Brush Strokes

To enhance your writing

Your paper is your canvas, your pencil is your brush.

Painting with Participles

Participles are -ing and -ed verbs.
Example: The diamond-scaled snakes attacked their prey. Better: Hissing, slithering, and coiling, the diamond-scaled snakes attacked their prey.

Painting with Participial Phrases

A participial phrase begins with a participle. A participle is an -ing or -ed verb. Examples: Melody froze, dripping with sweat, hoping with all her might that they wouldnt hear the noise.

Examples of Painting with Participial Phrases:

Participles painted by Hemingway: Shifting the weight of the line to his left shoulder and kneeling carefully, he washed his hand in the ocean Participles painted by students: Flying through the air on the wings of a dream, the Olympic long jumper thrust the weight of his whole body forward.

Painting with Absolutes

Absolutes are two-word combinations -- a noun and an -ing or -ed verb added onto a sentence.
Example: The cat climbed the tree. Better: Claws digging, feet kicking, the cat climbed the tree.

Appositives are nouns that add a second image to a preceding noun.

Example: The raccoon enjoys eating turtle eggs. Better: The raccoon, a scavenger, enjoys eating turtle eggs. (appositive)

Painting with Appositives and Appositive Phrases

An appositive phrase includes the appositive plus modifiers to describe it.

The raccoon, a midnight scavenger who roams lake shorelines in search of food, enjoys eating turtle eggs.

Painting with Adjectives Shifted Out of Order:

Example: The large, red-eyed, angry bull moose charged the intruder.
Better: The large bull moose, red-eyed and angry, charged the intruder.

 Example: The gravel road was on the left side of the barn. (Being Verb)
Better: The gravel road curled around the left side of the barn. (Action Verb)

Painting with Action Verbs