Margin Notes

What I was reading: Seal Song by Andrea Spalding–available on Sora

What moves I noticed the author making:

• Using staggered italicized writing, with “-ing” verbs being heavily used with the italicized to suggest present movement and action
• Having the italicized sections be a poetic break in between the narrative text
• Adding a sense of urgency through the use of fragmented sentences
• Having somewhat of a pattern of rhyming schemes (i.e. splashing, dashing, thrashing–plunging, lunging–flashing, slashing)
• Organizing the stanzas to amplify and connect with the actions taking place in the narrative

Possibilities for Writers:

• Using present “-ing” verbs to express action and movement to a scene
• Adding rhyming words into a poetic stanza in a repeated yet not overly obvious fashion
• Connecting poetic stanzas with ongoing action in a narrative
• Using italicized words as a method to break the fourth wall or add another layer of description to a text
• Imagining how you could use fragmented sentences in narrative writing and trying to add to a piece you have written