Le Notes

Week 1 [15/04/08]

Proper writing format

Assignments in class will use:
Present tense
3rd person
Visual voice (writing down the character’s actions)

3rd Person/Present Tense

A character is ‘narrating’ the story as it occurs. It presents a more immediate and urgent feel to the material.
Eg: Mark picks up a gun and holds it in his hand. It begins to tremble as if it is alive.

Commonly used in:- Screenplays (esp. thrillers & suspense genre)

Passive Vs. Active Voice

Passive Voice:-
- Uses weak verbs (action words)
- Tells what is happening in the character’s head
- Distances reader from the story
Eg: Mark was angry at Jane for tricking him into helping her.

Active Voice
- Uses strong action verbs
- Shows an action
- Uses an immediate sentence structure
- Conveys the story in a lively manner
Eg: Mark slams the door and stalks across the chamber. He shouts, “Bitch!

EXERCISE 1A – OPENERS

Carvey walks into a graveyard wearing nothing but a hula skirt adorned with seashells and to make things worse, a coconut bra that was tied to the waistband of the skirt. He makes a beeline to a gravestone and kneels down in front of it. Untying the coconut bra, he ties it around his head so that it makes him look like an oversized, hula skirt wearing fly. Sticking his tongue out, he starts doing raspberries at the gravestone. He mutters expletives under his breath, cursing his bad luck at being the one who lost the bet.

WEEK 2 [22/4/08]

Review Exercise 1B: Openers

James lifts his shirt, flashes his boxers and shouts, “Girls will drool over my sexy ass!” Seamus, his best friend, gives him an incredulous look and shakes his head, “Get over it, James. You look like a dumbass instead of a stud. For god’s sake, man, suck in that fucking beer belly!” He hastily looks out of the window to the other side of the street and breathes a sigh of relief when he notices that nobody had seen James’ display of egoism.