Visual Research - Family: 2008

Think of the different             people involved in the event that you're narrating as             characters in a piece of literature. In the same way that             you'd write a character sketch for characters in a short             story or play, write a paragraph on each of the people             involved in the event you're writing about. Once you've             finished, compare the details in your sketches to the             details on the characters in your draft. Revise your             draft, based on the differences that you find.

                          

Sketch out the events as             blocks in a comic strip. Don't worry about the artwork --             just use stick figures. What events would you focus on in             your sketches? What parts would you leave out? Comic             strips don't show every single event that occurs; they             focus on the events that are necessary to the overall             message. Once you've sketched out your blocks, take a             look at your working draft. Are the blocks that you             include in your comic strip included in the narrative?             Are they recognizable -- how do the blocks in your comic             strip relate to the organizational structure of your             narrative? Are the ones that you've left out of the comic             strip included in the narrative -- if so, what do they             add to your overall purpose?

                          

Write a version of the             events in your narrative for a newspaper article.             Remember to include the answers to the journalist's             questions (who? what? where? when? why? how?). Focus on             the facts as they occurred. Use an inverted pyramid order             -- begin with the facts and details that are most             important to readers and end with the facts that are less             important. Once you've finished, compare the article to             your working draft. Have you included all the facts in             your draft that you included at the beginning of your             newspaper article? Are the details that you include             toward the end of the article (the ones that are less             important) included in your working draft -- are they             emphasized or subordinate? Think about what you would             want someone who read that newspaper article to know that             isn't included in the article itself. Are those points             included in your narrative?

                          

Outline the events that             occur in your narrative. Identify the places where you or             others involved had to make a decision of some kind. For             each decision point, brainstorm on the alternatives that             could have been pursued. What other options were             available? Once you've thought through the possibilities,             examine the way that you discuss the decisions in your             draft -- do you include details on the alternatives? How             do these other options affect the way that you think             about the event now? Have you looked back at the event             that you're writing about and thought, "Gee, I wish I had             done that differently"? Add some depth to your narrative             by fleshing out alternatives as well as how and when they             became important.

                          

Choose a time in your             narrative when you and other characters are talking with             one another. Script out the conversation as an exchange             in a play. Try to capture the language in the style that             would have actually been used. Make the dialogue accurate             to the event; don't worry if it's not Standard Written             English (personal conversations rarely are). Once you've             scripted out your dialogue, move to your working draft.             How does the dialogue that you've written in your script             compare to the episode in your narrative? Can you add             details from the script to your draft? How would adding             the dialogue affect the purpose of your narrative?

                          

Describe the events that             occurred for a different audience. How does your             narrative change if it is written for an older family             member, someone interviewing you for a job, a younger             student, or someone you had never met before? What would             you leave out? What would you add? What would you             describe in different language and style? How would the             points that you emphasize change? Once you've thought             about the differences, return to your working draft. Are             the points that you DO include right for your audience?             Are there parts of your alternate version that can be             added to your working draft? As you revise, think about             the details in the narrative fit your audience in             particular.

                          

Reflect on the events as you             recall them. Readers will want to know why you're sharing             the story. Your narrative needs to answer the question,             "So what?" When your readers get to the end of the story,             you should have answered the question for them. Draw a             chart with three columns. Label the columns as             follows:

                                                             Events 
                                         So What Do/Did I                      Think?                                                             So What Do/Did                      I Think?                                    
                    
Outline the major events in             rows under the "Events" column; then, fill in the spaces             under the other columns for each of the major events. For             each of the columns, try to think about the "So What?"             Explain why the event matters to you in the second             column, and why the event matters to others who are             involved (directly or indirectly) in the third column.             Think about how the events mattered at the time and how             they matter now, looking back. Once you've finished             filling in the chart, move to your working draft. Are the             "So what?" details that you included in the chart clear             in your draft? Are there details that you can add to make             the significance of the event understandable to your             readers?

Think about the longevity of             the event in your narrative. How will you remember the             event five years from now? ten years? twenty-five years?             As you think about the effect of the events in the             narrative, you need to focus on how the events will             matter to you and your readers. What kind of staying             power do the events have? Brainstorm or freewrite a few             paragraphs on why you think this event will still matter             in the future. Once you've written about the longevity             and enduring importance, move back to your working draft.             When you talk about events is their staying power clear             to the reader? How do you communicate the enduring             qualities of the events in your narrative? What details             from your brainstorming or freewriting might you work             into your draft?

                          

Think about the details             included in your narrative -- facts, sensory details, and             emotions. Draw a chart like this:

                                                                                   Facts                                                             Sensory Details                                                            Emotions                                   
                    
Then think about the facts             that are important to your narrative, and fill in the             chart. Work to find at least ten important facts. For             each, think about related sensory details (sight, sound,             taste, touch, smell), and consider the emotions related             to the facts (fear, pleasure, sadness, etc.). For             instance, a fact in my narrative might be "three fresh             baked loaves of bread on the kitchen table." For sensory             detail, I'd write about the smell of fresh baked bread,             the warmth of the kitchen from the still hot stove, and             the golden brown color of the bread. For emotions, I'd             write about how the loaves of bread gave me a happy             feeling as I remembered how my father always bakes bread             for special holidays and how my grandmother always baked             us bread when we visited her. Once you've finished             working through the chart for the facts from your paper,             move back to your working draft. Are the sensory details             and emotions that you included in the chart communicated             in your draft? Revise to add details, taking material             from your chart whenever you can.

Write an account of the             events in your narrative for a fable, a tabloid, or a             television or radio interview. These options give you a             lot of room for creativity. What happens if the people             involved in the events were animals and you had to come             up with a moral? If the events were reported in a tabloid             paper, what would be emphasized? Where would things be             embellished? What would be left out? Finally, if you were             interviewed about the event, what would you include in             your story -- your answer depends on where you're being             interviewed (by Barbara Walters once you're rich and             famous? on a talk show by Oprah? on a late night show by             David Letterman or Jay Leno?) Be sure to indicate where             you're being interviewed. Once you finish your alternate             account of the events, move to your working draft. Are             there facts that you can add now that you've thought             about the events in your narrative from a different point             of view? Are there facts that seem less important? Can             they be deleted? Did you add details and description to             your account that can be revised and added to your draft?             What parts of your alternate version wouldn't make any             sense at all in your final draft of the narrative?

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The Star, 1960

Alexander “Sandy” Calder—American printmaker, painter, sculptor, illustrator, and designer—revolutionized the art of sculpture by expressing movement with his invention of the “mobile,” a word coined in 1931 by Marcel Duchamp to describe Calder’s kinetic, and often whimsical, sculpture. The son and grandson of Philadelphia sculptors, Calder was trained as a mechanical engineer before studying at the Art Students League in New York, where he was a student of the urban realist painter John Sloane in 1923. Later inspired by the geometry and color employed by Spanish surrealist Joan Miró, whom he met in 1927, Calder began sculpting with continuous strands of wire that rendered volume without mass. Critics described these works as “drawings in space,” which later led to his “paintings in space”—constructions of abstract shapes cut from thin sheet metal and painted with primary colors. When attached to metal rods and suspended in midair, Calder’s “mobiles” hover and continuously shift with every air current. The flat, colorful shapes often resemble streamlined birds, fish, leaves, and stars, which adds an additional playful—and celestial—quality to Calder’s work. A major contribution to the development of abstract art, Calder’s floating compositions challenge the notion of sculpture as static compositions of mass and volume by focusing on the ideas of open space and transparency.