Write-it: I’m a Word… See Me!
What if a word became a character in a story? Would “Mad” be angry all the time? Would “Extraordinary” be more special than others? We hear words every day and they create an image in our heads, or pull up memories. What if we wrote a story using words as our characters? Personification is a Literary Device where human qualities, emotions, or actions are given to inanimate objects. Read this story about Sophistication, Catastrophe, and Disorder. What can you learn about the meaning of these words just from hearing about them in a story? Can you make a connection to them from other literary characters? What are three ways you can describe Sophistication and Catastrophe?
Sophistication Meets Catastrophe
Sophistication was a special girl. She was worldly, understood many things, and wanted others to know it. She walked with her head held high as if her nose could touch the sky. Sophistication barely ever looked down, because she was too proud, felt too special, and knew way too much.
Until one day…
Catastrophe stormed in — careless, free, and unaware of those he crashed into. It was natural for him to roll, quake, or squish himself wherever he wanted to go. It did not matter whether there was an object, a thing, or a person near him. If it was his time to be where he wanted to be, it would be his way. Not that Catastrophe wanted to be rude. Sometimes it just came across that way to others. In an instant, Catastrophe suddenly bumped into Sophistication. And, suddenly, there was Disorder. “Why would you do this?” Sophistication challenged him. “Why would you cause me to lose my balance and fall?”
“It is natural to sometimes have bumps along your path. But, you can meet new friends along the way and maybe, just maybe, learn something new from them,” Catastrophe said with smug smile. “Meet my friend, Disorder.”
Sometimes when we use words in different and fun ways within our writing, it helps us understand and make a connection to their meaning. Try it sometime. Maybe you could take the story above and continue it with the new character named Disorder. Whatever you choose to do, have fun with this Write It! idea. As always, please send your great stories or poems to the Magic Dragon.
Write It: Modern Cinquains Made Easy
Wondered Are cinquains the Same today as the past? Beautiful, yet are different Let’s share. I just wrote a modern cinquain! Modern Cinquains are very similar to the...
Write It: My Special One Hundred
Here’s a fun activity for creating a word list that you can use when you write creative stories and poems. It’s a quick resource for generating ideas. Step one: divide your...
Write It: Cleri-Who? Clerihew!
A funny, four-lined poem about a person is called a clerihew. The person can be a character in a book you know, a famous person, a family member or even a friend or teacher....
Write It: Heroes
Every story has a hero; every hero has a story! Do you have a hero? Are you a hero? What is a hero? What is a Superhero? How are heroes different from Superheroes? Some...
Write It: Haiku
Before we talk about a different type of poetry, let’s review some of the important things about poems. Poems use very concise language. They don’t have lots of extra words....
Write It: Write an “I’d Rather Be” Poem
You can write an interesting poem by using the phrase, “I’d rather be” on every other line. Your imagination can take twists and turns as you make your poem funny, thought...
Write It: What are Alliteration and Assonance?
Alliteration is when a writer repeats consonant sounds at the beginnings of a sequence of words. Here are some examples: perky, purple pansies fiery phantoms cunning,...
Write It: Show, Don’t Tell
As writers, you have probably heard someone, a teacher, a friend, or an older sibling, say to you that when you write you should “Show, don’t tell." This advice seems to be...
Write It: Write a Fantasy
Is Alice in Wonderland one of your favorite stories? Did you love the movie Frozen? Are you a big fan of Harry Potter trivia? If you have answered "yes" to...
Write It: Writing a Tyburn Poem
We all know the Magic Dragon loves poetry and we’re going to try to write a new and different poem. We are going to try to write a Tyburn Poem. Tyburn poems were...
Write It: Modern Cinquains Made Easy
Wondered Are cinquains the Same today as the past? Beautiful, yet are different Let’s share. I just wrote a modern cinquain! Modern Cinquains are very similar to the...
Write It: My Special One Hundred
Here’s a fun activity for creating a word list that you can use when you write creative stories and poems. It’s a quick resource for generating ideas. Step one: divide your...
Write It: Cleri-Who? Clerihew!
A funny, four-lined poem about a person is called a clerihew. The person can be a character in a book you know, a famous person, a family member or even a friend or teacher....
Write It: Heroes
Every story has a hero; every hero has a story! Do you have a hero? Are you a hero? What is a hero? What is a Superhero? How are heroes different from Superheroes? Some...
Write It: Haiku
Before we talk about a different type of poetry, let’s review some of the important things about poems. Poems use very concise language. They don’t have lots of extra words....
Write It: Write an “I’d Rather Be” Poem
You can write an interesting poem by using the phrase, “I’d rather be” on every other line. Your imagination can take twists and turns as you make your poem funny, thought...
Write It: What are Alliteration and Assonance?
Alliteration is when a writer repeats consonant sounds at the beginnings of a sequence of words. Here are some examples: perky, purple pansies fiery phantoms cunning,...
Write It: Show, Don’t Tell
As writers, you have probably heard someone, a teacher, a friend, or an older sibling, say to you that when you write you should “Show, don’t tell." This advice seems to be...
Write It: Write a Fantasy
Is Alice in Wonderland one of your favorite stories? Did you love the movie Frozen? Are you a big fan of Harry Potter trivia? If you have answered "yes" to...
Write It: Writing a Tyburn Poem
We all know the Magic Dragon loves poetry and we’re going to try to write a new and different poem. We are going to try to write a Tyburn Poem. Tyburn poems were...