★ Free chapter Specific Nouns
A specific noun does the work of a whole description. Trade thing or animal for the real word, and the reader sees it at once.
The Writer's Workshop, where the Mayor reads finished writing himself, returns soon.
Nelson the Noun runs the Noun Office, and his first rule of writing is simple: pick the noun that paints the picture, and file the vague one away.
The full Writing Company lesson cycle is coming.
She put the food on the thing.
She put the cinnamon rolls on the wooden tray.
On the left your mind has to guess. On the right Nelson makes the nouns specific (rolls, tray), and then Jake the Adjective stacks cinnamon and wooden on after, because a plain roll and a cinnamon roll, or a silver tray and a wooden tray, are not the same picture. The noun gets specific first; the adjective layers on.
- Spot the vague noun (thing, stuff, animal, food, place).
- Pick a move: name it, swap in a tighter word, or narrow the category.
- Check the new noun paints a picture. If the vagueness was the point, keep it on purpose.
Play it in the Arcade.
Take the craft move onto the floor with the live game. Free, and it plays daily.
Spin a hero, a shape, and a world into a story idea, make the words come alive, then write your story and keep it.
Play Spin a Yarn →A vehicle pulled into the driveway.
A rusted pickup truck pulled into the driveway.
The rule is not "always be specific." It is "be as specific as the sentence needs." If the reader needs to see it, use a power word like pickup truck; if the vagueness carries meaning, keep the vague word, but choose it on purpose.
A real writing skill, Grades 1 through 8.
Specific Nouns is one of the nine Writing Company chapters, where Grammaropolis teaches writing and composition. It maps to a Common Core writing strand; the per-grade, per-framework alignment fills in as the workbook line and the lesson cycle come online.
The Writer's Workshop, where the Mayor reads finished writing himself, returns soon.
Specific Nouns serves CCSS W.x.3.D and W.x.2.D (concrete words and details) and L.x.6 (precise vocabulary).
Other Writing Company chapters.
Back to the Writing Company → The Writing Company workbooks → Try Wonderful Words →
The Writer's Workshop, where the Mayor reads finished writing himself, returns soon.
Ready to write?
Play the live game to practice the move. The Writer's Workshop, where the Mayor reads a finished piece himself and certifies it Gold, Silver, or Bronze, returns soon. The full Writing Company lesson cycle is coming.