UNIT ONE

1.1 WHAT IS CREATIVE WRITING?

The word creative is defined in various ways. The following are just some of the definitions:

―The ability or power to create‖

 ―Imaginative‖
 ―Productive and imaginative‖
 ―Characterized by originality and expressiveness; imaginative‖

Creative writing is therefore generally defined as writing that is imaginative, created, productive
and original. This generally covers all areas of fiction, such as novels, short stories, poetry etc.
but can also include non-fiction, such as feature articles for magazines.

The key element of creative writing is, obviously, creativity. A writer is given free scope to
create characters, places and scenarios to their liking. And not everything has to be created – you
can place fictitious characters in an existing city or town, or, base characters on existing people
and place them in unrealistic surroundings or scenarios. The beauty of creative writing is that
you really are only limited by your imagination.

1.2. TYPES OF CREATIVE WRITING

1.2.1. FICTION AND NON-FICTION

Most people divide fiction and nonfiction in two plain categories where they put fiction into the
interesting catchy side and nonfiction into the boring simple literature, but in fact, there‗s more
to them than just that. There are many types of fiction and non-fiction that when put together
constitute every other form of writing. Simply put, fiction is a work crafted purely of imagination
while nonfiction is based on facts. These notions of writing further divide into many subtypes
and have now given rise to a vast expanse of subgenres.

1.2.1 Fiction: Definition and Examples

We know that fiction refers to the ―type of literature created from the writer‗s imagination.‖

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Fiction can be defined as: Fiction is a genre that revolves around the things that don‗t exist or
happen in reality. OR Fiction is writing based on its author‗s creativity and the imagination that
he/she possesses.

Some popular fiction genres are:

Fantasy
Crime thrillers
Poetry
Science fiction
Mysteries
Romance
Fantasy Writing
Fantasy writing is a sub-genre of speculative fiction which includes writing categories like
science fiction, supernatural fiction, horror, apocalyptic fiction, and so forth. Unlike science
fiction, fantasy avoids scientific themes. Instead the focus is primarily on magical and fantastical
themes.
Fantasy can cover things like fairytales, folklore, mythology, witchcraft, mediaeval themes, and
new worlds (such as The Hobbit). As a genre it has gained more popularity again over recent
years with books such as the Harry Potter series and the 'Lord of the Rings' film trilogy. Fantasy
writing often involves the writer creating a new world, or they may present a new take on the
existing world where the fantasy can exist, and where the reader or audience can escape to.

The fantasy genre has also been popularized by video games and television series such as 'The
Dresden Files' and 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. In 'The Dresden Files' a wizard exists in modern
day America. In 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer', vampires exist in the real world. Most people
conduct their everyday lives oblivious to the fact that vampires and wizards exist, but they do
exist to the enlightened few and the audience in the world that the writers created. The world is
still that which we are familiar with, but supernatural creatures co-exist. Similarly, J.K. Rowling

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created a secret world in the Harry Potter series, where wizards and witches exist under the nose
of the unsuspecting general public.

Crime Fiction

Crime fiction is also a popular genre which really became recognised as such around the
beginning of the twentieth century, although Edgar Allan Poe wrote several crime themed novels
in the mid 1800s. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'Sherlock Holmes' books are widely regard as being
the publications which propelled this genre into public interest.

Crime fiction is often categorised into subgenres, for instance:

 Detective fiction - including the 'whodunit', an investigator uncovers crimes

 Courtroom drama - the main characters are lawyers, judges, co-workers, etc.
 Legal fiction - involves investigating crimes and litigation as themes; might be a police
drama, detective drama
 Hardboiled fiction - usually includes a detective who also has to deal with the rougher
side of life, corruption, etc. Typically set during prohibition or some other subversive
time.

Poetry

Poetry is more a major form of literature along with novels, novellas, plays (drama), and short
stories rather than a genre per se. However, within poetry are many genres and subgenres. Types
of poetry range from ballads to haiku, free verse to poetic stories for children, slam poetry and so
on.

The main genres within poetry are as follows:

 Prose poetry - a mixture of prose and poetry

 Dramatic poetry - a drama written in verse
 Speculative poetry - fantasy poetry

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  Epic poetry - lengthy poems with a continuous narrative (e.g. Homer's 'Iliad')
 Narrative poetry - tells a story; like epic but shorter
 Satirical poetry - based on satire; often political
 Elegy - a mournful poem
 Lyric poetry - personal poetry; generally contemplative
 Verse fable - ancient verse with a moral message

Science Fiction

Science fiction is related to fantasy writing in that it is a subgenre of speculative writing, and a
science fiction story may create a new world – a new planet or a future version of planet Earth.
The main difference is that as the name suggests it utilises scientific principles and laws to create
credible worlds. The focus is also very much on the future - how things might be should certain
scientific innovations come to pass.

Types of Fiction With Examples

As astounding and attention grabbing as fiction is, it gets complicated the more we delve into its
many flavors, for it is a category of literature that further delves into many types. Enlisted below
are some of the many types of fiction:

1. Vignette: It is a very short but expressive piece of writing that involves more meaning than the
plot. Example: In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway

2. Drabble: A very short piece of fiction which is under a hundred words. Example: The Larder
Thief

3. Fable: A concise fictional story that is generally written in verse form or prose and usually
feature animals, legendary creatures, myths or legends that have been assigned human qualities.
These are mostly children‗s stories as they almost always contain a moral. Example: The
Tortoise and The Hare by Aesop

4. Parable: A parable is different from a fable in that it uses humans to convey a message of
spiritual importance or moral. Example: The Boy Who Cried Wolf by Aesop

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5. Short Story: A short story differs from a novel in that it can be read in one sitting, has a
narrator and feature either one moment of time or a few events that are linked and give a single
effect. Example: The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant

6. Long Short Story: A story that stands somewhere between a short story and a novel is referred
to as a long short story. It is a bit more complex than a short story because it can have more than
one person‗s point of view but links related chain of events. Example: To Build a Fire by Jack
London

7. Flash Fiction: A story that is under a thousand words but contains characters and plots is a
flash fiction. Example: Chapter V by Ernest Hemingway

8. Micro Fiction: It is similar to a flash fiction but it only contains 300 words or less. Example:
Sticks by George Saunders

9. Novelette: A novelette highlights a short novel that is light or sentimental in its reading.
Example: Of Mice and Men by John Steinback

10. Novella: Even though novellas are not restricted to any number of words, but their length lies
somewhere between that of a short story and a novel. It often focuses on one focal point and one
plot going on at the time, with mostly one or two main characters whose journey we follow
throughout the story and see how they develop according to their circumstances. Example: Heart
of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

11. Novel: A novel consists of many subplots going on simultaneously along with the main plot
and is longer than a novel, often consisting of 50,000 words or more. Example: Jane Eyre by
Charlotte Bronte

12. Saga: A saga tells the tale of a series of events and uses more than one person‗s point of
view. The story is usually divided into two or more parts that depict the main plot and characters
and develop with each book. Example: The Twilight Saga

13. Myths: Myths are related to the stories about the ancient people and their world and are
nonscientific in nature. They are often short stories that do not explain much about the

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phenomenon occurring in them and feature extraordinarily powerful creatures and gods that are
mostly based on imagination. Example: Paradise Lost by John Milton

14. Performance Fiction: It is a type of fiction that is written to be performed by characters in

situations that are not true in nature. It is like a novel and features stories based on the writer‗s
imagination, except that it is performed by people to tell the story. Example: F.R.I.E.N.D.S Tv
Show

15. Oral Tradition: Fiction that is presented in the form of voice rather than being written down
is called oral fiction. It features songs, folktales, ballads and fairy tales in some cases.

Example: Cinderellaliterature, non fiction, genres of fiction

UNIT TWO
2.1 NONFICTION:

We know that nonfiction refers to the ―type of literature based solely on facts.‖

Nonfiction can be defined as: Nonfiction is a category of literature that deals with reality where
the author‗s creativity is in the writing style instead of the story itself.

Some popular nonfiction categories are:

Biographies
Religion
History
Science
Humor
True crime and
Languages

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Types of Non-Fiction With Examples

Most people are often so inclined towards fictional reads that they regard non-fiction as boring or
maybe they have preconceived non-fiction as a dry read and so they chose fiction all their lives,
closing the drapes over the non-fiction world. The thing is, non-fiction is not boring or a dull
read, it‗s just that we are not familiar with the types of it and have only restricted non-fiction to
biographies and textbooks. Allow me to introduce you to the world of creative non-fiction which
comes with a hell of a lot of surprises and is as colorful and wonderfully written as fiction books,
except that the plots and turn of events are based on facts.

Knowing about these types of non-fiction will help you in your writings if you are familiar with
the exact genre and type.

1. Personal Narratives

An essay that retells the tale of an experience that the writer has had the pleasure to experience is
called a personal narrative. It is a form of creative writing and includes dialogue, characterization
and imagery, ending with a moral that can teach something to the readers.

Example: Goodbye to All That by Joan Didion

2. Personal Essays

Written in the first form to describe a single event witnessed or experienced by the author,
personal essays are more like short stories. They can be emotional to religious to a mere recalling
of the memories.

Example: Teaching a Stone to Talky by Annie Dilliard

3. Memoir

Memoirs and personals essays are somewhat similar in that they both retell the tales of personal
experiences of the author, but they have subtle differences. Generally longer in length, a memoir
includes the author‗s description of a particular time in his or her life and its significance. A
memoir also uses the elements of creative writing.

Example: Angela‗s Ashes by Frank McCourt

4. Autobiography

Autobiographies narrate the story of the author‗s whole lifespan from birth to childhood to the
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present and highlight their journey‗s most crucial experiences and their feelings and
circumstances and thoughts behind their actions while going through those incidents. A main
difference between memoirs and autobiographies is that autobiographies follow a more
chronological order while memoirs narrate incidents in episodes.

Example: The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

5. Biography

A biography is simply an account of someone‗s life written by another person. A biography can
be short in the case of few sentences biography, and it can also be long enough to fill an entire
book. The short biographies explain a person‗s basic life facts and their importance, but the long
biographies would go an extra mile and include more details to make an interesting read. You
may find yourself in a situation which requires you to write a biography of a famous person, a
close friend or a relative. For this reason, it pays to know how to come up with a biography and
the important details that you should include in it. The lives of many people have interesting bits
of information, but you ought to know what to capture in the biography and what to leave out.

Example: Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

6. Expository Writing

A type of non-fiction that teaches the readers about something, giving them basic information
about a topic and providing them with facts is called expository writing.

Example: Pamphlets, textbooks, manuals etc.

7. Feature Stories

Stories that circulate around a topic related to a specific culture or a place and are explained from
a third person‗s point of view can be regarded as feature stories. These stories usually appear in
magazines, journals or newspapers and can include coverage of events, quotes and photos related
to the topic.

Example: Feature Stories on The Atlantic

8. Tutorials

A very common type of non-fiction that is very trendy these days are How-to tutorials. These are
often drawn from personal experience and give helpful tips and tricks about something or some
problem at hand.

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Example: How to write if you are in depression

9. Media Texts

Intended to deliver facts, media texts are written to help a specific audience through radio
broadcasts, news bulletins or articles.

10. Adverts

Written in a way that persuades the people to go and buy a product or avail a service, adverts
influence a large audience and are more often than not, biased, but they still depict facts
somewhat as misleading the customers can lead to drastic effects against the company providers.
So, adverts are also categorized as non-fiction.

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 Unit three: Writing Poetry

WHAT IS A POEM?
Before we look at some specific elements of poetry, it‘d be helpful to attempt to define just what a
poem is briefly.

What exactly makes a poem different, for example, from a piece of prose? Or song lyrics, even?

The truth is that when we get down to it, poetry isn‘t all that easy to pin down. Even poets
themselves disagree about what constitutes a poem. What chance, then, do our struggling students
have?

Luckily, some broad, general characteristics can be agreed upon. In this article, we will look at
these common features of poetry and how we can best instil an understanding of these in our
students.

COMMON FEATURES OF POETRY

● It looks like a poem – If it looks like a poem and reads like a poem, then the chances are
pretty good that it is indeed a poem. Poetry comes in lines, some of which are complete sentences,
but many of which are not. Also, these lines usually don‘t run out to the margins consistently, like
in, say, a novel. All this gives poetry a distinctive and recognizable look on the page.

● It often has some underlying form holding things together – While this isn‘t always true (in
some free verse, for example), a lot of poetry conforms to a prescribed structure, such as in a
sonnet, a haiku etc.

● It uses imagery – If the poet is worth his or her salt, they‘ll endeavour to create images in the
reader‘s mind using lots of sensory details and figurative language.

● It has a certain musicality – We could be forgiven for thinking that poetry‘s natural
incarnation is the written word and its habitat, the page, but the printed word is not where poetry‘s
origins lie. The earliest poems were composed orally and committed to memory. We can still see
the importance the sound of language plays when we read poems out loud. We can see it, too, in
the attention paid to musical devices incorporated into the poem. Devices such as alliteration,
assonance, and rhyme, for example. We will look at many of these later in this article.

Keep in mind that some forms of writing, such as prose poetry or poetic prose, may blur the lines
between poetry and prose. In these cases, the distinction might be less clear, and it‘s up to the
reader to interpret the work‘s genre.

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THE PURPOSE OF POETRY: WHAT IS POETRY FOR?
Of all the forms professional writers can take, the professional poet most often finds themself
struggling to make ends meet financially. Poetry can be challenging to understand and require
much effort from the reader. Students can be forgiven for wondering exactly what the point of this
difficult-to-write and difficult-to-read genre that is apparently used to torture the less literary-
minded during their school years.

It may be a hard sell to some of our more reluctant students, but there is a point behind all this
word-smothery.

Poetry‘s purpose is essential to help us understand the world around us. It endeavors to show us
things anew that we may have previously taken for granted. It offers us new perspectives on the
familiar.

Poetry‘s purpose is to enable us to see the world with fresh eyes again, like those of a child. Doing
this, helps us understand our world more profoundly.

THE STRUCTURE OF POETRY

We‘ve mentioned already that though poetry‘s origins lie in the spoken word, it does take a very
recognizable shape when put down on the page. This is mainly due to the overall organization of
the lines on the page, often in the form of stanzas.

THE STANZA
Though some modern forms of poetry eschew traditional poetic conventions such as rhyme
schemes and meter etc., the stanza still plays a vital role in the overall look of printed poetry.

But, just what exactly is a stanza? – your students may well ask.

Stanzas are the poetic equivalent of a prose paragraph. They are a series of lines grouped together
and separated from other groups of lines or stanzas by a skipped line.

Stanzas come in various lengths, dependent either on the poet‘s whim or the conventions of a
particular poetic form. Various technical vocabulary is often used to refer to stanzas of specific
lengths. Here are the most common of these,

Stanzas of:

● two lines are called a couplet

● three lines are called a tercet
● four lines are called a quatrain
● five lines are called a cinquain
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● six lines are called a sestet, or occasionally a sexain
● seven lines are called a septet
● eight lines are called an octave

POEM STRUCTURES: TYPES OF POETRY AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

When exploring the elements of poetry, we must appreciate there are many different types of
poetry, some of which we will look at below. But, regardless of the specific type of poetry in
question, a poem will most likely fit into one of these three overarching types of
poetry: lyric, narrative, and descriptive.

Lyric Poetry
Lyric poetry mainly concerns the poet‘s emotional life; it‘s written in their voice and expresses
solid thoughts and emotions. There is only one voice in a lyric poem, and we see the world from
that single perspective. Most modern poetry is lyric poetry in that it is personal and introspective.

Lyric Poetry Example: The Cat’s Serenade

The moon is high and the night is still

A feline prowls with a velvet thrill
His whiskers twitch and his eyes gleam bright
As he sets out on his nightly flight

The world is his, all to explore

His kingdom vast, a hunter's floor
With stealth and grace he moves along
A symphony of purrs and song

The night breeze whispers in his ear

As he purrs a tune, oh so clear
His melody lulls the world to sleep
As he creeps and crawls, oh so deep

The stars above, they shine so bright

As the cat serenades the night
With every note, he weaves a spell
A magical tune, too hard to quell

So listen close, my dear friend

To the cat's serenade, till the very end
For in his song, there lies a clue
To the secrets of the night, so pure and true.
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Narrative Poetry
As its name implies, narrative poetry is concerned with storytelling. Just as in a prose story, a
narrative poem will most likely follow the conventions of the plot, including elements such as
conflict, rising action, climax, resolution etc. Again, as in prose stories, narrative poems will most
likely be peopled with characters to perform the actions of the tale.

Narrative Poem Example: The Tale of Little Miss Whiskers

Little Miss Whiskers was a feline so fine,

Her fur was soft, and her eyes did shine.
With a tail that flicked and a nose so pink,
She roamed the streets, without a single wink.

She lived in a world, full of mystery and might,

With rats and mice, she'd battle all night.
She'd prowl and pounce, with agility and grace,
And win the fight, in every single case.

But one day, as she ventured too far,

She stumbled upon a street so bizarre.
With buildings that rose, into the endless sky,
And people who rushed, with no time to pry.

Little Miss Whiskers was lost, that was clear,

But she refused to be trapped, in a world so drear.
So she set out, to find her way back,
With courage and wit, she stayed on track.

She met a dog, a bird, and a mouse,

And together they roamed, from house to house.
They braved the streets, and the alleys so dark,
And in each other, they found a spark.

Little Miss Whiskers had finally found her way,

And her new friends, she decided to stay.
For in this world, so strange and new,
She had found a family, and a home so true.

And so she roamed, with her tail held high,

In a world that was full, of wonders and sky.
With every step, she felt so free,

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Little Miss Whiskers, the cat of the city.

Descriptive Poetry
Descriptive poetry usually employs lots of rich imagery to describe the world around the poet.
While it most often has a single poetic voice and strong emotional content, descriptive poetry
differs from lyric poetry in that its focus is more on the externalities of the world rather than the
poet‘s interior life.

Descriptive Poetry Example: The Majestic Cat

A cat so grand, with fur of gold,

A sight to see, so brave and bold.
His eyes of amber, bright and clear,
A gaze so piercing, it filled with fear.

He sat atop a throne of pillows,

A king of his own, no need for billows.
His head held high, with regal grace,
A monarch of the feline race.

His fur was soft, like silk and down,

His whiskers long, like a monarch's crown.
His paws were strong, with sharp claws,
A hunter's weapon, with no flaws.

He moved with grace, like a dancer's feet,

His tail so long, like a winding street.
He leaped and bounded, with such ease,
A sight so grand, it was hard to please.

But when he curled, and snuggled close,

His gentle purr, like a soothing dose.
His eyes so calm, his heart at rest,
A friend so true, with no protest.

For in his majesty, he still had love,

A heart so pure, like a cooing dove.
A cat so grand, yet still so kind,
A true companion, that's hard to find.
We have mentioned that poetry often hangs on the conventions of specific underlying structures.
Now, look at some of the more common subtypes and their defining characteristics.
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SUBTYPES OF POETRY
Sonnet

Sonnets are predominantly concerned with matters of the heart. If you see a sonnet‘s recognisably
blocky form on a page, there‘s a good chance the theme will be love. There are two common forms
of sonnets: Shakespearean and Petrarchan. They differ slightly in their internal structure, but both
have 14 lines. Let‘s take look at some more of the internal characteristics of both forms:

Petrarchan
● Comprises two stanzas
● The First eight lines pose a question
● 2nd stanza answers the question posed
● The rhyme scheme is: ABBA, ABBA, CDECDE

Shakespearean
● Comprises 3 quatrains of 4 lines each
● Ends with a rhyming couplet which forms a conclusion
● The rhyme scheme is: ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG

Haiku
Haiku is a disciplined form of poetry that originates in 17th-century Japanese poetry. Usually, it is
concerned with nature and natural phenomena such as the seasons, weather etc. They are often
quite meditative in tone.

However, there are no fundamental rules regarding themes; the only actual demands here relate to
structure:

● They are written in three-line stanzas

● 1st line contains five syllables
● 2nd line contains seven syllables
● 3rd line contains five syllables

Due to their short length and limited requirements, these are usually a lot of fun for students to
write. They can serve as an excellent introduction for students to attempt to write poetry according
to specific technical requirements of a form.

Elegy
Elegies are a type of poem that don‘t really come with specific structural requirements but still
constitute a recognisable form of poetry. What makes an elegy an elegy is its subject, that is, death.

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Elegies are poems of lamentation – the word elegy itself comes from the Greek word elegeia which
means to ‗lament‘.

● A poem of reflection on death or on someone who has died

● Usually comes in three parts expressing loss:
○ grief
○ praise for the deceased
○ and, finally, consolation.

Limerick
Favorites of school children everywhere, the most defining characteristic of limericks is their
renowned humor. Given their well-deserved reputation for being funny and, on occasion, crude, it‘s
easy to overlook the fact that beneath the laughs lies quite a tightly structured verse form.

● five lines in total

●Distinct verbal rhythm
● two longer lines of usually between 7 to 10 syllables
● two shorter lines of usually between 5 to 7 syllables
● one closing line containing the ‗punchline.‘
● Rhyme scheme is AABBA

Ballad
Ballads are a type of narrative poetry closely tied to musical forms. Ballads written as poetry can
often easily be adapted as song lyrics. While ballads don‘t have tight formal constrictions like some
other forms of poetry, there are enough in the way of distinguishable features to identify them as a
form.

● Tells a story, often using simple language

● Often romantic, adventurous, or humorous
● Arranged in groups of 4 lines or quatrains
● Often uses alternating 4 and 3 beat lines
● Rhyme scheme is usually ABAB or ABCB

Ode
Another poetry form that traces its origins to Ancient Greece, odes were initially intended to be
sung. Nowadays, though no longer sung, the term ode still refers to a type of lyrical poem that
addresses and often praises a specific person, thing, or event.

● The author addresses a person, thing, or event

● Usually has a solemn, serious tone

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● Explores universal elements of the theme
● Powerful emotional element, often involving catharsis

Odes written in the classical vein can follow very strict metrical patterns and rhyme schemes.
However, many modern odes are written in free verse involving irregular rhythm and without
adherence to a rhyme scheme.

Epic
These long narrative poems recount heroic tales, usually focused on a legendary or mythical figure.
Think of works of literature on a grand scale, such as The Odyssey, The Cattle Raid of Cooley,
or Beowulf.

● Employs an objective and omniscient narrator

● Written in an elevated style
● Recounts heroic events
● Grand in scale

POETIC DEVICES
Though we refer to these devices here as ‗poetic devices, the devices below are not the exclusive
domain of poetry alone, many of these are to be found in other writing genres, particularly other
creative forms such as short stories, novels, and creative nonfiction.

Many of these devices originate in poetry‘s roots as a spoken literary form. They rely on the
musicality of words, their rhythm and rhyme. They focus on various sound effects that can be
created by the carefully chosen word.

Other devices are more concerned with imagery. They forge connections between various ideas
and conjure pictures in the readers‘ minds. Together, these devices lift poetry into the realm of art.

The following devices are organized into two sections. The first section, titled Sound Devices,
deals with the following devices: alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, rhyme, and
rhythm.

The second section, Figurative Language, deals with metaphor, personification, and simile. These
are not meant as an exhaustive list but to give an indication of the possibilities for these elements of
poetry. You can find many more examples of these in our article on figurative language.

Students will benefit from learning the definitions of each device over time. While it is essential
that they learn to recognize their use in the poetry of others and appreciate the effects these devices
can create, it is equally important that the students get a chance to have a go at creating their own
examples of these devices in their own writing.
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It is only by trying their hand at employing these devices in their own work that students can really
internalize how these devices operate. So, in the section below, we‘ll first look at a working
definition of the poetic device, then an example to illustrate it in action, before offering simple
exercises students can undertake to gain more practice with it themselves.

SOUND DEVICES
Alliteration
Meaning: This device involves the repetition of the initial consonant sound of a series of words,
often consecutively. Alliteration is most easily explained to students by looking at a few simple
tongue twisters, such as Peter Piper or She Sells Seashells.

Example:

Betty Botter bought a bit of butter

But, the bit of butter Betty Botter bought was bitter
So Betty Botter bought a better bit of butter

Exercise: Challenge the students to write their own tongue twisters using alliteration. You may
wish to give them a topic to write on to start. For example, younger students may well enjoy
writing about animals. They may even wish to employ the sounds animals make in their tongue
twister, e.g. The slithering snake slid sideways through the grass… Once they have written their
poem see if they can identify any other elements of poetry within it.

Assonance
Meaning: Similarly to alliteration, assonance involves the repetition of sounds in a series of words,
often consecutive words. However, rather than repeating the initial sounds, assonance focuses on
the repeated internal vowel sounds.

Example: We can find many examples of assonance in poetry and song. Here‘s an example from
the poetry of Edgar Allen Poe: Hear the mellow wedding bells

―Muffled monotonous murmur of matrimony―

In this line, the repetition of the ―uh‖ sound in ―muffled,‖ ―monotonous,‖ ―murmur,‖ and
―matrimony‖ creates an assonant effect, which emphasizes the monotonous and dull sound of the
wedding bells.

Exercise: Assonance is often referred to as ‗vowel rhyme‘. It is prevalent in many forms of popular
music, especially rap. Challenge your students to find examples of assonance in the music they
listen to and share them with the class. They may also want to try their hand at writing their
examples too.
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Consonance
Meaning: Consonance is the consonant-focused counterpart to assonance. It involves the repetition
of consonant sounds in the middle or at the end of words, distinguished from alliteration, where the
initial sound is repeated.

Example: The crow struck through the thick cloud like a rocket

Exercise: As there are many similarities between the devices of alliteration, assonance, and
consonance, it would be a good idea to give the students opportunities to practice distinguishing
between them. An excellent exercise to achieve this is to first identify examples of each device
from a verse in a poetry anthology before challenging them to create original examples of each on
their own. The students can then use the examples they have identified as models to create their
own.

Meter
Meaning: Meter is like the beat or rhythm in a poem. It‘s a pattern of stressed and unstressed
syllables that makes the poem sound musical and smooth. Think of it like the way music has a
steady beat that makes you tap your foot.

Example: One common type of meter is called iambic pentameter. In iambic pentameter, each line
has five groups of two syllables, and the second syllable in each group is stressed, or has more
emphasis. It sounds like ―da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM.‖

Here‘s an example from a famous poem by Shakespeare:

―Shall I compare thee to a summer‘s day?‖ (Sonnet 18, line 1)

In this line, each group of two syllables has a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one, like
―Shall I,‖ ―thee to,‖ ―a sum-,‖ ―mer‘s day.‖ This makes the poem sound nice and rhythmic, almost
like a song.

Different types of meter create different rhythms and feelings in poems. Understanding meter can
help you appreciate the music and flow of poetry, just like you appreciate the beat in your favorite
songs.

Exercise: Introduce high school students to the concept of meter using the ―Rhythmic Clap and
Snap‖ method. Display short phrases or lines representing different meters, such as iambic
pentameter, trochaic, anapestic, and dactylic. Explain the stressed and unstressed syllables and
demonstrate clapping and snapping to the correct rhythm for the first phrase. Divide the class into
groups to practice reading their assigned phrases with the right meter. Then, have groups perform
their phrases while others identify the meter. Encourage creativity by having students create their

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own lines in various meters. This interactive exercise provides a lively way for students to
understand and experience the rhythmic aspect of poetry.

Onomatopoeia
Meaning: Onomatopoeia refers to creating words that sound like the very thing they refer to. For
many students, the first introduction to onomatopoeia goes back to learning animal sounds as an
infant. Words such as Oink! Chirp! Woof! and Meow! can all be thought of as onomatopoeic. Be
sure to examine these elements of poetry with your younger students first.

Example: Aside from animal noises, the names of sounds themselves are often onomatopoeic, for
example:

Bang!
Thud!
Crash!

Exercise: Encourage students to coin new onomatopoeic words. Instruct them to sit in silence for a
few minutes. They should pay close attention to all the sounds they can hear in the environment.
When the time is up, have the students quickly jot down all the noises they heard. They should then
come up with an onomatopoeic word for each of the different sounds. For example, if they could
hear people indistinctly talking in the corridor, they might come up with the word ‗rabbalabba‘ to
describe the sound they heard. As an extension, they could try using their freshly-minted words in
sentences.

Rhyme
Meaning: Rhyme refers to the repetition of sounds in a poem. Various types of rhyme are possible;
however, in English, we usually use the term rhyme to refer to the repetition of the final sounds in a
line or end rhyme. Letters are often used to denote a rhyme scheme. A new letter is ascribed to
each of the different sounds. For example, in the following example, the rhyme scheme is
described as ABAB.

Example:

The people along the sand

All turn and look one way.
They turn their back on the land.
They look at the sea all day.
[From Neither Out Far Nor In Deep by Robert Frost]

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Exercise: Even though a lot of modern poetry no longer follows a strict rhyme scheme, it is still
helpful for students to recognize various rhyming patterns in poetry. A good way for them to gain
more experience with rhyme schemes is to give them copies of several different poems and ask
them to describe the rhyme scheme using letters, e.g. ABAB, ABABCC etc. Once they have
completed this task, they can be challenged to write a stanza or two of poetry employing each
identified rhyme scheme.

Rhythm
Meaning: Rhythm in poetry involves sound patterning. A lot of classical poetry conforms to a
systematic regularity of rhythm, referred to as the poem‘s meter. This involves combining stressed
and unstressed syllables to create a constant beat pattern that runs throughout the poem. Each
pattern of beats is called a foot. There are various possible combinations of stressed and unstressed
syllables, or feet, and these patterns have their own names to describe them. While exploring all of
these in this article is impossible, we look at one of the more common ones below.

Example:

Shall I compare thee to a summer‟s day

[Iambic pentameter, i.e. five metrical feet of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables]

Exercise: A valuable way of tuning in students to meter is to have them mark the stressed and
unstressed syllables in a line of poetry. The iambic pentameter is a good place to start. This pattern
is found in many of Shakespeare‘s plays. It is also frequently used in love sonnets, where its
rhythm reflects the beating of the human heart and reinforces the idea that love comes ‗from the
heart‘. Once students have become adept at recognizing various meters and rhythms, they should
have a go at writing in them too.

Figurative / Connotative Language in Poetry

Metaphor
Meaning: Metaphors make comparisons between things by stating that one thing literally is
something else. Metaphors are used to bring clarity to ideas by forming connections. Often,
metaphors reveal implicit similarities between two things or concepts.

Example: We can find lots of examples of metaphors in our everyday speech, for example:

She‟s an old flame

Time is money
Life is a rollercoaster

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Exercise: When students can comfortably identify metaphors in the poems of others, they should
try their hands at creating their own metaphors. A good start is challenging them to convert some
similes into metaphors. Not only does this give students valuable practice in creating metaphors,
but it also helps reinforce their understanding of the differences between metaphors and similes
while giving them a scaffold to support their first attempts at producing metaphors themselves.

Simile
Meaning: Unlike metaphors that make comparisons by saying one thing is something else, similes
work by saying something is similar to something else. They commonly come in two forms. Those
that compare using ‗as‘ and those that make a comparison using ‗like‘.

Example:

She is as strong as an ox
She sings like a nightingale

Exercise: As with the exercise for metaphors, it‘d be helpful to practice for students to convert
metaphors they identify in poetry into similes, reinforcing their understanding of both.

Personification
Meaning: Personification is a particular type of metaphor where a non-human thing or idea is
ascribed to human qualities or abilities. This can be in the form of a single phrase or line or
extended in the form of a stanza or the whole poem.

Example:

The moon was shining sulkily,

Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done –
“It‟s very rude of him,” she said,
“To come and spoil the fun.”
[From the Walrus and the Carpenter by Lewis Carroll]

Exercise: To help students practice distinguishing between metaphors, similes, and personification,
gather a list of jumbled-up examples of each from various poems. Students can then sort these
accordingly. When they have completed this, task them to devise an original example of each.

The elements of poetry are many, and while the elements explored above represent the most
important of these, it is not an exhaustive list of every element. It takes lots of exposure for

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students to become comfortable recognizing each and confident in employing these elements in
their writing.

Take every opportunity to reinforce student understanding of these elements. Poetic elements are
often employed in genres outside of poetry, such as in stories, advertising, and song – waste no
opportunity!

Poetry is an intricate literary form that incorporates rhyme, figurative language, sound devices,
and meter in order to evoke a wide array of meanings. The language of poetry is not always
straightforward. It guides readers to reach a conclusion but never gives out any details explicitly.
Such is the beauty of a poetry text that demands readers‘ attentive and creative participation. With
the knowledge of the important poetry elements, we can understand a poem‘s message and
appreciate the text more effectively.

The Elements of Poetry

1 Structure and Form

2 Meter

3 Rhyme and Rhyme Scheme

4 Sound and Rhythm

5 Subject

6 Speaker

7 Figurative Language and Poetic Devices

8 Theme

9 Tone and Mood

10 Syntax

Structure and Form

Poetry comes in a variety of forms and in each form follows a specific structure. For example,
the sonnet form containing a set structure is different from odes. A free verse poem does not have
the metrical regularity, which can be found in a blank verse poem.
The structural elements found in poetry are:
 Stanza: is a group of lines set off from others by a blank line or indentation.

 Verse: are stanzas with no set number of lines that make up units based on sense.

 Canto: is a stanza pattern found in medieval and modern long poetry.

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Some of the important poetry forms include:
 Sonnet: is a fourteen-line poem with a set rhyme scheme, often divided
into quatrains, octaves, and sestets.

 Ode: is a formal lyric poem written in celebration or dedication of something with specific
intent.

 Lyric: is a personal piece of poetry that tends to be shorter, melodic, and contemplative.

 Elegy: is a mournful poem, especially a lament for the dead.

 Villanelle: is a nineteen-line poem comprising five triplets with a closing quatrain.

 Limerick: is a humorous piece of poetry that consists of five lines with the same rhythm.

 Haiku: is a form of unrhymed Japanese poetry containing three sections with a total of 17
syllables arranged in a 5-7-5 pattern.

Meter
Meter is the definitive pattern found in verse. Some of the important metrical feet in English poetry
include:
 Iamb: consists of one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, as in des-pair, ex-
clude, re-peat, etc.

 Trochee: is a metrical foot containing one stressed syllable followed by an unstressed

syllable, as in sis-ter, flow-er, splin-ter, etc.

 Dactyl: comprised one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables, as in si-mi-
lar.

 Anapest: consists of three syllables, where the first two are unstressed and the last one is
stressed, as in com-pre-hend.

 Spondee: contains two stressed syllables, like ―drum beat‖.

 Pyrrhic: is the opposite of spondee and contains two unstressed syllables.

Poets utilize these metrical feet to create a pattern, which is called a metrical pattern or metrical
scheme. Some of the important metrical patterns include:
 Iambic pentameter: occurs when the lines of a poem contain five iambs each. Shakespeare‘s
sonnets are written in this meter.

 Iambic tetrameter: is another important metrical pattern. It occurs when the lines have four
iambs each, as in Robert Frost‗s poem „Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening‟.

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  Trochaic tetrameter: is the recurring pattern of four trochees per line. In „The Song of
Hiawatha,‟ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow uses this meter.

 Trochaic octameter: occurs when verse lines contain eight trochees each. Edgar Allan Poe‘s
best-known poem „The Raven‟ is written in this meter.

Rhyme and Rhyme Scheme

Rhyme is the repetitive pattern of sounds found in poetry. They are used to reinforce a pattern or
rhyme scheme. In specific poetry forms such as ballads, sonnets, and couplets, the rhyme scheme is
an important element. The common types of rhymes used in poetry are:
 End Rhyme: is a common type of rhyme in poetry that occurs when the last word of two or
more lines rhyme.
 Imperfect Rhyme: is a type of rhyme that occurs in words that do not have an identical
sound.
 Internal Rhyme: occurs in the middle of lines in poetry.
 Masculine Rhyme: is the rhyming between stressed syllables at the end of verse lines.
 Feminine Rhyme: is the rhyming between unstressed syllables at the end of verse lines.

Sound and Rhythm

Sound and rhythm are other important elements of poetry. The sound of a poetic text means how a
line or what sounds some specific words evoke in readers‘ minds. Rhythm is a set pattern that is
formed by these sounds. In poetry, rhythm refers to the metrical rhythm that involves the
arrangement of syllables into repeating patterns called feet. For example, the following lines from
William Shakespeare‘s „Sonnet 116‟ contain an iambic rhythm with a few variations:
Let me/ not to/ the mar/-riage of/ true minds
Ad-mit/ im-pe/-di-ments./ Love is/ not love
Which al/-ters when/ it al/-te-ra/-tion finds,
Or bends/ with the/ re-mo/-ver to/ re-move:

Subject
The subject or content of poetry differs across a variety of forms. A subject is what the poem is
about. For instance, the subjects of sonnets include love and admiration for one‘s beloved,
heartache and separation. Whereas divine sonnets include the subjects of devotions to
God, enlightenment, and salvation. Elegies are written in memory of someone who is no more.
Therefore, the subject of these poems is a dead person.

Speaker
Speaker is one who narrates the poem. In poetry, we tend to think that the poet is
the speaker himself. However, it is not always the case. Sometimes, poets assume an imaginative
character and write the poem from their perspective.

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Generally, the poem is told from the perspective of a first-person speaker or a third-person speaker.
Poets also use the second-person point of view in order to communicate directly with readers.
Understanding the speaker helps us to know the poem‘s tone and mood.

Figurative Language and Poetic Devices

Poetry uses figurative language and different poetic devices to suggest different interpretations of
words or to evoke other ideas that are not literally connected with the words. The sound devices
such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, and onomatopoeia are used to create musical effects.
Elements of poetic diction such as irony, symbolism, and juxtaposition leave a poem open to
several interpretations. In the same way, poetic devices such as metaphor and simile are used to
build a relationship between different images previously not perceived.
Some important poetic devices in poetry include:
 Simile: is a comparison between two unlike things using the words ―like‖ or ―as‖.
 Metaphor: is an implicit comparison between different images or ideas without the use of
―like‖ or ―as‖.
 Repetition: is a poetic technique that refers to the reuse of words, phrases, and images
several times in a poem.
 Enjambment: occurs when a line is cut off before its natural point.
 Irony: occurs when an outcome is different than what is expected.
 Personification: is a poetic device that refers to the projection of human characteristics into
inanimate objects.
 Onomatopoeia: occurs when a word imitates a natural sound.
 Hyperbole: occurs when one statement is elevated for a certain poetic effect.

Theme
The theme is a recurring idea or a pervading thought in a work of literature. Poetry themes include
some common ideas such as love, nature, beauty, and as complex as death, spirituality, and
immortality. An understanding of the theme helps readers to identify the core message of the poem
or the poet‘s purpose for writing the poem. For example, the following lines of Robert Burns‘ „A
Red, Red Rose‟ exemplify the theme as well as the underlying message of the entire poem:
O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That‘s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That‘s sweetly played in tune.

This piece is written in admiration of the speaker‘s beloved. Therefore, the main themes of the
poem are beauty, love, and admiration. Explore some of the important themes in poetry.

Tone and Mood

Diction is another significant aspect of poetry. It refers to the language, sound, and form used in a
particular piece of poetry. The tone or attitude of a poem‘s speaker and the mood of the entire text

26
is part of poetic diction. To understand the speaker‘s attitude or tone to the subject, readers have to
look for the poet‘s choice of words, figurative language, and sound devices. The mood is related to
the impression of the text upon readers. Explore these lines from Keats‘ „Ode to a Nightingale‟:

My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains

My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains
One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:
‗Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,
But being too happy in thine happiness,
That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees
In some melodious plot
Of beechen green, and shadows numberless,
Singest of summer in full-throated case.

In these lines, the speaker describes the nightingale‘s song in an elevated language. He is awe-
struck after listening to its intoxicating song.
Thus, the tone is emotive, pleasant, and elated. The mood of the poem is happy and positive.

Syntax
The syntax is the ordering of words into meaningful patterns. Poetry has a distinct syntax compared
to prose, fiction, and other forms of literature. Poets manipulate the conventional syntax to
emphasize specific words. The purpose of adopting a specific syntax and diction is to achieve
certain artistic effects such as tone, mood, etc. For instance, in Dickinson‘s „A Narrow Fellow in
the Grass,‟ the speaker describes her surprise and amusement upon the discovery of a snake. To
convey her feelings, Dickinson uses a specific syntax:

A narrow fellow in the grass

Occasionally rides;
You may have met him-did you not
His notice sudden is,

How to Write a Poem: Get Tips from a Published Poet

Ever wondered how to write a poem? For writers who want to dig deep, composing verse lets you
sift the sand of your experience for new glimmers of insight. And if you‘re in it for less lofty
reasons, shaping a stanza from start to finish can teach you to have fun with language in totally new
ways.

To help demystify the subtle art of writing verse, we chatted with Reedsy editor (and published
poet) Lauren Stroh. In 8 simple steps, here's how to write a poem:

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  1. Brainstorm your starting point
 2. Free-write in prose first
 3. Choose your poem‘s form and style
 4. Read for inspiration
 5. Write for an audience of one — you
 6. Read your poem out loud
 7. Take a break to refresh your mind
 8. Have fun revising your poem
Why should novelists and short story writers try their hand at poetry?

1. Brainstorm your starting point

If you‘re struggling to write your poem in order from the first line to the last, a good trick is
opening with whichever starting point your brain can latch onto as it learns to think in verse.

Your starting point can be a line or a phrase you want to work into your poem, though it doesn‘t
have to take the form of language at all. It might be a picture in your head, as particular as the curl
of hair over your daughter‘s ear as she sleeps, or as capacious as the sea. It can even be a
complicated feeling you want to render with precision — or maybe it's a memory you return to
again and again. Think of this starting point as the "why" behind your poem, your impetus for
writing it in the first place.

If you‘re worried your starting point isn‘t grand enough to merit an entire poem, stop right there.
After all, literary giants have wrung verse out of every topic under the sun, from the
disappointments of a post-Odyssey Odysseus to illicitly eaten refrigerated plums.

Tennyson, Queen Victoria's poet laureate, revisits an ancient literary classic in this blank-verse
piece about what happens after the happily ever after.

As Lauren Stroh sees it, your experience is more than worthy of being immortalized in verse.

"I think the most successful poems articulate something true about the human experience and help
us look at the everyday world in new and exciting ways."

2. Free-write in prose first

It may seem counterintuitive but if you struggle to write down lines that resonate, perhaps start
with some prose writing first. Take this time to delve into the image, feeling, or theme at the heart
of your poem, and learn to pin it down with language. Give yourself a chance to mull things over
before actually writing the poem.

How do you start writing your first poem? NOT by going line by line.

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Take 10 minutes and jot down anything that comes to mind when you think of your starting point.
You can write in paragraphs, dash off bullet points, or even sketch out a mind map. The purpose of
this exercise isn‘t to produce an outline: it‘s to generate a trove of raw material, a repertoire of
loosely connected fragments to draw upon as you draft your poem in earnest.

Silence your inner critic for now

And since this is raw material, the last thing you should do is censor yourself. Catch yourself
scoffing at a turn of phrase, overthinking a rhetorical device, or mentally grousing, ―This metaphor
will never make it into the final draft‖? Tell that inner critic to hush for now and jot it down
anyway. You just might be able to refine that slapdash, off-the-cuff idea into a sharp and poignant
line.

3. Choose your poem’s form and style

Whether you‘ve free-written your way to a beginning or you‘ve got a couple of lines jotted down,
before you complete a whole first draft of your poem, take some time to think about form and
style.

The form of a poem often carries a lot of meaning beyond the structural "rules" that it offers the
writer. The rhyme patterns of sonnets — and the Shakespearean influence over the form — usually
lend themselves to passionate pronouncements of love, whether merry or bleak. On the other hand,
acrostic poems are often more cheeky because of the secret meaning that it hides in plain sight.

Even if your material begs for a poem without formal restrictions, you‘ll still have to decide on the
texture and tone of your language. Free verse, after all, is as diverse a form as the novel, ranging
from the breathless maximalism of Walt Whitman to the cool austerity of H.D. Where, on this
spectrum, will your poem fall?

Choosing a form and tone for your poem early on can help you work with some kind of structure to
imbue more meanings to your lines. And if you‘ve used free-writing to generate some raw material
for yourself, a structure can give you the guidance you need to organize your notes into a poem.

4. Read for inspiration

A poem isn‘t a nonfiction book or a historical novel: you don‘t have to accumulate reams of
research to write a good one. That said, a little bit of outside reading can stave off writer‘s
block and keep you inspired throughout the writing process.

Build a short, personalized syllabus around your poem‘s form and subject. Say you‘re writing a
sensorily rich, linguistically spare bit of free verse about a relationship of mutual jealousy between
mother and daughter. In that case, you‘ll want to read some key Imagist poems, alongside some
poems that sketch out complicated visions of parenthood in unsentimental terms.
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And if you don‘t want to limit yourself to poems similar in form and style to your own, Lauren has
you covered with an all-purpose reading list:

 The Dream of a Common Language by Adrienne Rich

 Anything you can get your hands on by Mary Oliver
 The poems ―Failures in Infinitives‖ and ―Fish & Chips‖ by Bernadette Mayer.
 I often gift Lunch Poems by Frank O‘Hara to friends who write.
 Everyone should read the interviews from the Paris Review‘s archives. It‘s just nice to
observe how people familiar with language talk when they‘re not performing, working, or
warming up to write.

5. Write for an audience of one — you

Even with preparation, the pressure of actually producing verse can still awaken your inner
metrophobe (or poetry-fearer). What if people don‘t understand — or even misinterpret — what
you‘re trying to say? What if they don‘t feel drawn to your work? To keep the anxiety at bay,
Lauren suggests writing for yourself, not for an external audience.

"I absolutely believe that poets can determine the validity of their own success if they are changed
by the work they are producing themselves; if they are challenged by it; or if it calls into question
their ethics, their habits, or their relationship to the living world. And personally, my life has
certainly been changed by certain lines I‘ve had the bravery to think and then write — and those
moments are when I‘ve felt most like I‘ve made it."

You might eventually polish your work if you decide to publish your poetry down the line. (If you
do, definitely check out the rest of this guide for tips and a list of magazines to submit to.) But as
your first draft comes together, treat it like it‘s meant for your eyes only.

6. Read your poem out loud

A good poem doesn‘t have to be pretty: maybe an easy, melodic loveliness isn‘t your aim. It
should, however, come alive on the page with a consciously crafted rhythm, whether hymn-like or
discordant. To achieve that, read your poem out loud — at first, line by line, and then all together,
as a complete text.

Trying out every line against your ear can help you weigh out a choice between synonyms —
getting you to notice, say, the watery sound of ―glacial‖, the brittleness of ―icy,‖ the solidity of
―cold‖.

Reading out loud can also help you troubleshoot line breaks that just don't feel right. Is the line
unnaturally long, forcing you to rush through it or pause in the middle for a hurried inhale? If so,
do you like that destabilizing effect, or do you want to literally give the reader some room to
breathe? Testing these variations aloud is perhaps the only way to answer questions like these.
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7. Take a break to refresh your mind

While it‘s incredibly exciting to complete a draft of your poem, and you might be itching to dive
back in and edit it, it‘s always advisable to take a break first. You don‘t have to turn completely
away from writing if you don‘t want to. Take a week to chip away at your novel or even muse idly
on your next poetic project — so long as you distance yourself from this poem a little while.

This is because, by this point, you‘ve probably read out every line so many times the meaning has
leached out of the syllables. With the time away, you let your mind refresh so that you can
approach the piece with sharper attention and more ideas to refine it.

8. Have fun revising your poem

At the end of the day, even if you write in a well-established form, poetry is about experimenting
with language, both written and spoken. Lauren emphasizes that revising a poem is thus an open-
ended process that requires patience — and a sense of play.

"Have fun. Play. Be patient. Don‘t take it seriously, or do. Though poems may look shorter than
what you‘re used to writing, they often take years to be what they really are. They change and
evolve. The most important thing is to find a quiet place where you can be with yourself and really
listen."

3.2. PLAY SCRIPT

What Is A Play Script? - Elements Of & Tips For Play Script Writing

Writing a play script requires research, planning, and hard work. To create an engaging and
captivating story for the stage, the play writing process needs to be executed well. Read on to find
out more about what this encompasses!

Writing a play script can be a daunting task, especially for new aspiring or and inexperienced
playwrights. A play script is different from other forms of writing, like novel or podcast writing, as
it needs to be written in a very specific format, with dialogue, stage directions, and other elements
that are unique to and universally recognized by the theatre. However, with a few tips and tricks, it
is possible for anyone to write a compelling and captivating play script.
Read on to find out more about the elements of a play script and the basic steps to go about play
writing!

Elements of a Play Script

Whether you are writing an original play or adapting an existing work, there are certain
conventions and rules that you should follow. Before you start writing your play, it is important to

31
understand these basics of playwriting. A play script is written in a specific format, which includes
the following elements:

Title page
This is where you list the title of your play, the author‘s name, and the date of submission.

Scene
A scene is a section of your play, typically defined by a change of location or time. Each scene
should have a heading, which includes the scene number, the scene title, and the location.

Character list
This is a list of characters who appear in the play, including their names, ages, and descriptions.

Dialogue
Dialogue is the conversation between two or more characters. Each character‘s lines should be
indented and separated by a blank line.

Stage directions
Stage directions are instructions for how the play should be performed. These directions should be
italicized and enclosed in parentheses.

Scene transitions
Scene transitions are used to indicate a change in location or time. These transitions may be
indicated by a blackout, a fade out, or a curtain call.

Who Is Involved In Writing A Play Script?

Playwriting is a collaborative process that involves several individuals who work together to bring
a play to life. Here are some of the key roles involved in the process of playwriting:

Playwright
The playwright is the individual who writes the play. They are responsible for creating the
characters, developing the plot, and writing the dialogue.

Director
The director is responsible for overseeing the production of the play. They work closely with the
playwright to ensure that the play is being produced as intended. They also work with the actors to
help them understand their roles and develop their characters.

Stage Manager
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The stage manager is responsible for coordinating all aspects of the production. They work with the
director to ensure that everything is running smoothly, and they are responsible for cueing the
actors and managing the technical aspects of the play.

Designers
The set designer is responsible for designing the set for the play. The costume designer is
responsible for designing the costumes, and the lighting designer is responsible for designing the
lighting.

Production Crew
The production crew is responsible for building the set, managing the props, and running the
technical aspects of the play.

Actors
The actors bring the characters to life on stage. They work with the director to understand the
motivations of their characters and to develop their performances.

How To Write A Play Script

1. Do your background and genre research.

Before you begin writing your play script, it is important to do some research on the genre you are
writing in. It is helpful to create an outline of your play. This can help you get a better sense of the
story and ensure that all of the elements are included. Different genres have different writing
conventions, so get you should be familiar with the conventions of your chosen genre as you begin
writing.

For instance, if you are writing a romantic comedy, you should know the tropes and cliches that are
associated with the genre, as well as the expected dialogue and plot structure. Doing this research
will help you to create a strong foundation for your play.

2. Outline your plot.

Once you have done your research, you should begin by outlining the plot of your play. Start by
writing down the main characters, the setting, and the main conflict. This also includes deciding
how many acts and scenes the play will have, as well as the order in which they will occur.
Consider what themes or ideas you want to explore in your play, and use these to create a loose
outline of the plot. This will give you an idea of the structure of your play, and will help you to stay
on track as you write.

3. Start considering the formatting.

33
When it comes to writing your play script, formatting is key. Most play scripts use a standard
format, with dialogue and stage directions included. When writing dialogue, make sure that it has a
natural rhythm and that the characters have their own distinct voices. This will help to draw the
audience into the story, and will make the dialogue more engaging.

When writing stage directions, make sure that they are clear and concise. The stage directions
should provide a visual representation of the action in the play, as well as set the mood and tone.
Be sure to include any props or special effects that are necessary for the scene, as well as any sound
or light cues.

If you‘re looking for a place to start writing your movie script and also take care of your formatting
at the same time, JotterPad‘s writing platform provides you with all the tools that you would need
to accompany you from the start to the end of your movie writing process.
Start writing your first draft on JotterPad‘s editor with Fountain Syntax, and have formatting such
as the page numbering, dialogues, action lines, and other crucial elements of writing a script
formatted for you along the way. If you would prefer using a template to have a basic structure in
place for you to work with already, explore JotterPad's stage play templates such as the BBC U.S
Stage Play or BBC U.K Stage Play templates. These templates outline the specific and different
production elements needed in a stage play for the U.S and U.K respectively for the producers and
playwrights to take note of.
4. Go through a few rounds of revision.
Once you have finished writing your play script, it is important to have it read by someone else.
Having a second set of eyes look over your work will help to pick up any mistakes or
inconsistencies, and will give you an idea of how the play will be received by an audience. If you
have the means, it is also a good idea to have a professional editor look over your work before
submitting it for production.

You can also have a trusted friend or professional editor look over your work before submitting it
for production. Getting feedback from other playwrights or theatre professionals can also help you
improve your play. This can also give you a better sense of how the play will be received by an
audience.

If you had begun your work on JotterPad, you can also easily share your work for revision using
the ―Export‖ function on the editor to export your work into a PDF file. This makes sharing your
work all the more convenient and streamlined; planning, drafting, writing, and then sharing from
one place.

Writing a play script can be a daunting task, but with a bit of research, planning, and hard work,
anyone can create an engaging and captivating story for the stage.

34
Make sure to do your background research and planning beforehand, create a robust outline with
the help of JotterPad's play templates, write strong dialogue that will take your audience through
your plot, use the correct formatting that allows your work to be recognized industry-wide, and get
feedback for your work to create a compelling play script.

SIX ARISTOTELIAN ELEMENTS OF A PLAY

1. PLOT The arrangement of events or incidents on the stage. The plot is composed
of ―clearly defined problems for characters to solve.‖ (Kernodle, et al
6) Plot is to be differentiated from Story which is a chronological detailing
of events that happened on and off stage. Events happening off stage are
introduced through exposition (narrative dialogue). The playwright must
create a plot that is both credible and astonishing.

2. CHARACTER The agents of the plot. Characters provide the

motivations (reasons) for the events of the plot.
―Vivid characters‖ (6) face and overcome ―obstacles
that we can recognize.‖ (6) They provide the vehicle for conflict.

3. THEME The reason the playwright wrote the play. The

examination of ―patterns of life‖ (6) can be didactic
or just a slice of life.

4. LANGUAGE ―Vivid characters‖ (6) facing and overcoming

recognizable obstacles need to express themselves
in ―heightened language.‖ (6) Dramatic dialogue
consists of two parts: narrative and dramatic.

5. RHYTHM The heart of the play. Plot, character, language, and

spectacle all have their individual rhythms in time.
The combination of all these rhythms create the impelling force of
the play leading to a final climax and
Denouement. Rhythm creates mood.

6. SPECTACLE Everything that is seen or heard on stage. Actors,

sets, costumes, lights and sound. NOTE: All plays have spectacle—
some emphasize spectacle more
than others.

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 3.3. Advertisement
The definition of advertisement

To understand what an advertisement is, we must first understand what advertising is.

The definition of advertising is an industry used to call the attention of the public to
something, typically a product or service.

The definition of advertisement is the means of communication in which a product, brand or

service is promoted to a viewership in order to attract interest, engagement, and
sales. Advertisements (often shortened to ads or adverts) come in many forms, from copy to
interactive video, and have evolved to become a crucial feature of the app marketplace.

Why are advertisements important?

Advertisements are a guaranteed method of reaching an audience. By creating an engaging ad, and
spending enough to reach your target users, advertisements can have an immediate impact on
business. This effect could be seen in improved trade or boosted brand recognition, among many
different metrics. An advertising strategy typically includes a KPI to measure this impact.

What do in-app ads look like?

In-app advertising can take many forms, including text, banners, push notifications and pre or post-
roll video ads. Such video adverts are usually around 10-15 seconds long (though they can vary)
and normally showcase the product within that time. Increasingly, advertising is becoming
interactive, providing more engagement for users in the era of scrolling. One such example is the
use of deep linking, a feature which allows advertisers to send users directly to an install page in a
single click. As CTV continues to gain prominence in the advertising space we‘re seeing creative,
interactive methods emerge, including the use of QR codes to direct users from their TVs to the
source of the ad on mobile.

Which ad format should I use?

Choosing the right format can be a make-or-break decision in advertising. Let‘s take a look at some
of the most common ad formats in mobile advertising and when they can be particularly effective.

 Banner ads
With banner ads, the aim is to display an image and wait for users to view, click and
convert – making quality graphics and a compelling call to action (CTA) essential
components.

 Interstitial ads
Interstitial ads offer a full-screen experience. These can be used to avoid ‗banner blindness‘,
when users become so accustomed to seeing banner ads that they no longer take notice.

36
 Interstitial ads can also be expandable (known as expandable ads), which start out as regular
banner ads before taking up the whole screen.

 Native ads
Native advertising is when ads are designed to match the environment in which they are
placed. For example, when you see a ‗sponsored‘ tag attached to a YouTube video, this is
native advertising on that particular platform.

 Video ads
As their name suggests, video ads are advertisements in video format. By their nature, video
ads are a popular advertising method because they can be highly engaging, offering
great CTR (click through rate).

 Playable ads
By giving users access to interactive gameplay, playable ads let you try before you buy.
This gives users a limited look at an app, offering highlights that should push users to
install. Because users can gauge their interest before purchasing the app, playable ads can
be used to reduce app uninstall rates.
To learn more about the pros and cons for each format, take a look at how to choose the right ad
format.
Ads and Adjust
Since advertising is a financial investment, you want to know that it‘s working as intended. Ad
tracking is easy with Adjust; it‘s as simple as integrating an SDK and creating an
Adjust tracker URL. After that, our dashboard will show you precisely how well your
advertisements are performing and which channels and campaigns are driving growth. We can also
put you in sync with any of our hundreds of partners so you can advertise to the best sources at a
budget which is right for you.

8 Elements of Advertising You Need to Know

Advertising is an essential component of modern business, serving as a means for companies to
communicate their products, services, and brand to potential customers. Whether it is through
traditional channels such as television, radio, and print media, or through digital platforms such as
social media, search engines, and mobile apps, advertising is all around us, vying for our attention
and influencing our purchasing decisions.
To create effective advertising campaigns, advertisers need to understand the fundamental elements
of advertising, such as the target audience, message, medium, budget, and evaluation. By mastering
these elements, advertisers can create compelling, relevant, and memorable ads that resonate with
their target customers and drive business success. In this article, we will explore the key elements
of advertising and how they work together to create successful campaigns.

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Definition of Advertising
Advertising refers to the practice of promoting a product, service, or idea to a target audience
through various forms of media. The goal of advertising is to create awareness, interest, and desire
among potential customers, with the ultimate aim of driving sales and revenue for the advertiser.
Advertising can take many forms, including TV, radio, print, digital ads, billboards, social media
posts, influencer marketing, and more. To be effective, advertising should be creative, informative,
and engaging, and should be targeted towards the specific needs, interests, and preferences of the
intended audience.
Importance of Advertising
Advertising plays a critical role in promoting and selling products and services in today‘s business
world. It is a way for companies to communicate with their target audience, increase brand
awareness, and ultimately generate revenue. Effective advertising campaigns can help businesses
reach new customers, build brand loyalty, and differentiate themselves from competitors.

Advertising can also educate consumers about new products or services, and highlight the benefits
they offer. In addition, advertising can help create jobs and drive economic growth by promoting
demand for goods and services. Overall, advertising is an important tool for businesses to connect
with customers and achieve their marketing goals.

Elements of Advertising
1) Target Audience
The target audience is a critical element of advertising. It refers to the specific group of people that
an advertising campaign is designed to reach and influence. Understanding the target audience is
essential in developing an effective advertising strategy because it helps businesses tailor their
message to the needs, interests, and preferences of the people they are trying to reach.

DEFINITION OF TARGET AUDIENCE

To define a target audience, businesses must consider factors such as demographics,
psychographics, and behavior. Demographic factors may include age, gender, income, education,
and geographic location. Psychographic factors may include personality, values, beliefs, and
interests. Behavioral factors may include purchasing habits, brand loyalty, and decision-making
processes.

Once the target audience has been identified, businesses can create advertising messages and
choose media channels that are most likely to reach and engage their audience. For example, an
advertising campaign targeting young adults may use social media platforms such as Instagram or
Snapchat, while an advertising campaign targeting older adults may use television
commercials or print advertisements in newspapers or magazines advertising.
Overall, understanding the target audience is crucial to the success of an advertising campaign. By
tailoring the message to the specific needs and interests of the target audience, businesses can
increase the effectiveness of their advertising efforts and achieve their marketing objectives.

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IMPORTANCE OF IDENTIFYING TARGET AUDIENCE
Here are some reasons why identifying your target audience is important:

Better understanding of customer needs: When you know who your target audience is, you can
gain insights into their needs, pain points, and preferences. This information helps you create
products or services that solve their problems and meet their expectations.
More effective marketing: With a clear understanding of your audience, you can develop
marketing strategies that resonate with them. You can create messaging that speaks to their
interests and concerns, choose the right channels to reach them, and use the appropriate tone and
style to connect with them.
Increased engagement and conversion rates: By tailoring your messages and offerings to your
target audience, you can increase their interest and engagement. When your marketing efforts are
relevant to their needs and preferences, they are more likely to take action and convert into
customers.
Improved customer loyalty: When you consistently deliver products and messages that align with
your audience‘s needs and preferences, you build trust and loyalty. Customers feel understood and
valued, and are more likely to remain loyal to your brand over time.

WAYS TO IDENTIFY TARGET AUDIENCE

Here are some ways to identify your target audience:

Analyze your current customer base: Look at the demographics, behaviors, and preferences of
your existing customers. This information can help you identify patterns and characteristics that
define your ideal customer.
Conduct market research: Conduct surveys, focus groups, or interviews to gather data on your
target audience‘s needs, preferences, and behaviors. You can also use online tools like Google
Analytics and social media insights to gain insights into your audience‘s online behavior.
Use buyer personas: Create detailed profiles of your ideal customers, including demographic
information, interests, and behaviors. This can help you better understand their motivations,
challenges, and pain points.
Analyze your competitors: Look at the audiences your competitors are targeting and how they are
positioning their products or services. This can give you insights into gaps in the market and
opportunities to differentiate yourself.
Monitor social media: Use social listening tools to monitor conversations and trends related to
your industry, product, or service. This can help you identify common themes and topics that your
target audience is interested in.
Test and refine: Use A/B testing and other methods to test different marketing messages,
channels, and offers to see what resonates with your target audience. Use this feedback to refine
your approach over time.

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2) Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
DEFINITION OF USP
A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is a critical element of any advertising campaign. It is the
distinctive and compelling feature or benefit of a product or service that sets it apart from the
competition. A USP should be something that appeals to the target audience and is not offered by
any other competitor in the market. It should communicate a clear and concise message that is
easily understood by consumers.
A strong USP can help a business differentiate itself from its competitors, increase brand
awareness, and drive sales. It is essential for businesses to identify their USP early on in their
marketing strategy development, and then use it effectively in all marketing efforts.

A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is a critical element of any advertising campaign. It is the
distinctive and compelling feature or benefit of a product or service that sets it apart from the
competition. A USP should be something that appeals to the target audience and is not offered by
any other competitor in the market. It should communicate a clear and concise message that is
easily understood by consumers.

A strong USP can help a business differentiate itself from its competitors, increase brand
awareness, and drive sales. It is essential for businesses to identify their USP early on in their
marketing strategy development, and then use it effectively in all marketing efforts.

IMPORTANCE OF USP
First and foremost, a strong USP can help a business to differentiate itself in a crowded
marketplace. With so many products and services available to consumers, it can be difficult for a
business to stand out and attract attention. A well-defined USP can help a business to cut through
the noise and establish itself as a distinctive and valuable option for potential customers.

Furthermore, a clear and compelling USP can help a business to attract and retain customers.
Consumers are constantly bombarded with advertising messages, and they are unlikely to
remember or respond to generic, unremarkable offerings. However, a product or service that offers
a unique and valuable benefit is more likely to capture their attention and encourage them to make
a purchase. Additionally, a strong USP can help to build brand loyalty, as customers are more
likely to return to a business that consistently delivers on its unique promise.

Finally, a well-defined USP can also help a business to focus its marketing efforts and allocate
resources more effectively. By clearly identifying what sets a business apart from its competitors, it
becomes easier to target the right audience and craft messaging that resonates with them. This can
help to minimize wasted resources and ensure that marketing efforts are directed towards the most
promising opportunities.

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EXAMPLES OF USP
There are many different examples of unique selling propositions (USPs), as each business or
product/service can have its own distinctive feature that sets it apart from the competition.

Here are a few examples of USPs:

Volvo: ―Safety.‖ Volvo has long been associated with safety, and has consistently emphasized this
aspect of their vehicles in their marketing campaigns.
FedEx: ―When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.‖ FedEx has positioned itself as
the go-to shipping option for urgent, time-sensitive deliveries.
Apple: ―Designed for simplicity.‖ Apple products are often praised for their intuitive and user-
friendly design, which sets them apart from other technology companies.
Airbnb: ―Live like a local.‖ Airbnb has disrupted the travel industry by offering unique and
authentic accommodations that allow travelers to experience a destination like a local resident.
Dollar Shave Club: ―Shave time. Shave money.‖ Dollar Shave Club has differentiated itself in the
crowded shaving market by offering affordable, high-quality razors delivered directly to
consumers‘ doors.
Warby Parker: ―Designer eyewear at a revolutionary price.‖ Warby Parker has made a name for
itself by offering stylish and affordable eyeglasses and sunglasses that can be ordered online and
shipped directly to customers.

3) Branding
DEFINITION OF BRANDING
Branding refers to the process of creating a unique identity or image for a product, service, or
company in the minds of consumers. It involves developing a name, logo, design, and other
elements that help to distinguish a business from its competitors and create a sense of recognition
and loyalty among customers.
IMPORTANCE OF BRANDING
Effective branding can have numerous benefits for a business, including:

Increased recognition: A well-designed and consistent brand identity can help businesses stand
out in a crowded market and make them more recognizable to customers.
Building trust and credibility: Strong branding can help establish a sense of trust and credibility
with customers, as it communicates the values and promises of the business.
Differentiation: A distinct brand identity can help businesses differentiate themselves from their
competitors and establish a unique selling proposition.
Increased customer loyalty: A consistent brand experience can help build customer loyalty and
encourage repeat business.
Increased perceived value: Strong branding can create a perception of higher quality and value,
which can justify higher prices and increase profit margins.

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4) Call to Action (CTA)
DEFINITION OF CTA
CTA stands for ―Call-to-Action‖. In marketing, a CTA is a phrase or button designed to prompt an
immediate response or action from a potential customer. It is typically used in advertising, emails,
websites, and other marketing materials to encourage people to take a specific action, such as
making a purchase, subscribing to a newsletter, or filling out a form. The purpose of a CTA is to
make it as easy and clear as possible for customers to take the desired action, ultimately driving
conversions and sales.
IMPORTANCE OF CTA
CTAs are essential because they provide a clear direction to the audience about what action they
should take next. Without a CTA, the audience may not know what to do after consuming the
content or viewing the advertisement. A well-crafted CTA can increase engagement, drive
conversions, and ultimately lead to increased sales or other desired outcomes.

CTAs should be clear, concise, and action-oriented. They should use strong verbs that encourage
the audience to take immediate action, such as ―Buy Now,‖ ―Sign Up Today,‖ or ―Learn More.‖
CTAs should also be placed prominently and be easily visible to the audience.

5) Headline
DEFINITION OF HEADLINE
The headline is one of the most important elements of an advertisement because it is the first thing
the reader sees. If the headline does not capture the reader‘s attention, they are unlikely to read the
rest of the advertisement. Therefore, advertisers spend a lot of time and effort crafting headlines
that are compelling and persuasive.

IMPORTANCE OF HEADLINE
A well-crafted headline can communicate the main message of the ad and set the tone for the rest
of the content. It can establish the brand‘s voice and personality and create an emotional
connection with the audience.

Moreover, the headline can differentiate the ad from others and make it stand out in a crowded
advertising space. It can use unique language, humor, or a provocative message to capture the
audience‘s attention and set the ad apart from the competition.

In short, the headline is a critical element of advertising that can make or break the success of a
campaign. It has the power to attract, engage, and persuade the audience, and should be given
careful thought and attention in the creative process.

6) Visuals
DEFINITION OF VISUALS
In the context of advertising, visuals refer to any type of visual element that is used to
communicate a message to an audience. This can include images, photographs, videos, graphics,
42
animations, and other types of visual media. Visuals are an important part of advertising because
they can be used to grab the attention of the audience, convey emotions and brand personality,
demonstrate product features and benefits, and help the audience remember the message. The use
of visuals in advertising is often carefully planned and executed by advertisers and marketers to
create a strong and effective communication with the target audience.

IMPORTANCE OF VISUALS
Visuals are a crucial component of advertising because they can effectively convey a message to an
audience in a concise and impactful way. Visuals can capture attention, evoke emotions, and make
a lasting impression on viewers.
Here are a few reasons why visuals are so important in advertising:

Catching Attention: Visuals can quickly grab the attention of viewers, especially in a world where
people are bombarded with advertisements and other distractions. A well-designed visual can stand
out and capture the viewer‘s interest, drawing them in and encouraging them to engage with the
message.
Communicating a Message: Visuals can often communicate a message more effectively than
words alone. A well-crafted visual can convey complex ideas and emotions in a way that is easy
for viewers to understand and remember. For example, a powerful image can make an emotional
connection with viewers and convey the benefits of a product or service more effectively than a
written description.
Creating Brand Awareness: Visuals are a key tool in creating brand awareness and recognition. A
strong visual identity can help a brand stand out and differentiate itself from competitors.
Consistent use of visuals across all advertising and marketing materials can help reinforce brand
recognition and build a sense of trust and familiarity with consumers.
Encouraging Engagement: Visuals can encourage viewers to engage with advertising in a variety
of ways, from sharing on social media to making a purchase. Well-designed visuals can create an
emotional connection with viewers, leading them to take action and engage with the brand.

7) Channels
Channels refer to the different methods or platforms used to deliver an advertising message to the
target audience. Channels can include traditional advertising channels such as television, radio,
and print media, as well as digital channels such as social media, email, and search engines.
Choosing the right channels is an important part of an effective advertising strategy. It‘s important
to consider the target audience and their media consumption habits when selecting channels. For
example, if the target audience is younger and more tech-savvy, digital channels may be more
effective than traditional channels.

Different channels also have different strengths and weaknesses. For example, television may be
better suited for reaching a large audience with a broad message, while social media may be more
effective for targeting a specific demographic or interest group.

43
In addition to selecting the right channels, it‘s important to consider the frequency and timing of
advertising messages. This can help ensure that the message reaches the target audience at the right
time and with the right frequency to make an impact.

8) Metrics
In advertising, metrics are measurements or quantitative indicators used to evaluate the
effectiveness and success of advertising campaigns. These metrics help advertisers understand how
their ads are performing and make data-driven decisions to optimize future campaigns.
Some common metrics used in digital advertising include:
Impressions: The number of times an ad is displayed on a website or social media platform.
Clicks: The number of times users click on an ad to reach a website or landing page.
Click-through rate (CTR): The percentage of people who clicked on an ad compared to the
number of times the ad was displayed.
Cost per click (CPC): The average cost for each click on an ad.
Conversion rate: The percentage of people who completed a desired action, such as making a
purchase or filling out a form, after clicking on an ad.
Return on investment (ROI): The revenue generated by an advertising campaign compared to the
cost of the campaign.
Engagement rate: The percentage of people who interacted with an ad, such as by liking,
commenting, or sharing it on social media.
View ability: The percentage of an ad that is actually visible to users on a webpage.

9) Competitive Advantage
Competitive advantage refers to the unique attributes or benefits that set a product, service, or
brand apart from its competitors. The value proposition makes the advertised offering more
desirable or advantageous to the target audience.

Importance:
Highlighting the competitive advantage in an advertisement helps create a compelling reason for
the audience to choose the advertised product over alternatives. It communicates what makes the
product better, different, or more valuable, which can influence the consumer‘s decision-making
process.

10) A Sense of Urgency

A sense of urgency in advertising refers to creating a feeling of time sensitivity or immediate need
for the product or service being promoted. It aims to encourage potential customers to act quickly
and not delay their purchase decision.

Importance:
Urgency is crucial because it prompts consumers to take action promptly, thus increasing the
likelihood of conversion. By highlighting limited-time offers, exclusive deals, or time-bound

44
discounts, advertisers can stimulate a fear of missing out (FOMO) in the audience, motivating them
to make a purchase sooner rather than later.

11) Smart Ad Placement:

Smart ad placement involves strategically choosing the most relevant and effective platforms,
media channels, and locations to display the advertisements. It‘s about reaching the target audience
in the right place and at the right time.

Importance:
Effective ad placement maximises the exposure of the advertisement to the intended audience. By
identifying the places where the target audience is most likely to be present, advertisers can
increase the chances of their message reaching the right people. Smart ad placement optimises
advertising budgets and minimises wasted impressions.

12) A Means to Respond:

This element refers to providing the audience with a clear and easy way to respond to the
advertisement, usually through a call-to-action (CTA). A CTA could be to visit a website, call a
phone number, sign up for a newsletter, or make a purchase.

Importance:
Including a means to respond is essential for converting interest generated by the advertisement
into action. Without a clear CTA, the audience may be left unsure of what to do next, reducing the
campaign‘s effectiveness. A well-crafted CTA encourages engagement and facilitates the process
of moving potential customers through the sales funnel.

Conclusion
In conclusion, advertising is a powerful tool used by businesses to promote their products or
services to a target audience. The elements of advertising include the message, the target audience,
the medium, and the budget. A well-crafted advertising campaign can help a business achieve its
marketing objectives by increasing brand awareness, driving sales, and building customer loyalty.
However, it is important for businesses to understand their target audience and tailor their message
accordingly, as well as choose the most effective medium and allocate an appropriate budget.
Ultimately, successful advertising campaigns require a combination of creativity, strategy, and
execution to achieve desired outcomes.

3.4.NARRATIVE TIME ANALYSIS IN SHORT STORY

The analysis of the use of time in a narrative centers around three
aspects: order, duration and frequency. Story-time is the sequence of events and the length of
time that passes in the story. Discourse-time, on the other hand, covers the length of time that is
taken up by the telling (or reading) of the story and the sequence of events as they are presented in
discourse.
1. Order
45
Events in an assumed story take place in a certain order, for instance a child is born, grows up,
marries, leads a contented life, dies. This order of events might be abbreviated as ABCDE.

A narrative can tell about these events chronologically in the order in which they occurred:
ABCDE. But it could just as well start with the character's death, then recall the birth, childhood,
marriage, married life. The order of discourse would then look like this: EABCD. Discourse could
deviate from chronology more radically and present events in orders such as CABED or ACDEB
and so on. In such cases events are not told in chronological order, they are anachronological.

When the chronological order of events is changed in discourse, certain techniques are employed to
reveal the whole story nonetheless. The most common of these techniques
are flashforward (prolepsis) and flashback (analepsis). In a discourse order of BCDAE the
section 'A' (the birth in our example) would represent a flashback; in the order AEBCD, the section
'E' (death in our example) would represent a flashforward. A prolepsis is often merely a short
remark as in this example:

2. Duration
No narrative retells absolutely everything that presumably 'happened' in a story; those events that
are considered most important will normally be told in some detail, others will be left out or
summarised. This discrepancy between the events of the (assumed) story and the events as
rendered by the narrative's discourse is the focus of attention when one considers the aspect of
duration.

There are four possible relations between story-time and discourse-time: scene,
summary, ellipsis and pause. All these influence the reader's perception of the speed of a
narrative. Notably, many stretches and pauses slow things down considerably, scene and ellipsis
give the impression of things happening quickly.
Pause: NT = n, ST = 0. Thus: NT >ST

Story-time comes to a standstill while discourse time continues

This usually involves a description or narrator comment: Cecilia entered the library with a heavy
heart. But before we follow her and enter upon the events which were to follow, let us consider her
position in life. Cecilia had grown up an orphan under the care of a retiring uncle very much
preoccupied with his studies. As soon as she was able to deal with them, the cares of the household
had fallen to her and had curtailed the freedoms of her childhood. This information imparted to the
interested reader, let us return to Cecilia on the threshold of the library.

Scene: NT = ST
Story-time and discourse-time are equal (this is usually the case in dialogue)
When did you last see her?
-On the bridge.
46
-Alone?
-No, with a man.
Summary: NT < ST
Story-time is longer than discourse-time
Ellipsis: NT = 0, ST = n. Thus: NT < ST.
Discourse-time skips to a later part in story-time
Ten years later we meet the little girl again, now grown into a handsome woman.
3. Frequency
The third element of time analysis relates to the question of how many references are made on the
discourse level to any given event on the story level. There are three possibilities.

singulative An event takes place once and is referred to once ('They married in June
1865 on a beautiful sunny day').
Repetitive An event takes place once but is referred to repeatedly. (This is the case for
instance when a character is obsessed by an event and keeps coming back to
it or when the same event is told from different narrator perspectives
Iterative An event takes place several times but is referred to only once ('Every day
when Frida sat down to her sewing, she asked herself what she had done to
deserve this').

7 Steps to Write a Short Story

Here are seven steps on how to write a short story:

1. First, Write the Basic Story in One Sitting

It may seem silly to begin a list of steps on how to write a short story with a tip to ―write the story,‖
but let me explain.

There are really two different kinds of stories. There is the art form, ―short stories,‖ which comes
complete with characters, plot, description, and style.

Then there‘s the story, the funny, amusing, crazy story you‘d tell a friend over a meal.

The story and the short story are not the same thing. The former is just a story, we tell them all the
time. The latter is an art.

The first step to writing a short story is to write the former, the story, that version of the story that
you would tell a friend. And when you write it, be sure to write it in one sitting. Just tell
the story. Don‘t think about it too much, don‘t go off to do more research, don‘t take a break. Just
get the story written down.

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2. Next, Find Your Protagonist

After you‘ve written the basic story, take a step back. You may feel extremely proud of your story
or completely embarrassed. Ignore these feelings, as they bear no relation to how good or bad your
story actually is or, more importantly, how good it will be.

The next step is to read through your story to find the protagonist.

Now, you may think you already know who your protagonist is, but depending on your story, this
can actually be trickier than you might think. Your protagonist isn‘t necessarily the narrator, nor is
she necessarily the ―good guy‖ in the story. Instead, the protagonist is the person who makes the
decisions that drive the story forward. Your protagonist centers the story, drives the plot, and his or
her fate gives the story its meaning. As you move forward in the writing process, it‘s important
to choose the right protagonist.

3. Then, Write the Perfect First Line

Great first lines have the power to entice your reader enough that it would be unthinkable to set
your story down. If you want to hook your reader, it starts with writing the perfect first line. How
to write the perfect first line here are five quick tips:

 Like the opening of a film, invite us into the scene.

 Surprise us.
 Establish a voice.
 Be clear.
 See if you can tell the entirety of your story in a single sentence.

4. Break the Story into a Scene List

Every story is composed of a set of scenes which take place in a specific place and time. A scene
list keeps track of your scenes, helping you organize your story and add detail and life at each step.

Scene lists do two main things:

 Provide structure to your story

 Show you which parts need more work

You don‘t have to follow your scene list exactly, but they definitely help you work through your
story, especially if you‘re writing over multiple sittings.

5. Only Now Should You Research

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If you want to start researching as soon as you get an idea can pack as much detail into the story as
possible. The problem is that if you research too soon, what you find will distort your story,
causing it to potentially break under the weight of what you‘ve learned.

Other writers never research, which can leave their story feeling fuzzy and underdeveloped.

By waiting until your story is well on its way, you can keep it from getting derailed by the research
process, and by this point you‘ll also be able to ask very specific questions about your story rather
than following tangents wherever they take you.

6. Write/Edit/Write/Edit/Write/Edit

It‘s time to get some serious writing done.

Now that you know who your protagonist is, have the perfect first line, have created your scene
list, and have done your research, it‘s time to finally get this story written.

We all write differently. Some write fast in multiple drafts, others write slow and edit as they go.

7. Publish!

I firmly believe publishing is the most important step to becoming a writer. If you want your
short story to be as good as it can be, get feedback—first from a small group of friends or other
writers, and then from a larger community of readers. The worst thing you can do for your story is
to hide it away out of fear or even feigned indifference.

3.5 Tips for Writing a Novel

We know writing a novel can seem like a daunting task at first. Just starting can seem
intimidating! Fortunately, there are many ways you can simplify writing a novel to make it
easier. This list of 10 novel writing tips will help you stay focused, motivated, and organized
throughout the writing process.

1. Choose Your Deadline and Writing Goal

When there‗s no deadline or goal to finish, it can be very hard to complete your project. How
Long Does it Take to Write a Book? This is why this is the #1 rule on the list: Set a measurable
deadline and writing goal.

Most novels are between 50,000 and 100,000 words. Because it‗s easier to add words than cut
them out, it‗s often better to set your word count goal lower than 75,000 words for your first
draft.

To determine the best writing goals and deadline for you, think about how many words you can
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write in a day. I can generally easily write between 2,500 and 4,000 words a day, so setting a
goal of 75,000 words in 30 days is reasonable for me. A deadline will push you to your limits
and write even when you‗re not motivated to write.

2. Prepare Before You Write

While some writers just sit down at the keyboard to write with no plan or idea, it can be difficult
to keep a story going or you may hit writer‗s block. By preparing a basic synopsis, mind map, or
outline for your ideas, you‗ll have something to reference to anytime you come across a
roadblock while writing. There‗s many different ways to prepare for writing a novel.

Here‗s just a few examples for ways you can prepare:

 Write a 1-2 page synopsis of the novel
 Create an outline for your novel
 Use Ever note to Organize and Plan Your Novel
 Create a Mind Map with ideas for your novel
A little prep work can go a long way in helping you stay focused and on task while writing.
Having all your research and ideas in one place can also be very beneficial for keeping thoughts
and ideas organized.

3. Know Your Characters

The better you know your characters, the easier the writing will unfold. Get to know your
characters as well as you would know a close friend.

You don‗t have to write every little detail about your character in the story – but the more you
know about your character the more you will be able to imagine new scenes and develop the
story.

4. Use the Right Tools While Writing Your Novel

If you‗re using Microsoft Office or Open Office to write your novel, you‗re likely going to get
frustrated during the process. While these programs are great for some writing projects, most
professional writers use software specifically made for writers.

There are a lot of great programs and tools that can help you easily write your book. The key is
to make sure that whatever you use is productive, reliable, and efficient.

Beyond just software and hardware, there are a lot of other important things – like being
comfortable while you work! Never underestimate the importance of a good Ergonomic Office
Chair!

5. Schedule Time to Write – And Actually

Write!make time for writing
There will never be a perfect time to write. Waiting for when you have more time is a surefire
way to never start writing your book. Finding motivation to write may not be easy, but
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sometimes scheduling time is just as hard!

Schedule a time during the day when you can write with minimal distractions and sit down. Try
to disconnect from the internet if you can and force yourself to write. Do it one word at a time.
Making time for writing will help you complete your novel.
6. Write First, Edit Later
One of the biggest mistakes new writers make is to edit while writing. Don‗t worry about making
your first draft perfect – this can be done in the revision stage AFTER the first draft is complete.

Try to avoid reading what you just wrote and just keep moving forward. You can always edit
sentences and cut out scenes or add scenes later.

7. Write Fast
If you‗ve set a deadline, writing fast will help you reach your goals. It also helps you stop
second-guessing your work while you are in the process of writing.

Write from a stream of consciousness where you just write whatever comes to mind about your
story. Don‗t worry so much about it making sense. The important thing is to get words down.

8. Connect With Others

Writing can be lonely. Joining a writing group can give you a lot of support! Your group can be
the place to ask questions, stay accountable, and share tips and resources with others to keep you
motivated and encouraged.

9. Take Creative Breaks

Writing is a creative process and sitting in one spot all the time staring at a screen does not do
much for exercising the creative muscles.

Try drawing, painting, sketching or go for a walk or take your notebook to a coffee shop or park.
Getting out and doing something will help you greatly in re-energizing you to keep writing.

10. Don‘t Give Up!

You‗ll feel like quitting many, many times. But persistence and diligence is key in finishing.
Stick to your deadline and writing goals and keep at it. You CAN do it!

And of course, when you are finally finished writing that book, you are ready to learn how to
publish your book!

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