module will help you to:

 Identify the various elements, techniques, and literary devices in specific forms of poetry.

Lesson Proper:

 Poetry has remained a vital part of art and culture. Like other forms of literature, poetry is
made to express thoughts and emotions in a creative and imaginative way. It conveys
thoughts and feelings, describes a scene or tells a story in a concentrated, lyrical
arrangement of words.

In this module, we will explore on the elements of poetry based on the following partitions: structure,
sound and meaning. This particular lesson will highlight the poetry according to structure namely
stanza and form.

 Structure of Poetry

One significant way to analyse poems is by looking into the stanza structure and the form of
the poem. Generally speaking, structure refers to the overall organization of lines and/or the
conventional patterns of sound. However, various modern poems may not have particular structure.

A. Stanza

Stanzas refer to series of lines grouped together and separated by a space from other stanzas.
They correspond to a paragraph in an essay. Identifying the stanza is done by counting the
number of lines. The following are some of the terms used to refer to the number of stanzas:
monostich (1 line) couplet (2 lines), tercet (3 lines), quatrain (4 lines), cinquain (5 lines),
sestet (6 lines) (sometimes it's called asexain), septet (7 lines), octave (8 lines).

For example, the excerpt,

“I do not like green eggs and ham.

I do not like them Sam I am.”
consists of two lines. Hence, the stanza is called couplet.

B. Form
In many cases, a poem may not have specific lines or stanza, and metrical pattern, however,
it can still be labelled according to its form or style. Here, we will discuss the three most
common types of poetry according to form are: lyric, descriptive and narrative.

1. Lyric Poetry. It is any poem with one speaker (not necessarily the poet) who expresses
strong thoughts and feelings. Most poems, especially modern ones, are lyric poems. Below are some
types of lyric poetry.

a. Ode. An ode is a lyric poem that praises an individual, an idea or an

event.
The length is usually moderate, the subject is serious, the style
is elevated and the stanza pattern is elaborate. In Ancient Greece, odes
were originally accompanied by music. In fact, the word “ode” comes
from the Greek word aeidein, which means to sing or to dance.
Example: Ode to the West Wind by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Scatter, as from an unextinguish’d hearth
Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!
Be through my lips to unawaken’d earth
The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
 b. Elegy. An elegy is written with a purpose to “mourn the dead”. It usually begins by
reminiscing about the dead person, then weeps for the reason of death, and then resolves the grief by
concluding that death leads to immortality. It has no set stanza or metrical pattern. It often uses
"apostrophe" as a literary technique.

Example: Excerpt from Walt Whitman’s “O Captain, My

Captain,” (written following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln)

O Captain! My Captain! rise up and hear the bells;

Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-
crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck,
You’ve fallen cold and dead.

c. Sonnet. It is a lyric poem consisting of 14 lines and, in the English version, is usually
written in iambic pentameter. The three basic kinds of sonnets are:

• Italian/Petrarchan sonnet is named after Petrarch, an Italian Renaissance poet. The

Petrarchan sonnet consists of an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines). It tends to divide
the thought into two parts (argument and conclusion). The rhyming pattern is ABBA ABBA
CDECDE, or some accepted sestet such as CDCCDC, CDDCDE or CDCDCD.

When I consider how my light is spent, A

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide, B
And that one talent which is death to hide B
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent A
To serve therewith my Maker, and present A
My true account, lest He returning chide; B
“Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?” B
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent A
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need C
Either man’s work or His own gifts. Who best D
Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His state E
Is kingly: thousands at His bidding speed, C
And post o’er land and ocean without rest; D
They also serve who only stand and wait.” E
- When I Consider How My Light is Spent” by John Milton

• Shakespearean sonnet consists of three quatrains (four lines each) and a concluding
couplet (two lines). The final couplet is the summary.
The rhyming pattern is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

Two households, both alike in dignity, A

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, B
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, A
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. B
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes C
A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life; D
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows C
Do with their death bury their parents’ strife. D
The fearful passage of their death-mark’d love, E
And the continuance of their parents’ rage, F
Which, but their children’s end, nought could remove, E
Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage; F
The which if you with patient ears attend, G
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend. G
- Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
 2. Narrative Poetry. It is a poem that tells a story; its structure resembles the plot line of a
story [i.e. the introduction of conflict and characters, rising action, climax and the denouement. The
most common types of narrative poetry are ballad and epic.

a. Ballad. It is a narrative poem that has a musical rhythm and can be sung.
A ballad is usually organized into quatrains or cinquains, has a simple rhythm structure, and
tells the tales of ordinary people.

Example: Excerpt from Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

b. Epic. It is a long narrative poem in elevated style recounting the deeds of a

legendary or historical hero. Examples of epic include Iliad by Homer, Beowulf, The Divine
Comedy by Dante Alighieri, Metamorphoses by Ovid and many more

3. Descriptive Poetry. It is a poem that describes the world that surrounds the speaker. It
uses elaborate imagery and adjectives. While emotional, it is more "outward-focused" than lyric
poetry, which is more personal and introspective.

Example:
Excerpt from William Wordsworth’s I wandered lonely as a cloud

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze

Other Forms of Poetry

1. Haiku. It has an unrhymed verse form having

three lines (a tercet) and usually 5,7,5 syllables,
respectively. It is usually considered a lyric poem.

Example: “By the Old Temple” by Matsuo Bashō

By the old temple,

peach blossoms;
a man treading rice.

2. Limerick. It has a very structured poem, usually

humorous & composed of five lines (a cinquain), in an
AABBA rhyming pattern; beat must be anapestic
(weak, weak, strong) with 3 feet in lines 1, 2, & 5 and
2 feet in lines 3 & 4. It is usually a narrative poem
based upon a short and often ribald anecdote.

Example: A poem by Dixon Lanier Merritt

A wonderful bird is the pelican,

His bill can hold more than his beli-can.
He can take in his beak
Food enough for a week
But I’m damned if I see how the heli-can.
 Grade Level SHS Grade 12
Subject Creative Writing

TOPIC: The Writing Process: Tips in Writing a Poem WEEK: 3

Objectives:
At the end of this module, you will be producing a short, well-crafted poem.
Specifically, this week’s module will help you to:
 Write a short poem applying the correct writing process.
 Use some of the learned elements, techniques, and literary devices.

Lesson Proper:

 The Writing Process

Every piece of writing goes through a process of stages: ‘prewriting/planning’, ‘drafting’, ‘cooling’,
‘revising’, and ‘publishing’. These steps do not always follow one another in succession. Instead, they
are recursive, meaning a step can occur again at any point in the process. For instance, while
revising a historically-based short story, a writer may discover he/she needs to do additional
research about the time period that the story is set, which takes the writer back to the prewriting
stage.

Different scholars have different styles in writing. They compose, cut, duplicate, and rearrange their
work just as discard and start once more—here and there numerous occasions. They are continually
prewriting, arranging, and modifying as they go. They now and then battle with completing a last
draft, and they have even been known to erase a portion of their best work. These essayists need to
make sure to spare all drafts, with the goal that the best work is rarely lost.
 Illustrations on the Comparison and Contrast of
Creative Writing and Technical Writing

Aspect Technical Writing Creative Writing

Content Factual, straight-forward Imaginative, symbolic, metaphoric

Audience Specific General

Purpose Inform, instruct, persuade Entertain, provoke, captivate

Style Formal, standard, academic Informal, artistic, figurative

Tone Objective Specific

Vocabulary Specialized General, evocative

Organization Sequential, systematic Arbitrary, artistic

 Creative Writing – Writing a Poem

 Knowing that after taking this module, you will be writing your own well-crafted poem
considering the elements, techniques and devices presented. You have also to decide the form
of the poetry, the diction, tone and other essential elements that you have learned in the
previous modules.

 Learning how to write a poem is debatably one of the hardest forms of creative writing to
master—there are so many “rules”, but at the same time, no rules at all. (Kidder, 2019)

 Despite the challenge, writing poetry is a very fulfilling creative venue, and we have exactly
what you’re looking for to learn how to nail this art form.

 Because poetry is so specific to the artist, knowing how to write a poem in your own way can
be tricky. Kidder had given several benefits of writing a poem.

Tips in Writing a Poem:

1. Select the form of the poem( Example: Sonnet, Haiku, Free Verse)
2. Use punctuations properly for every grammar.
3. The last word of a line, the last word of your poem, and the last line of your poems are very
important.
4. Use imagery as a literary device.
5. Associate sound device.
6. Tell and express feelings.
7. Follow the writing process.

Excerpt: Excerpt:

“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; When I consider how my light is spent,
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red; Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; And that one talent which is death to hide
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
I have seen roses damask’d, red and white, To serve therewith my Maker, and present
But no such roses see I in her cheeks; My true account, lest He returning chide;
And in some perfumes is there more delight “Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?”
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
That music hath a far more pleasing sound; Either man’s work or His own gifts. Who best
I grant I never saw a goddess go; Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His state
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground: Is kingly: thousands at His bidding speed,
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare And post o’er land and ocean without rest
As any she belied with false compare.” They also serve who only stand and wait.”
 Grade Level SHS Grade 12
Subject Creative Writing

TOPIC: Brief Introduction to Prose Literature WEEK: 4

Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you will be given a glimpse on literature and prose literature.
Specifically, this week’s module will help you to:
 Define prose literature.
 Identify the functions of prose literature and common types of prose.
 Draft a short prose literature.

Lesson Proper:

 What is Literature?
 Literature, in its broadest sense, is any written work;
etymologically the term derives from Latin word
literatura/litteratura which means "writing formed
with letters", although some definitions include
spoken or sung texts. More restrictively, it is writing
that possesses literary merit, and language that
foregrounds literariness, as opposed to ordinary
language.
 Importance of Literature
 serves as an art form used for expression
 preserves cultural ideals, customs, and morals.
 gives us a deeper context into the lives and livelihood
of people distinct from ourselves.

 What is Prose?

 Prose is a form of language that possesses ordinary syntax and natural speech rather than
rhythmic structure; in which regard, along with its measurement in sentences rather than
lines, it differs from poetry.
 Normal everyday speech is spoken in prose, and most people think and write in prose form.
Prose comprises of full grammatical sentences, which consist of paragraphs, and forgoes
aesthetic appeal in favour of clear, straightforward language.
 It can be said to be the most reflective of conversational speech. Some works of prose do have
versification, and a blend of the two formats that is called “prose poetry.”

 Function of Prose

 While there have been numerous basic discussions over the right and substantial
development of composition, the explanation behind its selection can be credited to its
inexactly characterized structure, which most authors feel great utilizing when
communicating or passing on their thoughts and considerations.
 It is the standard style of composing utilized for most spoken exchanges, anecdotal just as
effective and genuine composition, and talks. It is additionally the normal language utilized
in papers, magazines, writing, reference books, broadcasting, theory, law, history, technical
studies, and numerous different types of correspondence.

Some Common Types of Prose

• Nonfictional Prose: A literary work like essays, biographies and autobiographies that are mainly
based on fact, though it may contain fictional elements in certain cases.
• Fictional Prose: Holistically or partially imagined stories like novels and stories.
• Heroic Prose: A literary work that might be recorded or recounted, and which utilizes a significant
number of the standard articulations found in oral custom. Models are legends and stories. Epics
and Legends may be examples of this.
• Prose Poetry: A literary work that shows poetic characteristics and nature and utilizing passionate
impacts and elevated symbolism. However these are written in exposition rather than section.

Examples of Prose in Literature:

•Prose in Novels, usually written in form of narrative and may be entirely a figment of the
author’s imagination.

Examples:

“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be
held by anybody else, these pages must show.” David Copperfield (By Charles Dickens)

“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Anna
Karenina (By Leo Tolstoy)

These examples of prose have been taken from novels, where the writers have employed their
imaginations. They are examples of fictional prose.

•Prose in Speeches, used in speeches often expresses thoughts and ideas of the speaker.

Examples:

“The poor are very great people. They can teach us so many beautiful things.” Nobel
Peace Prize Acceptance Speech (By Mother Teresa)

“As for the marriage laws, they are due for a sweeping reform, and an excellent
beginning would be to wipe the existing ones off the books.” Equal Rights for Women
speech (By U.S. Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm)

These prose examples have been taken from speeches where the writing is often crisp and
persuasive and suits the occasion to convey a specific message.

•Prose in Plays, written in plays aims to be dramatic and eventful.

Examples:

“You can be young without money, but you can’t be old without it.” Cat on a Hot Tin
Roof (By Tennessee Williams)

“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players.” As You Like It
(By William Shakespeare)

Prose in plays is frequently in conversational mode and is conveyed by a character.

Notwithstanding, its style remains the equivalent all through the play as indicated by the character
of the character. Fiction incorporates short stories, books, fantasies, anecdotes, sentiments, and
legends. For the most part, center around one or a couple of significant characters that manage
issues or challenges in their lives.
 Grade Level SHS Grade 12
Subject Creative Writing

TOPIC: Elements of Fictional Prose WEEK: 5

Objectives:
At the end of this module, you will be reading a short story and analyse some elements of a fictional
prose. .

Lesson Proper:

 Elements of Fictional Prose

I. SETTING - The time and location in which a story takes place is

called the setting. There are several aspects of a story's setting to
consider when examining how setting contributes to a story (some,
or all, may be present in a story):

a) Place - geographical location.

b) Time - When is the story taking place?

c) Weather conditions - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc?

d) Social conditions - What is the daily life of the characters like?

e) Mood or atmosphere - What feeling is created at the beginning of the story?

II. CHARACTER

– People who take part in the story

– Individuals that do the action in the story
– The representation of a person in the story
– Is revealed by the tone of voice
– Occasionally, it could be an animal or object given human qualities
– There are two meanings for the word character:
 The person in a work of fiction.
 The characteristics of a person.

Protagonist – the chief figure who struggles against opposing forces

Antagonist – the force, most often another character that opposes the protagonist
Dynamic Character –one whose attitudes and values are affected by the events in the story
Flat Character – a character having only a single trait or quality
Round Character – a multi-dimensional or a complex character
Static Character – one whose personality, attitudes, and beliefs remain fixed, no matter
what kinds of situations he encounters
Characterization - The development of characters as done by the short story writer. The
way in which an author presents and reveals his/her characters.

Ways to do Characterization:
Direct presentation
– the author makes explicit/outright statements or explanations about the characters
Examples:
Makato grew tall and handsome.
.
—carrying heavy things, clearing away the forest, or
feeding pigs.
Indirect presentation
– the author reveals the characters through actions and dialogues
Example: “I would like to go on a journey for an adventure,” said Makato.
III. PLOT .The plot is the logical arrangement of events in a story or play. The plot is an
organized logical series of events having a beginning, middle, and end.

Kinds of plot:

1. Linear Plot, a linear plot begins at a certain point, moves through a series of events to a
climax and then ends up at another point. The advantage of using a linear plot is that the
reader knows, or at least has an idea of where the plot goes next and the reader is guaranteed
to get a beginning and ending.

a) Introduction – beginning of the story where the characters and the setting is
revealed.
b) Rising action – this is where the events in the story become complicated and
the conflict in the story is revealed.
c) Climax – this is the highest point of interest and the turning point of the story.
The reader wonders what will happen next; will the conflict be resolved or not?
d) Falling action – the events and complications begin to resolve themselves.
e) Denouement – this is the final outcome or untangling of events in the story.

2. Modular Plot, Nonlinear narrative, disjointed narrative or disrupted narrative is a

narrative technique, sometimes used in literature, film, hypertext websites and other
narratives, where events are portrayed, for example out of chronological order, or in other
ways where the narrative does not follow the direct causality pattern of the events featured,
such as parallel distinctive plot lines, dream immersions or narrating another story inside
the main plot-line. It is often used to mimic the structure and recall of human memory, but
has been applied for other reasons as well.

It is a story that does not follow a linear narrative. That is, it doesn’t move in a chronological
order, instead jumping around within the story or between different stories. Sometimes, the
different sections don’t even feature the same characters or world. Instead, they are united by
thematic meaning.

3. Episodic Plot, Made up of a series of chapters or stories linked together by the same
character, place, or theme but held apart by their individual plot, purpose, and subtext.

IV. CONFLICT - Conflict is essential to plot. It is the opposition of forces which ties one
incident to another and makes the plot move. Within a short story there may be only one
central struggle, or there may be one dominant struggle with many minor ones.

2 Kinds of Conflict:

1. External – a struggle with the force outside one’s self.

2. Internal – a struggle within one’s self (making decision, overcome pain)
There are various kinds of Conflict:

1) Man vs. Man (physical) - The leading character struggles with his physical strength
against other men, forces of nature, or animals. A character struggles with another character.

2) Man vs. Circumstances (classical) - The leading character struggles against fate, or the
circumstances of life facing him/her.

3) Man vs. Nature - A character struggles with a force of nature (natural disaster,
desolation, animal, etc.) Usually, the character is struggling to survive.

4) Man vs. Society - In this conflict, a character, or a group of characters fight against the
society in which they live. The character fights against social traditions or rules (fight for
freedom, rights, for a cause etc.) Society becomes a “character” of its own. Usually used to
comment on positive or negative aspects for real society.

5) Man vs. Self - The character’s Struggle takes place in his/her own mind. Usually has
something to do with a choice (choosing between right or wrong), or it may have to do with
overcoming emotions or mixed feelings.

6) Man vs. Supernatural - is a conflict between a character and something that is not
normal in some way. Supernatural elements include ghosts, omens, and superstitions.

7) Man vs. Fate - This type of Conflicts occurs when is trapped by an inevitable destiny,
freedom and free.

8) Man vs. Technology - The protagonist must overcome a machine or technology. Most
often the encounter with the machine or technology is through the character's own doing.

V. POINT OF VIEW. Point of view, or P.O.V., is defined as the angle from which the story is told.

1. Third Person P.O.V – The narrator does not participate in the action of the story as one
of the characters but let us know exactly what the characters feel. (uses third personal
pronoun he, she, it, they)

2. First Person - The story is told by the protagonist or one of the characters who interacts
closely with the protagonist or other characters (using pronouns I, me, we, etc). The reader
sees the story through this person's eyes as he/she experiences it and only knows what he/she
knows or feels.

3. Omniscient- A narrator who knows everything about the characters is all knowing or
omniscient.
a) Omniscient Limited - The author tells the story in third person (using pronouns
they, she, he, it, etc).

b) Omniscient Objective – The author tells the story in the third person. It appears a
camera is following the characters, going anywhere, and recording only what is seen
and heard. No interpretations are offered.

VI. THEME - The theme in a piece of fiction is its controlling idea or its central insight. It is the
author's underlying meaning or main idea that he is trying to convey. The theme may be the
author's thoughts about a topic or view of human nature. Some simple examples of common themes
from literature, TV, and film are:
- things are not always as they appear to be - Love is blind - Believe in yourself
- People are afraid of change - Don't judge a book by its cover

VII. TONE
• When you speak, your tone of voice suggests your attitude.
• In fact, it suggests two attitudes: one concerning the people you’re addressing (your
audience) and the other concerning the thing you’re talking about (your subject).
• That’s what the term tone means when it’s applied to poetry as well. Tone can also mean
the general emotional weather of the poem.
 Grade Level SHS Grade 12
Subject Creative Writing

TOPIC: Techniques and Literary Devices WEEK: 6

Objectives:
At the end of this module, you will be producing a short, well-crafted fictional prose using techniques
and literary devices.
Specifically, this week’s module will help you to:
 Write a short fictional prose applying techniques and literary devices.
 [Still] Use some of the learned elements, techniques, and literary devices.

Lesson Proper:

A literary device is a technique that shapes narrative to produce an effect on the reader. It is a
literary or linguistic technique that produces a specific effect, esp. a figure of speech, narrative style,
or plot mechanism.

Plot Device - an object, character or a concept introduced into the story by the author to
introduce its plot.

1. Flashing arrow- technique used to focus the reader’s, but not the characters’ attention on an
object, or location.
Example: The Shutter
A man wonders on his consistent neck ache without knowing that he is carrying the ghost all
those times.
2. Red herring- it distracts the reader’s attention from the plot twist. It is used to maintain tension
and uncertainty.
Example: Professor Snape of Harry Potter
In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Severus Snape is a red herring, sneaky and
behaving suspiciously but not, eventually guilty. In fact, Snape's chequered path through the
books is littered with red herrings. Less ambiguously, Sirius Black is painted as an evil
character, to be feared, which is undermined when he finally meets Harry.

3. Deathtrap- device that the villain uses to try to kill the protagonist and satisfy his own sadistic
desires.
Example: Different Death scenes in Final Destination stories.

4. Reverse chronology- is a technique where the story begins at the end and works back toward the
beginning.
Example: The White House Story where the story begins at the end and progressed the story
while taking the story backward.

5. ‘In medias res’- the narrative starts in the middle of the story instead of from its beginning. Other
events are often introduced through a series of flashbacks.
Example: The Odyssey of Homer. The story started in the middle instead of the beginning of
the story. Flashbacks were used to introduce the initial events in the story.

Vision - character share with the reader visions of the past or the future to explain a character’s
motives.

1. Dream sequence- series of dreams which allows the character to see events that occur or have
occurred in another time
Example: The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Ebenezer Scrooge had a series of dreams which allowed him to see the events happened in
another time with the help of the Christmas ghosts of the past, present and future and led
him to change his attitude.

2. Analepsis (flashback) - prevents events from before the current time frame.
Flashbacks are usually presented as characters’ memories and are used to explain their background.
Example: Titanic. The story used Rose, the main character, to tell the events happened to
Titanic.
3. Prolepsis (flash-forward)- presents events that will occur in the future.
Example: Final Destination seeing what will happen in the future.

4. Prophecy- is often used in science fiction to underline their futuristic structures.

Example: Breaking Dawn’s Final Rival Scene between the Volturi and Bella Swan and
Edward Cullen’s family. Alice who has a premonition supernatural presented the prophecy,
the possible event that can be happened once the action will be continued.

5. Foreshadowing- is a premonition, muck like a flash-forward, but only hints at the future.
Example: Toy Story 2. The use of Buzz’s glass space helmet to ignite the rocket string was
foreshadowed when Buzz was accidentally burnt because of the glass lens.

Ending - refers to story endings

1. Cliff-hanger- an abrupt ending that leaves the plot incomplete, without denouement, it
often leaves characters in a precarious or difficult situation which hint at the possibility of a
sequel. Films with sequel are examples of this.

2. Twist ending- is an unexpected finale that gives an entirely new vision on the entire plot.
It is a powerful technique but may leave the reader dissatisfied and frustrated.

Example: Planet of the Apes. Twist: As Taylor escapes with mute companion

Nova (Linda Harrison), he is stunned to discover that he didn't land on a distant

planet, he was back on Earth, centuries into the future.

3. Happy ending- a finale when everything ends in the best way for the hero.

4. Deus ex machina- plot dating back to ancient Greek theater, where the conflict is resolve
through a means (god, or dues) that seem unrelated to the story. This allows the author to
end the story as desired without following the logic and continuity of the story.

For a plot device to be a Deus Ex Machina, it has to satisfy the following conditions:

s facing an impossible and hopeless problem, no existing characters can

solve.

t it up.

oned, it was never used in such fashion, or

never explained to have such power.

disappear again. The element's power

was never used to solve other problems, even the situation is similar.

cter choices made in the story. Perfect example

of Deus ex machina is the Fairy Godmother of Cinderella who helped her during the
moment that the reader thought that no one could help the main character

Think of
this:
What ‘Marvel
Movie’ you
like the most,
can you recall
how the
movie ended?
 Grade Level SHS Grade 12
Subject Creative Writing

TOPIC: Writing journal entries and other short compositions

exploring key Elements of Fiction WEEK: 7

Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you will be producing a short, well-crafted journal entries or short
compositions.
Specifically, this week’s module will help you to:
 Write journal entries and other short compositions exploring key elements of fiction.
 [Still] Use some of the learned elements, techniques, and literary devices.

Lesson Proper:

Fictional Genres

There are general rules to follow, for example, manuscript length, character types, settings,
themes, viewpoint choices, and plots. Certain settings suit specific genres. These will vary in type,
details, intensity, and length of description. The tone employed by the author, and the mood created
for the reader, must also suit the genre.

Why Does Genre Matter?

 Genres are great because they fulfil reader expectations. We purchase certain books since we
have appreciated comparative stories previously. Perusing these books gives us a feeling of
having a place, of plunking down with an old companion and knowing we're on recognizable
ground.
 The most significant piece of sort fiction, however, is that it satisfies our human requirement
for classic narrating. We some of the time need stories we can depend on to dull the
unforgiving real factors of life.

Harry Potter Marvels’ Heroes

Genre: Magic Genre: Action, Fantasy

FANTASY
A story that is imaginative but could never really happen. The setting may be of another world.
Characters might be magical like talking animals, sorceries, witches and wizardry. It is a genre
of imaginative fiction involving magic and adventure, especially in a setting other than the real
world.

Element 2: Adventure (Frodo Element 3: Struggle of Mystery

Element 1: Magic (J.K.
and friends in Tolkien’s The (Nancy Drew & The Hidden
Rowling’s Harry Potter)
Lord of the Rings) Staircase)

Element 4: Setting (The lion

Aslan sings the Kingdom of Narnia into being in C.S. Lewis’ lore.)
HISTORICAL FICTION
A story that takes place in a historically accurate time and setting. The characters and some
events are fictional.

Element 1: Character
Whether real or imagined, characters behave in keeping with the era they inhabit, even if
they push the boundaries.

Element 2: Dialogue
Dip occasionally into the vocabulary and grammatical structures of the past by inserting
select words and phrases so that a reader knows s/he is in another time period.

Element 3: Setting
Even more critically, you need to transport your readers into the past in the first few
paragraphs. Consider these opening sentences.

Element 4: Plot
The plot has to make sense for the time period. And plot will often be shaped around or by
the historical events taking place at that time.

Element 5: Conflict
The problems faced by the characters in your story. As with theme and plot, conflict must be
realistic for the chosen time and place. Readers will want to understand the reasons for the
conflicts you present.

SCIENCE FICTION (Sci-Fi)

This fiction might portray, for instance, a world where young people are living on Mars. Hence,
it is known as “futuristic fiction.” It dramatizes the wonders of technology, and resembles
heroic fantasy where magic is substituted with technology.

 Importance of Science Fiction

Many times, science fiction turns real scientific theories into full stories about what is
possible and/or imaginable. Many stories use hard facts and truths of sciences to:

 suggest what could really happen in the future

 to explore what could happen if certain events or circumstances came to be or
 suggest consequences of technological and scientific advancements and

MYSTERY FICTION
Is a genre of literature whose stories focus on a puzzling crime, situation, or circumstance that
needs to be solved. The term comes from the Latin mysterium, meaning “a secret thing.” stories
can be either fictional or nonfictional, and can focus on both supernatural and non-
supernatural topics. Many mystery stories involve what is called a “whodunit” scenario,
meaning the mystery revolves around the uncovering a culprit or criminal.

 Importance of Mystery
Mysteries began to gain popularity in the Victorian era, mostly in the form of gothic
literature, which was primarily for women. Mysteries are important because they feature
topics that are usually both fascinating and troubling to the human mind—unsolved crimes,
unexplained questions and events in natural and human history, supernatural curiosities,
and so on.
 REALISTIC FICTION
A story that seems real or could happen in real life. It is set in present day and includes
modern day problems and events.

Characteristics of Realistic Fiction

A quick way to classify a story or novel as realistic fiction is to identify the following
characteristics within that literary work:

1. Realistic fiction stories tend to take place in the present or recent past.

2. Characters are involved in events that could happen.

3. Characters live in places that could be or are real.

4. The characters seem like real people with real issues solved in a realistic way (so say
goodbye to stories containing vampires, werewolves, sorcerers, dragons, zombies, etc.).

5. The events portrayed in realistic fiction conjure questions that a reader could face in
everyday life.

Realistic fiction attempts to portray the world as it is. It contains no fantasy, no supernatural
elements, and it usually depicts ordinary people going about the business of daily living, with all its
joys, sorrow, successes, and failures.

HORROR
The horror genre in literature dates back to Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, where horror
stories explored themes related to death, demons, evil spirits, and the afterlife. Examples
include the ancient Greek tragedy Hippolytus by Euripides, a gruesome story about how
jealousy and a lack of empathy can lead to tragedy; and Parallel Lives by Plutarch, a series of
biographies highlighting the many moral failures of man.

Other Fictional Genres:

Adventure Folktale
A story where a protagonist
and other major characters Fable - A brief story that is meant to tell a lesson
or a moral, characters are usually animals.
and are placed in dangerous
situations. Fairy Tale - A story that has magical
elements.
Tips in Creative Writing: Legend - A story usually about a national or
Writing a Fictional Story
folk hero.

1. Choose what design you need to Tall Tale - humorous story with extreme
compose your fiction in. exaggerations.
2. Show, don’t tell
3. Build up the stakes early Myth - A story that is often based on a
4. Create three-dimensional historical event that is meant to serve as an
characters explanation for some phenomenon of nature or
5. Figure out the basic setting and human behavior. Characters are usually gods.
plot
6. Choose a point of view
7. Don’t be too predictable
8. Give your characters
motivations
9. Start writing what you know
11. No tears for the writer, no
tears for the reader
12. Revise, revise, and revise
13. Trust yourself.
 Grade Level SHS Grade 12
Subject Creative Writing

TOPIC: Well-known Foreign and Local (Filipino) Writers WEEK: 8

Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to appreciate literary pieces written by local and foreign
writers.

Lesson Proper:

Some of the Famous Foreign Writers Some of the Famous Filipino Writers

1. William Shakespeare (1564-1616 An 1. Zoilo Galang (1895-1959) Filipino

English playwright. Famous plays include writer from Pampanga, pioneering Filipino
Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Merchant of writer who worked with the English
Venice and Hamlet. Language. Author of ‘A Child of Sorrow’
(1921).
2. Mark Twain (1835-1910) American
writer and humourist considered as the 2. Francisco Balagtas (1788-1862) known
‘Father of American Literature’. Famous as ‘Francisco Baltazar’, a prominent
works include ‘The Adventure of Tom Filipino poet and is widely considered one of
Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of the greatest Filipino Literary lauretes for
Huckleberry Finn (1885). his impact on Filipino Literature.

3. Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French author 3. Lualhati T. Bautista, one of the

and poet. Hugo’s novel include ‘Les foremost Filipino female novelist in the
Miserables’ (1862). history of Contemporary Philippine
Literature. Her novels included ‘Dekada ‘70’
4. J.K. Rowling (1965) British author of ‘Bata, Bata, Pa’no ka Ginawa’ and ‘GAPO’
Harry Potter Series – which has become the
bestselling book series of all time. 4. Nicomedes ‘Nick’ Marquez Joaquin
(1917-2004) was a Filipino writer and
5. Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) French journalist best known for short stories and
author of historical dramas, including ‘The novels in English.
Count of Monte Cristo’ (1844), and ‘The
Three Musketeers’ (1844). 5. Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzalez
(1915-199) was a Filipino novelist, short
6. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) English story writer, essayist and poet. Conferred
writer and social critic. Writer of famous as the National Artist of the Philippines for
novels such as ‘Oliver Twist’, David Literature in 1997.
Copperfield’, and ‘Christmas Carol’.
6. Norberto Romualdez Lopez (1875-
7. Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) 1941) Filipino writer, politician, jurist and
American modernist writer. Famous for stateman. He is deemed as the ‘Father of
‘Whom the Bell Tolls’ and ‘A Farewell to the Law on the National Language’.
Arms’.
7. Jaime T. Licauco also known as Jimmy
8. Robert Frost (1874-1963) American Licauco, a parapsychologist, author and
poet, most highly regarded of the 20th teacher of management in the Philippines.
Century. Famous work: ‘The Road Not Works written include ‘True encounters
Taken’. with the unknown’ and ‘The magicians of
God’
9. William Wordsworth (1970-1850)
English romantic poet from Lake District. 8. Genoveva Edroza-Matute (1915-2009)
A Filipino Author, famous for ‘Kuwento ni
10. Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) Mabuti’.
English romantic poet, famous works
include ‘Queen Mab’ and ‘Prometheus 9. Dr. Jose Rizal, National Hero of the
Unbound’. Philippines. Famous for his ‘Noli Me
Tangere’ and ‘El Felibusterismo’.