Most importantly, why should my audience care about him?Īge eight with skinned knees bleeding from the last attempt he pushes two blue wheels uphill. What does he look like? Where is this? How long as he been trying to do this? Why is this important? Now, I ask questions to flesh that concept out: I’ve decided to write a piece about an eight-year-old boy who decides to try to ride his bike sans training wheels. That’s why I’m writing this out, to show you that you can do it! Now that you've chosen your plot, it's time to flesh it out into a story illustrating your theme. This is where you, as the writer, get to shine! How compact can you make it?Īt this point you might be thinking that this is remarkably similar to writing anything else. This will show the audience something about practicing their craft, as well as the subject of the plot. I fully intend to reveal something about practice that applies to craft development, but I’m going to do it by juxtaposing it with something wildly different. A girl exploring the definition of true beauty.A guy practicing how he’s going to start a conversation with the girl of his dreams.Now that I have my gateway line, I’m ready to revisit my dramatic structure: what can I surround my line with? At this point I might make a list of a few plot options: To demonstrate this, I'll write a (short) piece around the following line: While there are as many ways to begin writing as there are poets, a way that I have found particularly effective is to start with a “gateway line,” a single line that captures your theme. And if you’re a writer, you need practice putting fear down anyways! Putting something down on paper knowing that you’re going to read it out loud later is terrifying, but having passion from the start will help carry you through. It can follow the same pattern as a conventional story: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.įirst, pick a theme you’re passionate about. But this type of writing isn’t as foreign as you might think. If you’ve never written spoken word before, you might feel overwhelmed, unsure where to start. Here are four steps to writing spoken word: 1. Even if their names are Sarah Kay or Madi Mae.ĭo you wish you could let them go out, terrorize the neighborhood for a bit, and then come home to you without doing any damage (the kind that costs you money)? You mean you weren’t born with an innate ability to write poetry, combine it with performing arts techniques, and rhythmically deliver a piece with clever intonation? I then got involved with a local spoken word community in Bryan, Texas called Mic Check, where the scene above happens weekly.Īnd today, I’m showing you how to craft your own powerful spoken word piece. I was first introduced to spoken word while taking a creative writing class in college. ![]() Literary devices fly with syllables punctuated by inflection. ![]() I’m feeling words as my eyes stare rapt at the stage. Slowly, alliterative spoken word sends chills across my neck, down my arm, and into my chest. ![]() “Respect the poet!” the crowd shouts at a couple at the bar oblivious to what’s going on. He runs, a site dedicated to weaponizing stories against injustice, prejudice, and passivity in the world around us. Avery writes short stories and spoken word, and is currently working on his first novel for middle grade readers.
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