₦airaland Forum

Jeanfortune:
updater of d month ke?, which one did we just finish na

twas a mistake, you shoulda mentioned me so I can modify. Thanks anyways. Looking forward to ur vote

Timpaker, free verse is like eating rice without cutleries indeed. And its even the sweetest, forget civility

Oma4u, now I get the meaning of collaborative poems, it sounds quite interesting.

Wrote this for a guy whom might feel heart broken 'coz of my action...


Someday you'll miss me
And rue the day you tossed my love away.
Left a broken dream on a broken heart -
A million sad pieces floating through space
And still sail out to only you

Though I let yours soar like the bird
I wish they'd get trapped in Cupid's net -
An arrow shot of love un-returned
Then you'd feel the pain from a broken wing -
Like a deep-seated fear to love again
Of taking another love's mis-step
And the crash of a breaking heart
The same rhythm like mine.
Only then shall you know my story
And can tell the world the tune of my dirge.

timpaker:
My topic has nothing to do with poetry forms. Or has Divepen changed my topic? OMA4U, But wait ooooo. I hope the topic "Writing for Readers" is what I think it is

hehehehe keep on wondering till you mount the podium

Okay, I enjoyed today's contributions, Looking forward to tomorrow.

Tiffanyj...i learnt more about characters today, and can actually place my characters in a group. thank you.

Olusharp...I loved ur poem too, love the dialogue infusion. But to make your poems look more professional, try to adhere to the poetry form rule that every word in a new line starts with a capital letter, except in some cases where they are run on lines (enjabment). And offcourse, the first person pronoun 'i' is always written in capital, no matter where they appear. Kudos

Oma4u...your poems are just killing me softly, thanks for contributing.

Jigsaw... You didn't quite deal with the topic you presented, but the little was educative, thank you too...

Timpaker, you and poetry forms enh and to think you didn't study literature, I hope you'd educate us more on poetry forms when its your turn to speak abi post

Divepen...of course you know you're great, weldone.

daveP: Princesa: a situation where one knows about love, but finds it difficult describing it in a story. What can be done?

Then we know most writers in nigeria use some words to describe love-making e.g buchi echemeta, chimamanda,etc. Does it give a better angle than erm distracting with the real deal? Rem i wouldnt want to distract my readers in such case.

3rdly: describing a scene you have not physical idea about. E.g skyscrapers, basements, cellars,alleys etc. Especially if it involves a foreign scene


cc: texanomaly ; divepen

Que 1: hmm...do you feel its indeed possible to know about love and yet not be able to describe it? Well, I should think that there are possibility in some situations.

But then again, Love isnt restricted to the feeling between a man and woman, it extends to the feeling between a mother and child, a father and his son, between friends, siblings, etc.

So what can be done? Using a character Dialogues, reaction, action, etc towards another can help portray love to a reader. The writer doesn't necessarily have to paint love with flowery terms, comparisons, rhymes or verses as Romeo would, to portray Love. They are different ways to kill a Bird you know.

Que 2: yeah, that's the beauty of using words to play with the sensory organs of the reader. Some writers may see nothing wrong in being vulgar with their narration of sex scenes, while others can't imagine penning down the sex process word for word. So whichever way you choose, its only the type of words you employ in describing the sex scenes that matters and serves your purpose.

Que 3: that's why I talked about improving your registers and doing research. If you want to write a story with a foreign setting, then you just have to read wide and Google!

There was a time I wanted to write an airport scene, but I haven't been in one and had restricted knowledge of an airport based on the movies I've seen, so I took to Google and it was worth the search.

Thank you

PrettySpicey: Hi Princesa, got the card. My line is bouncing, breathing and singing 'can this be true?' Lol.

Many thanks to you and the generous benefactor.

God bless you all.

TemitopeDaniel: Hey guys! I appreciate the great benefactor, u will never lack anything good! You'll proser and continie to forge ahead in all aspects.
To Princesa, my sunset Princess Thanks for the help, God bless u.
Prettyspicey, I wink oh
Thanks to all thay voted once again, I appreciate.
Temitope Daniel.

you are both welcome.
Every winner settled. I'm officially declaring the writer of the month awards open. Happy independence all.

daveP: The sentence is incorrect and the verb is actually there (takes duster and wipes it off. Uses marker to correct it) thank you princesa!

you're welcome. When you can, go through mine and do tell me what you think.

Dygeasy, you too.

daveP: @ princesa:That would be with the way the sentence was written and not the verb part. It sure has a verb 'won' but the way it was written....

hmm, if you say so. Even though I don't have a problem with the way it was written.

Divepen and all, I've posted my own piece above. If I knew about this way, I wouldn't have delayed. Apologies please and yeah, I'm open to questions

Nice one DaveP

but where you said that a sentence like : ''He who has won the prize, let him speak'' is incorrect because there's no verb, don't you think 'won' is a verb and therefore the word is actually correct?

Of course there are no hard fast rules to it, but they are basics, some of which include:

*.Target the sensory details. [/b]using words that play with the sense organs like eyes, nose, ear, skin etc. makes for a good description. Hit your writing with some scent for the nose and make the reader feel as if he’s sniffing with your character(s); play with noise; play with feelings and sensations; paint a beautiful garden before their eyes, etc. all these will help transport your readers to the make-believe or non fictional world your story is painting.

*.[b]Use concrete details, specific details and active voice: using a passive voice, for example: “The crying child was picked up by the old woman” instead of its active counterpart “the old woman picked up the crying child”, for some reasons, is seen as drab and should be avoided in literary writings when possible.
Also, the use of specific and to-the-point details is also encouraged. Desist from boring the reader and even yourself with unnecessary ‘bush-beating’. No need to remind writers the popular saying that ‘too much of everything is bad’

*. Use Authentic Details. A writer should strive to be original in his descriptive details. Hackneyed, over-flogged and cliché phrases are boring, turn-offs and un-original. It is encouraged to think ‘outside the box’ by changing perspective, brainstorming and seeking alternative ways to describe things. While it is okay to learn from a writer whose work inspires you, it is not okay to aim at replicating their style totally in your own work.

*.Don’t always be literal, employ figurative devices. you don’t even have to be a literature student before you can be able to apply simple literary devices like simile, metaphor and personification. Instead of just saying “The wind was fast” you can add more colour by saying ”the wind surged past like a moving train” not only does it aim at describing the specific velocity of the said wind, it also helps to paint a clearer picture in the mind of the reader.

*.Learn new words, develop your vocabulary and register for certain events, phenomenal, profession etc. make the dictionary a companion, whether mobile or physical. And then a thesaurus is also a good book to own.

*.Be a reader yourself [/b]and read literary piece that will develop your writing skills: while reading, do not just read for pleasure, take pains to discover the forms, style, vocabulary, phrases etc that were applied in the text. Read to know and not just to entertain yourself, this is a very good way to grow.

*.[b]Make research on whatever theme, topic or story you’re writing on as this would open you up to registers, phrases, words, events etc that pertains to that topic. If for example, I wanted to write a detective story, it would be wise for me to make a research into the dynamics, hierarchy and workings of the police force, prison service, and maybe criminal activities. This would help in no small way to deliver an in-depth, well researched and descriptive piece.

*.Have a mentor or mentors: , someone’s whose work you think appeals and inspires you. But it is important that you will to write like them and not to replicate their style, sentence for sentence word for word etc in your own work. Originality is the watch word.

*Importantly, as a writer, you need to open yourself to emotions whether soft or hard. To paint a criminal who would be believable to your readers, you just have to become one. To paint the feeling of love about your characters, then you have to know what Love is about. The best way to write about anything is by using your innate ability to walk in their shoes.

And so Finally, like I previously noted, there are no hard and fast rules to being a descriptive master, it takes determination, patience and practice to pull this very important writing stunt. At the end of the day, both you and your readers come out better off.

Thanks for reading.

References:
www.writerstreasure.com
http://davehood59.wordpress. com

What description does to your reader?


To describe means to give a detailed account in words about something, person or thing. The importance of description to any piece of writing is similar to the importance of blood and breath to a human. Thus, it is acceptable amongst all – both readers and writers alike – that a story without some level of description already possesses in itself a massive shortcoming. No wonder you are likened to hear readers say:

“Your story is nice but you have to do more in describing the scene and character so that that I can relate more to it”

Or

“You are a great writer! I just love the way you use words to describe your story. I t makes me feel like I’m part of the story”

Now, which writer wouldn’t love to hear a reader say something like the latter to them? It’s a summation of the feeling you get; a feeling of knowing that your efforts are being appreciated and you’re just not writing amidst. So, if that’s what description does to you as the writer, then how about your readers?

The simplest definition of description as it pertains to writing is the ability of a writer to SHOW and not TELL the reader about the events, scenes and characters in his work. Fortunately for us, we do not need the elaborate filming requirements of camera, screen, lightning, sound effects and stages to achieve this feat. We are blessed with the mastery of WORDS which gives us the power to create the proper atmosphere, inviting the readers’ minds to swim through our stories effortlessly.

With our written words we can teleport our readers to dinners with a make-believe character we’ve created; or inside the White House discussing matters of international repute with Obama; or take them right into the middle of World War II, inside enemy line with the Canon about to explode... That’s how much power we wield with our pen. But however, it might interest you to know these feats are not all there is to achieve! There are more…

*.Description also makes your story believable and creates a dream, fantasy or reality in the mind of your readers

*.It evokes emotional response from them. They are sure to feel Sophia’s grief when you describe how her heart constricted in intense pain; her feet buckled like jelly under the weight of the news and how her tears flowed like the River Nile over the death of her child.

*.Without description also, your writing will be ordinary and fail to stir the spirit or touch the soul of your readers.

*.It makes setting, character, incidence, conflict, obstacle; scenes come alive in your readers mind the way they are mirrored in yours.

*.It places you the writer at a favourable spot in your readers’ hearts and who knows, you might just be describing your way to the ‘Next Best Seller” in literature.

So far, the un-exhaustive list of what description can do to your readers have been narrowly discussed, it would be better to see how we as readers can improve our descriptive skills because sadly, having the passion for writing does not translate to a default ability to use words with dexterity and effectively communicate. How then can we improve our skills?

I didn't post yesterday na. Divepen please give me a slot today.

timpaker: Boss, shey you know say that your poem make a whole man like me cry? Abi you and AmiableJay plan am ni? Make una take una time oooo. Princesa, my runaway friend bawo ni? Firestar and Tex I see ya'll. Happy 'Hindipendence' day ya'll (in my yoruba accent)

I'm not a runaway friend! why is everyone calling me that?

anyway, Happy Independence to u too

sigmundfreud: Hello tweetie,
Happy Independence to you...and all

Hi tweetie, happy independence to you too

Happy birthday girl! Hope you had a blast?

Limerick: Who summoned me here?

are you the bride/groom Tim was tryna break then?


@all
Happy to see you guys again!


AmiableJay...such a sad way to die for the young girl

Oma4U... Your poem is also sorrowful.

Timpaker and him poetry forms, this your limerick is one in town

Tex...thank God you beat the rain home

haddon...being a while mister

Firestar! you just never change in the way you write.

Oma4u, there was a poem you tagged me in. It was really lovely although sorrowful. I dnt knw where you wrote it but honestly i loved it.

Especially a line about 'Tears rolling down the aisle of my cheek' so descriptively apt. Weldone

kingphilip: Ehen princesa I'm back nw
I want to suggest something on this updater of the month thing because looking at it it seems that it's only writers with large fan base that wins this award n if the trend continues like this the main objective might b defeated
I'm suggesting that after the fans nominates, you or some other persons u deem fit should go over the nominated threads to c if the writer really updated regularly or his fan base just decided to give him/her the award

Tnx for keeping this dream alive...
BTW that's just my 2cents please

your two cents was very much worth it. A good observation you made and yeah, I will take it upon myself to do a lil research. Thanks and welcome back.

Divepen: Princesa... Please get ready...

can I shift to later? I'm not disposed to present now. Please?

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Thank you all for responding in your capacity for this month. Regular updater for the month obviously goes to TemitopeDaniel. Keep it up Tdan.
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See you guys on independence day! Aka new month!