Creating Interesting Settings

Creating Interesting Settings

Which do you prefer and why?

Enormous trees blocked the sky above. Only the sound of parrots squawking could be heard through the rush of falling rain. The humidity remained high, even after the storm ceased.

The cottage was small, square and comfortable: coming to live here had been like putting on an old coat. It had a sagging slate roof; a bulge at one end where there had been a bread oven;huge beams, creaking stairs and stone floor, with interesting cracks from which emerged at night, large and stately black beetles.

What makes it more interesting

more description, use of literary devices like alliteration, similes and Onomatopoeia 

Adjectives used for description: small, square, comfortable, old, sagging, slate, one, bread, huge, creaking, stone, interesting, large, stately, black

Alliteration: Sagging slate roof

Simile: coming to live here had been like putting on an old coat.

Onomatopoeia: Creaking

Let us revise some of the literary devices:

Alliteration

Simile

Metaphor

Onomatopoeia

Simile

A simile compares two things by using the words ‘like’ or ’as.’

Your eyes sparkle like diamonds.

The classroom looked like a tornado had gone through!

I tiptoed as quietly as a mouse.

Similes always include the words ‘like’ or ’as.’

Metaphor

A metaphor compares one thing to another without using ‘like’ or ‘as.’

Laughter is music for the soul.

You are my sunshine.

Those ideas are food for thought.

Metaphors say one thing is another.

Alliteration

Alliteration occurs when words that start with the same sound (not just the same letter) are used repeatedly in a phrase or sentence.

Abena bought some pretty purple purses

Come and clean the chaos in your closet.

Sanji gathered the green leaves on the compound.

I love chocolate cakes. This is not an alliteration because even though chocolate and cake both begin with 'c' they do not have the same sound at the beginning.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia refers to words whose pronunciation imitates it meaning.

They will pop the champagne at the party.

Omotola sat on the creaky chair.

buzz

crash

bang

crackle

boom

Multiple Choice

The silly shoe is like a rat.

What literary device has been used here?

• Alliteration

• Metaphor

• Onomatopoeia

• Simile

Open Ended

The car splashed water on the pedestrians.

What literary device has been used here?

Multiple Choice

The new student was the cheetah in the race.

• Simile

• Onomatopoeia

• Metaphor

• Alliteration

Open Ended

The investigators found the secret cell Underground.

What literary device has been used in the sentence above?

What makes this setting interesting

It was dark-winter dusk. Snow lay white and shining over the pleated hills, and frost hung from the forest trees. Snow lay piled on the dark road across Willowhby World but from dawn men had been clearing it with brooms and shovels. There were hundreds of them at work, wrapped in sacking in because of the bitter cold, and keeping together in groups for fear of wolves, savage and reckless from hunger.

The way the paragraph began ( with a description of the time)

The use of adjectives and verbs

Adjectives: dark, winter, white, pleated, forest,bitter, savage, reckless

Verbs: lay, shining, hung, clearing, wrapped, keeping

We also get to know more about the setting from what the characters are doing.

The way the snow is described

What makes this setting interesting?

When Jonathan woke up from his creaky bed, he knew something was not right. There was no light coming through his ruffled curtains. His room was as dark as night. His mom did not yell for him to eat breakfast. There was no sweet smell of bacon. He slowly got out of bed and tiptoed to his curtain. Peeking behind his curtain, he saw mounds of snow piled outside. There was no chance that school was happening today.

The writer uses onomatopoeia when describing the bed: creaky.

He uses a simile: His room was as dark as night.

He uses alliteration: There was no sweet smell of bacon. This also appeals to the readers sense of smell and taste.

The way he described the snow.

Use of powerful adjectives: creaky, ruffled, mounds

Use of powerful verbs: yelled, tiptoed, peeking