Revising The Draft Based On Desirable Qualities

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REVISING THE DRAFT

BASED ON DESIRABLE
QUALITIES
CREATIVE NON-FICTION
BRAINSTORMING

REVISION

 Write your justification in your activity notebook.


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 Source: Writing Creative Nonfiction: Course Guidebook, 2012.


 DO THIS
 PARAGRAPH 1: The crying little baby who shattered the silence was under the arm of Big Stan, who carried it with him like a football when he
opened the door of the Burger King and walked out into sunlight, thinking about how everything hadn’t gone precisely as planned.
 PARAGRAPH 2: The door burst open as his shoulder struck it, and after a moment of shocked silence, the wail of the infant shattered the
morning silence; as Big Stan positioned the squirming, shrieking bundle under his right arm like a wet football, he silently considered that
perhaps everything there in the Burger King had not gone precisely as he had planned.
WHAT DOES IT IMEAN TO REVISE?

Literally means to “see again”


To look at something from a fresh
and critical perspective.
An ongoing process of rethinking
the paper
WHAT DOES IT IMEAN TO REVISE?

“Envisioning again” according to


Natalie Goldberg
You see your work in a new light
& rework it for a specific effect
The most “creative” part of CNF
WHY REVISE?

No writer gets its best the first time


Allows you to improve your draft
Some writers don’t include sufficient
detail for a 1st draft; others include too
much detail
How to Revise?

Many writers revise as they write (it


interrupts the free flow of ideas)
 better way: write the entire draft & take a
break of a day or longer because it allows
you to see your work from a fresh
perspective
What to Revise?

Alltypes of writing require a macro edit &


micro-edit.
MACRO-EDITING

1) Creative nonfiction has an informational


element
 Fact-based story in an imaginative way
 Nonfiction writers must be dedicated to
preserving the truth- 5W’s & 1 H
MACRO-EDITING

2) A CNF should have a compelling


narrative arc.
 Sustained from beginning to end, specific
detail & conveys meaning
 Beginning: hardest part, need to establish
all three( character, conflict, setting)
MACRO-EDITING

 Middle/ Endings: a good ending gives the


reader a reason to read on-either a
resolution or a deepening conflict
MACRO-EDITING

3) CNF is cinematic, action oriented, usually


told in scenes.
A scene includes :
Action
Dialogue
Vivid imagery
MACRO-EDITING

3) CNF is cinematic, action oriented, usually


told in scenes.
a. DIALOGUE- not simply conversation, but a way
to drive narrative action, intensify conflict, or establish
character
Example: “Is your wife diabetic?” “Yes, she is,” he told
me. “Oh.”
“Is your wife diabetic, “ I asked, my voice wavering.
MACRO-EDITING

3) CNF is cinematic, action


oriented, usually told in scenes.
b. Show don’t tell- “showing”
involves vivid imagery, means
using detail
MACRO-EDITING

b. Show don’t tell-


We do this through careful word
choice.
MACRO-EDITING

For Example:
“By the end of the disastrous middle-school
performance, the young ballerinas were all
limping across the stage with sweaty hair
covering their once eager faces.”
- This is telling.
MACRO-EDITING

You can revise it by:


“By the time the curtain fell over the sorry
spectacle of the eight-grade ballet recital,
once-eager faces were plastered with
sweaty hair and fourteen pairs of pink
slippers limped across the stage.
- This is showing.
MACRO-EDITING

You can revise it by:


“By the time the curtain fell over the sorry
spectacle of the eight-grade ballet recital,
once-eager faces were plastered with
sweaty hair and fourteen pairs of pink
slippers limped across the stage.
- This is showing.
MACRO-EDITING

c. Verb choice
Think of verbs that would be more
descriptive, powerful, or active.
Much as possible don’t use PASSIVE
VERBS.
MACRO-EDITING

For Example:
Passive verbs: words in which the action is
being done to the subject, rather than the
subject doing the action
Passive voice: The cat was bitten by the
dog.
Active Voice: The dog bit the cat.
MACRO-EDITING

d. Cutting Adverbs
Another clue that you have chosen a
weak/ generic verb is the impulse to
modify with an adverb
Adverbs are often used to cover up a
weak verb choice.
MACRO-EDITING

e. Figurative language
A writer should never use a figurative
language just for the sake of using it
The purpose of using it is to give the
reader a deeper or more vivid experience.
MACRO-EDITING

For Example:
Generic verb: “went”- went quietly
Instead, you can condense it to one vivid
verb by using “sneaked”
MACRO-EDITING

3) A well-written prose is rich in


detail & told with a distinct
voice/ tone.
TONE- the attitude or approach that the
author takes toward the work’s central
theme
MACRO-EDITING

3) A well-written prose is rich in


detail & told with a distinct
voice/ tone.
TONE- the attitude or approach that the
author takes toward the work’s central
theme

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