Let's do some basic writing training on several points. This will help me with writing as well as possibly helpin people who are new to writing learn a thing or two about the basics of what someone has to do to become proficent in the craft. (Coming from me...)
For starters there is my worst nightmare: all five senses. The point of training this way is to craft separate sentences which will each be focused around one of the senses. (Not including sixth senses)
Practice theme: An eerie forest
Smell: The smell of Darkwood and pine was not one lost on him. So, the hound knew from the stench alone that this was no forest, but a feeding ground. For who or what acted as a puzzle; the stench of death and decay rested static in the air, blocking his path to the equation. "Whatever this thing is… it's good."
Touch: A frigid wind cut past the young explorer. There was no map of this area, nor was there any markings or civilization, and definitely no animals so to speak. In all ways, this place lurked off the grid. She stole another glance at the map; yup, no forest to be seen. The thought chilled her to her core, on one paw, a new landmark had been found, on the other, no one else was here to hear her screams. Sprint as fast as possible, that thought was slow to hit her, and once it did the last chance to escape ran. She could feel it. Sharp pain crept up her hand from a slight twitch as her throat clenched… Someone, or rather… something was drilling their gaze into the back of her head.
Taste: The bitter winds carried a sour tale. Deep in the forest, in the midst of battle, the soldier found himself lost. Somehow guided to a fireplace, shining the last vestige of its soul. The soldier pulled out a pack of rations supposedly meant to get him through the week. Day two and they were already half empty. Pulling out a strip of jerky and placing it over the fireplace, he began to contemplate the life choices that brought him here. He could've stayed home, abandoned the army, then he'd be able to eat a good meal again. Something meaty, salty, like a well-done, juicy steak. Wash it down with a refined glass of wine. Possibly even get some dessert, god—what he wouldn't do for a crispy loaf of banana bread, glazed with some sweet, salted caramel and topped off with a punch of strawberry. But for now, anything would be better than this rough slab of meat, crunchy edges and a rubbery inside so dry it could wilt a tongue. Taking a bite out of the last of his rations left a much more sour taste that he'd admit. Sour enough to hurt the sides of his cheeks, the roughness made his teeth squeal, forcing him to cough out what was supposed to be dinner. That taste… it was terrible, as if the flesh was eating him.
Hear: crows and vultures cawed overhead whilst the trees ruffled in anticipation. Something was coming. The floor squelched under her sluggish steps, veiled by the sound of clattering metal dirtied up from the heat of battle. Her heart threatened to pop like a balloon at any moment. But past her heavy panting and the ringing eardrums was something horrific. Like nails on a chalkboard, this piercing sound, prolonged and steadily rising. At first, mistaken for a creaking sound. But as she stood the sound grew louder. An ear splitting scream. That of a man? No, it was too loud for any man –hell– for any person! And it still was not done. The noise eventually heightened to the point the young girl needed to cover her round ears.
Then,
Silence…
Was she okay? Did she survive? How? Slowly, the booming in her heart slowed. From a druming solo to a singular hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. Phew~
Slowly, she could hear again; birds chirping. The wind whooshing past her ears. Flies buzzing from a distance. And a dripping sound.
Like when someone wrings a wet towel or when a wooden ceiling, after decades of rigorous hours protecting its inhabitants, begins to rot and leaks. From above, there she caught a final glimpse before…
BANG!
Sight: A fortress of trees taller than most pyramids connived an army, casting their cumulative, inky black shadow upon the man clad in leather and holstering merely a torn satchel. Today was the day. His first mission. He glided down the hill leading deeper into the depths of darkness that awaited him. Passing battle hardened shrubs, red horned thorns spiked from the ground like tentacles, the deeper he went the more anxious he got.
The young chap unbuttoned the metal from his bag and pried it open. Rummaging around, his hand glanced over the rolls of cloth and containers of sewing pins, to a matchbox barely hanging on the edge of an open tear. He ripped the box out from the confines of its prison, pulled out a match, and with all of his soul he struck the side, lighting the stick aflame.
The place was supposed to be here. There was supposed to be a camp, soldiers were supposed to be resting, supposedly requiring help. The carrier pigeon notified him. So where– where were they?
As he slipped further into the forest, any outside source of sunlight had been eaten up. The last vestige of light emitting from his match withered to a crisp, slowly turning the faint radiance around him into a solitary darkness. Alone. Lost. Lungs convulsing. Heart raising then squeezing, darting from one point to another. Through the deep darkness, the man rummaged around endlessly for a match. Eventually, something skinny slipped between his fingers.
The man supposed it was a match! Relief washed over him as he swiped the match across a rough patch of wood, lighting it ablaze to see: mushrooms? Surrounding him was a sea of fungi. Blue, green, purple, red, all mushrooms he'd never seen in his many years of horticulture. "What in the devil?"
Sentence structure:
First things first, we need to know what makes a sentence different from others.
For starters, when crafting, a writer must look at subjects, actions, nouns, and length to boot.
EX1:
She (subject) dashed (action) across (adverb or preposition, something to convey transition from one area to another) the sidewalk (noun or a secondary subject).
Now, let's change this sentence to make it less common.
Across (trans) the sidewalk (subj) she (subj) dashed (act)
Dashing (act) across (trans) the sidewalk (subj), she (subj)... then we would continue from there.
Now, this is only three different ways! As we can see, the subjects tend to be close together. Which is a slight problem. But there's many more changes that can be made, such as how we start the sentence.
EX2:
When she dashed across the halls
Did she dash across the halls
How she dashed across the halls
By dashing across the halls
Eagerly dashing across the halls
Of course, this wouldn't make much sense to the naked eye. As a writer, we must catch what it is that changes these sentences. A reader may not understand fully, but if one does not change these phrases, we, as people, start to unconsciously find the loop and thus making it monotonous. Such as:
EX1:
She didn't work. She found it hard to. She was too tired. And everything she did felt sluggish. She was just that type of woman.
Now, to change it slightly:
EX2:
She didn't work. It was too hard for her. Life was tiring. That was just the type of woman she was. Everything she did felt sluggish.
The starting of all of these sentences are different yet convey the same meaning as the previous example. Spicing these up is the next step to growing. The writer can do this. They can change stuff. And make it easier to read. Like right now. It may be subtle. But every sentence is slow. We don't want to read that.
The next step is lengths along with cause and effects.
EX0:
She did this because…
He didn't want to, it was because…
It wasn't hard to do this, due to…
We want to write multiple sentences with more than one line, using commas and transition words such as "because", this helps us because of how people think. We need to fill the gaps in people's minds sometimes. Otherwise, the message may not be fully conveyed the way writers want.
EX1:
He skipped down to his mothers house after hearing her call.
The flower wilted because of the dryness in the soil and air.
She didn't want to go to school, instead wanting to go to work.
Now change the structures.
EX2:
Going to school was something she did not want to do, she wanted to work instead.
After hearing her call, he skipped down to his mother's house.
Because of the dryness in the air and soil around the flower, it wilted.
The dryness in the air and soil caused the flower to wilt.
And finally, we get to another basic. The sentences need variation. People need something to carry the story, such as a pathway, leading the pacing of a story. If we go fast or slow is up to the writer. However, there is also another side. We can use these rather monotonous sentences to make something read faster. Then, quickly turning back. This can create a sense of urgency or confusion in a reading, hastening the story. Making the story vary, and thus conveying the emotions without actually ever showing it. And that is our number one goal currently: show but never tell. Sounds like something you'd hear in a pirate movie right?
Example:
He stopped. Looked around. This place… it wasn't how he remembered. No. It was different. Flowers where they weren't supposed to. A cold breeze. Ceramic pots in thousands of pieces. Why? Who could have done this? Why would such a person do this to his home when he did nothing to deserve such disaster? When the entire reason he was even here was because of them. So, why was he treated so poorly? Even after giving up so much treasure, throwing away his home, hell, even his dignity, all for those greedy people. With all that, and yet he was still, even now, mistreated?
Now usually, sentence structures (from what I've seen) are best developed through poems and/or rhyming due to the nature of not always having the required words to fully complete sentences, making this an amazing way to improve on structuring and variation. Let's try it out.
Firstly, I like to make a theme in which I will then use words pertaining to said theme to add character. Examples like mushrooms and spores, birds and feathers, popcorn and butter, Etc. Etc. You get the gist.
Sometimes you may need to use multiple themes for a better story. In this situation I will be using two. It shouldn't be all that hard to find out what they are.
Milky Way:
Zipping across the stars
show me your milky way
You star-burst my heart
Zap me with your ray
probed out of me
That cara-melted day
Sometimes I wait
For you to abduct me
You left me in a daze
Such a sweet chocolate glaze
Wishing to meet your starry gaze
Locked in a sweet, sweet coma
Took me to the sun
my heart imploded like a supernova
The solar system filled
With my sugared aroma
Eating all the powdered bars
It feels like I'm on mars
It must be a fantasy
Being lost in your eyes
That galaxy
So far away
Show me your milky way
Now, of course, this poem is not exactly written the best way. Nor the most efficient, I could probably put a bunch of more effort in this but I'm sort of running off of spare energy at the moment and have a severe lack of creativity. There's much more ways we can change this poem to make it more complex by keeping check of things like syllables and all that. However, I won't get into the nitty gritty of what makes a poem today. After all, I'm still learning myself.
Anyways, this was the basics of training for variation, sentence structuring, and practice of the five (common) senses. Hopefully this helps others as it is also helping me develop my basic understanding of writing.
