Prose writing, whether
fiction or non-fiction, often succeeds or fails on description. The
ability to accurately, evocatively, and memorably describe something is
important to novelists, journalists, and office managers alike. Your
journal activity this week is to practice descriptive writing. Choose a
person, a place or a thing that you want to describe. It can be anything.
If you're having trouble thinking of something to describe, describe the
room you are in as you write.
1. Write a florid description. In one
paragraph, describe your subject in as much detail as you can. Use every
adjective or descriptive phrase you can think of. Over-write.
Fair Island is a relatively
small island in North Eastern Newfoundland located in a large bay. Fair island
is longer from its southwestern tip to its north eastern tip than it is wide.
It shaped like an upside down letter Y when looking at a map. Fair Island is
about 2 km’s long from its south western point to its north eastern point, and
is 750 meters wide. The western side of Fair Island is dotted from north to
south with cabins 50 cabins in array of different colors from white to green to
red to blue. Some of the cabins are well taken care of a have modern vinyl
siding, but others are a reminiscence of 100-150 years old house and in bad
state of repairs as of 2013. Across the channel or tickle about 400 meters to
the west is another island half as small again, but runs parallel and
symmetrical for a distance of 1 Km with Fair island and this island is called
Paul’s island and has a lone remaining cabin on is south eastern side about 300
metres in the channel. To the west of Fair Island is a large north Atlantic bay
scattered with Islands and well protected from the harshness of open waters.
Fair Island is the most easterly Island in the bay before hitting open waters. The
cabins on Fair islands situated on the western side are protected by a hill
with a gradual slope of 1:10 ft ratio of rise to run which rises to a maximum
height of approximately 250-300 feet above sea level. The hill protects the
cabins from exposed harshness of the open North Atlantic on the eastern side of
the island
2. Write a stark description. In one
paragraph, describe the same subject using as few adjective or descriptive
phrases as you can while still getting across what the subject is and what it
is like. Under-write.
An island in Newfoundland with
cabins on it. Some are cabins old and some new. The island is longer than it is
wide but less than 2 km wide. There is a smaller island across the channel running
parallel on one side and the other side is exposed to the open Atlantic.
3. In as many paragraphs as you like, describe
the subject a third time, being as florid or as stark as you like.
Describing Fair Island in the summer, Fair
Island is an island in North Eastern Newfoundland which is 2 km long , shaped
like an upside down Y on a map and 750 metres wide. The west side of the island
is lined from north to south with cabin in a wide assortment of colors ranging
from white, blue, red, green and more. Some of the cabins are modernized as of
2013, but some are over a century old and in bad state of repairs. These older
cabins were built in wooden instead of the popular modern vinyl, and a few old
cabins and stage have old paint which is well weathered and worn from decades
of the north Atlantic storms in some spots the bare wood can be seen. In other
spots, the paint is just faded. Some of the cabins are well attended to with
mowed and manicured laws, and others host grass taller than the average person.
Accompanying the cabins, stages are like boathouses which line the western
shore of this small island. The stages are like a shed for fishermen on the
water, and coming out from the door of each stage is the owners wharf or dock
where their boat is tied off. From the
western shore, the hill gradually climbs to approximate 300 over 750 metres of
land to the summit of the Island where a large boulder sits on the horizon as
if it fell out of the sky. The hill is grassy with small 10 ft cliffs jutting
out in random places and small boulders scatter the hill side. In contrast, the
eastern side and southern sides of the
island have sheer cliffs which drop 200 or more feet into the ocean. Across the
channel on the western side is a smaller island that runs parallel with Fair
Island. 200 metres up from the western shore runs a main road i.e. foot path
which runs north and south along the island. In the middle of the main road
lies the concrete foundation of what use to be a school one time before
Newfoundland had joined confederation in 1949. South of the school is lies two
hand dug wells where people use to get their water on is on the main road and another
slightly more west downhill below the main road. 500 metres south down the main
road there is a fork which goes east or continues south. The eastern fork
remains fairly level and goes around the base of a cliff through boggy land to
a cleared perfectly rectangle black bog patch with no grass. This was once used
as a skating rink for hockey in the winter months on Fair Island. Continuing
south on the path which eventually leads sharply up hill and slightly to the
east to a relatively flat plateau on the southern part of the island which over
looks the vast and open ocean as far as the eye can see. The next land mass
from here is Ireland. After getting to the plateau, there lies a grave yard in
the trees slightly protected. In the graveyard are headstones which date back to
the early 1800s, and many are so faded the encryptions on them have long faded.
The grass in the graveyard is over grown in the years since the people have
left their island home.
4. Think about how many details and how many
adjectives work best and why. Your answer says something personal about
the kind of writer you are, but also gives you some insight into what makes a
good writer good and what makes a bad writer bad. You don't have to write
your reflections down, but feel free to if you wish to do so.
