Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Mr. Young, and it is great to see you again on another lesson in this malevolent characters, fiction writing sequence.

So today's lesson is going to be all about making those fantastic vocabulary choices in our fiction writing.

So let's get started.

So today's lesson has a very clear learning outcome.

So let's take a look at what it is.

So by the end of today's lesson, everybody should be able to select verbs and adverbs to describe a malevolent character.

And just as in any lesson, we have some very important words, our keywords.

So I do encourage you just to pause the video, spend a little bit of time with these words, particularly if they are new to you, because we're gonna be using them quite a bit.

Let's take a look at what they are for today.

A verb, a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence.

Unkempt, an untidy appearance.

An adverb, a word that describes a verb.

An adjective, another adverb or even a whole clause, and often these will end in LY.

So for example, quickly or furiously.

Intent, what you are aiming to do.

And finally, menacing, suggesting the presence of danger, something that is threatening.

So our malevolent characters will often be menacing in some way.

So super excited for today's lesson.

We have two really, really interesting learning cycles today.

So learning cycle one is going to be all about reading an extract from "Oliver Twist," that fantastic novel by Charles Dickens.

And the reason we're going to be doing that is because there are quite a lot of really interesting, malevolent characters within that story.

And in particular, we are going to focus on one called Bill Sikes.

And then we're gonna move on to learning cycle two.

I'm gonna hand the reigns over to you a bit more, and you are going to be producing some really fantastic pieces of character description, particularly around creating a malevolent character.

So let's get started with learning cycle one.

So physical description of a character can help a reader imagine what the character may look like or even what emotions they might be feeling.

So adding to this description through carefully selected verbs and adverbs can help a reader understand even more about a character.

So let's take a look at an example.

So we have this example here as follows.

We could say he walked across the room.

To make this more specific, we could say he stormed across the room, or we could even say he glided across the room.

So all of those things capture the same thing, that a person is moving from one side of the room to another, but they all kind of communicate that in a very different way, don't they? So my first discussion question for you is as follows.

So why is it important to be specific when describing the actions of a character? What is kind of the difference between somebody gliding, storming and walking? So hit that pause button, have a quick discussion, jot down some ideas if you're working independently, and then do push play when you'd like to proceed.

Okay, some fantastic discussions taking place there.

Really, really insightful, really intelligent comments communicating exactly how that could communicate the character in a different light.

So we could have set the following thing, couldn't we? We could say using specific choices to describe the actions of a character helps the reader to imagine the character more vividly as well as build their personality and convey their emotions.

So we instinctively know that a character that is storming across the room is in a very different kind of space than a character that is gliding across the room, don't we? So the difference between stormed and glided completely changed the way that we view that character.

So adding adverbs can make our sentences even more descriptive.

So let's take a look at an example.

So previously we had, he stormed across the room, but we could also say he stormed furiously across the room.

So by adding this extra information for the use of an adverb, we are emphasising and confirming the feelings of the character as they are storming.

So we know storming usually implies some kind of anger or some kind of fury of some kind, and that is being confirmed to us in more detail by the use of that well-placed adverb.

So quick check for understanding for me then, please.

True or false.

The physical features of a character are the most important detail when describing them.

Is that true or is that false? Hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to see which is correct.

Okay, it's of course force, isn't it? Well done to all of the groups and individuals that identified that, but now I'm gonna make that a little bit more challenging.

How could you justify that statement? Why is it false? What could we say that could show that that statement is false? So once again, hit that pause button and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, well, we could justify in the following way, couldn't we? We could say, although physical description is really useful, and it is, considering verb and adverb choices in particular allow the reader to really imagine a character.

So that's kind of how we could justify that, and well done if you came up with anything similar in your own discussions.

Okay, then we are now going to read an extract from that fantastic novel "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens.

So in this extract, the character of Bill Sikes is introduced to the reader.

So Bill Sikes is a kind of classic malevolent character.

He's a kinda malicious criminal that really does kinda strike fear into all of those who approach him.

So that extract can be found in the additional materials for this lesson.

So let's take a look at this extract, this description of Bill Sikes.

But before we do so, let's just kind of take a look at some of the key vocabulary that we are going to encounter.

So soiled, we're gonna come across the word soiled, which in this context means dirty, dirty in some way.

Again, bill Sikes is described as stoutly.

So if something is stout, it's kind of quite robust and quite strong.

And again, we've also got this word fetters.

So fetters can mean chains that you kind of restrain somebody in a prison, but they can also mean kinda smaller chains as well that are used for decorative purposes.

And again, bill Sikes is also described as five-and-thirty, which is a kind of old fashioned archaic way of saying he's 35.

Let's take a look at this extract.

"The man who growled out these words was a stoutly-built fellow of about five-and-thirty in a black velveteen coat, very soiled drab breaches, lace-up half-boots, and grey cotton stockings, which enclosed a bulky pair of legs with large swelling calves.

The kind of legs which in such costume always look in an unfinished and incomplete state, without a set of fetters to garnish them." So my question for you is as follows.

So what do we learn about Bill as a character here? So we hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, well done on that task, And I totally agree, we learn an awful lot about Bill Sikes here, don't we? The things that really strike out to me are as follows.

So he growls, doesn't he? He growls.

He's a bit like an animal, the way he speaks.

So we can kind of infer he's kind of rough in some way, isn't he? And again, his outfit is very dirty.

It is kind of described several different ways as being kind of quite unkempt, quite scruffy, which again gives this kind of rough feeling to the character of Bill Sikes.

And finally, he normally wears chains around his legs.

It almost seems like the author is suggesting it's weird that he's not wearing chains, which again could potentially link to him being a career criminal of some kind.

So really well done if you picked up on these in your own discussions.

The description continues.

But before we do so, let's take a look at some more vocabulary.

So we've also got a belcher, which is a multicoloured handkerchief.

We see the verb disclose, which means to show or tell something.

And finally, party-colored, which it means it is kinda showing many, many different colours.

So let's take a look at this continued description of Bill Sikes.

"He had a brown hat on his head and a dirty belcher handkerchief around his neck, with the long frayed ends of which he smeared the beer from his face as he spoke.

He disclosed, when he had done so, a broad heavy countenance with a beard of three days' growth, and two scowling eyes, one of which displayed various party-colored symptoms of having been recently damaged by a blow." So again, let's continue that discussion question.

How has Bill been described here and how particularly is he presented as a malevolent character? So once again, hit that pause button, have a quick discussion, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, again, fantastic work on that discussion.

Some really, really insightful, really engaging discussions taking place today.

And I agree with what many groups said, is that this kind of description of him becomes increasingly malevolent as it continues, doesn't it? So some things that really kind of help indicate that to us are as follows.

So he is wiping beer from his face, so he might be quite a rough fellow.

You can often find him in a pub or an inn of some kind.

Again, he seems very ragged and unkempt.

So that kind of description that we started with the previous extract continues into this one, doesn't it? He just seems like a very rough kind of fellow.

And again, he has a black eye, He's got this kind of multicolor damaged, which kind of suggests he was recently in a fight of some kind.

So taken together, this really presents Bill Sikes as an incredibly kind of rough, incredibly kind of aggressive fellow, particularly at this stage of the novel.

So my task for you as follows is our practise task.

So I would like you to reread the extract from Oliver Twist, which describes Bill Sikes.

And in particular, this time, I want you to identify the verbs and the adverbs in the extract, and then discuss the following.

So what initial impression do you get of Bill Sikes from the verbs and adverbs used to describe him? So identify those verbs, identify those adverbs, and how do they kind of contribute to this kind of rough aggressive fellow that we have read all about.

So super excited to see how you go with this one.

So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to move on to some feedback.

Okay, fantastic work on that.

Really, really well done.

I think being able to kind of spot these adverbs and these verbs and talk about how they kind of help characterise somebody like Bill Sikes is a really great skill, and it's lovely to see you practising it so far in today's lesson.

So let's take a look at an example of how we could have approached that.

So Sofia identified the following examples.

She identified verbs such as growled, disclosed, and smeared.

And she identified adverbs like stoutly, very, and always.

This is her first impression of Bill Sikes.

Sofia said, "Bill Sikes comes across as a rough and menacing character.

Verbs like growled and smear show he is aggressive, while the adverb very emphasises how dirty he is." And again, I totally agree with this.

I think it's a really, really insightful observation from Sofia.

So how well do Sofia's ideas align with your own? So hit that pause button, have a quick discussion.

Are they similar to Sofia's? Do you have any different ideas? Now is your time to discuss them.

So pause the video, have a quick discussion, and then do push play when you'd like to move on to learning cycle two.

Okay then, we have reached learning cycle two where we're gonna have a fantastic opportunity now to start thinking about the vocabulary choices we make in our own pieces of creative writing, and in particular the way we can use verbs and adverbs to create a malevolent character.

So let's get started.

So it's not enough to just simply pick any verb or any adverb when we are writing fiction.

We actually want to make strong choices which match with the intent that we are trying to achieve.

So for example, if we are trying to create a malevolent character, then we want our word choices to match that intent.

So let's take a look at an example of what I mean.

So we've got two examples here of a description of a character.

Example A is as follows.

She tiptoed into the room, her eyes darting around nervously.

And we've also got B.

She slinked through the dark alley, her movements calculated and silent.

So my question for you is, which of these examples is most effective at showing the character is sinister? So hit that pause button, have a quick discussion if you're working in a group, or jot down some ideas if you're working independently, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, really fantastic start to learning cycle two.

And you're absolutely correct, it is B.

She slinked through the dark alley, her movements calculated and silent.

And we would say this is a much more effective piece of writing in terms of creating a sinister character because of the use of those verbs and adverbs.

And these kind of suggest secrecy, don't they? And they also suggest someone who is highly skilled and potentially dangerous.

Those words like kinda slinking through the dark alley, that she's moving in a calculated and silent way or hint to us that this is quite a sinister character.

So great job of picking up on that in your own discussions.

So let's develop that in a little bit more detail.

Let's really look at how we can use verbs and adverbs to really capture the essence of a character.

So we've got some example sentences on the board, and those sentences are, firstly, "They walked into the room." Secondly, "They picked up their phone." And thirdly, "They smiled as they heard the news." So my task for you is as follows, and a really exciting opportunity here to use adverbs and verbs in a creative way.

So use the sentences below and discuss how you could change the verbs and add adverbs to describe a character who feels guilty, excited, or fearful.

So what could you add or change about those sentences to communicate those key kind of character traits to your audience? So super excited to see how you go on this one.

So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to see how you could have gone.

Okay, fantastic work.

I'm hearing some really fantastic examples of how those simple changes can really communicate and dramatically transform the meaning of those sentences.

So let's take a look at that first one, they walked into the room.

well, if we wanted to suggest that they're potentially guilty, we could maybe change walked for crept into the room.

They crept into the room, perhaps suggesting they don't want any attention 'cause they feel guilty for what they've done.

Again, we could change that, and I heard people say this, we could change walked for skipped if we wanted to communicate that they are excited.

They skipped into the room could suggest that they're excited about something that is going to happen in that room.

And again, fearful, we could say potentially something like they tiptoed into the room or they snuck into the room potentially for an indication that they are fearful in some way.

They don't want their presence to be detected.

It's really fantastic work on your conversations in that task.

So imagine a menacing character entering a dark alleyway because remember we are focusing on our malevolent characters, aren't we? We've got an image of what that could potentially look like on the screen in front of us.

So my discussion question for you is as follows.

What verbs and adverbs could you use to describe this character? What would be really good word choices to really capture that kind of menacing character in a dark alleyway? So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to proceed.

Okay, my goodness, fantastic discussions taking place there.

I'm hearing so many really, really good adverbs, so many really good verbs that could be perfect actually for a piece of creating like this.

So some examples that I would choose, and yours don't have to be identical to this, are as follows.

We could speak about stealthily, couldn't we? Potentially, this character moving stealthily because they do not want to be detected.

We also got this idea of lurking, kind of hanging around inappropriately in a place like this could really be captured by that word lurking, couldn't it? Cautiously, potentially.

They might have an enemy or a villain of some kind here that they're also trying to encounter.

They might want to move cautiously around them.

Again, creeping.

We've also got ominously and also looming.

All of these can be really, really effective word choices that really capture a piece of writing about a menacing character.

So really well done if you captured anything similar in your own work.

So let's take a look at an example now from Lucas.

So Lucas writes about a man, and Lucas writes about a man entering a room, and he says, "The man walked into the room and looked around.

He seemed mean." He's unhappy with his verbs and adverbs.

So he edits his work to be more specific.

And then Lucas writes, his sentence is now, "The man stormed into the room, his eyes darting menacingly." So here is Lucas' next sentence.

He says, "He sat down at the table and took out a book." What I would like you to do is to edit Lucas's sentence to include specific verbs and adverbs which help describe the thoughts and feelings of the character.

So how could we change that sentence to really communicate those things? So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to see a little bit of feedback.

Okay, fantastic work on that task.

It is really lovely to hear you kind of making these small amendments, changing words, or adding words to that sentence to really transform its meaning.

So we could really focus on the manner in which Lucas's character sits down.

We could potentially say he slumps down at the table for example, and then we could add an adverb saying he slowly takes out a book.

The addition of those two words really help capture Lucas's character as being quite kind of miserable and depressed in some way, which could totally transform the focus of that sentence.

And I heard some really similar fantastic examples in your own work.

Okay then we have reached our final practise task of today's lesson.

So let's really make this one count.

So what I would like you to do is as follows.

Can you write a paragraph which describes a menacing character entering a dark alleyway? And in particular, I would like you to focus on two things for this.

So firstly, can you use at least three strong verbs and two adverbs? And can you also make sure that your intent is clear, which is to convey their menacing presence, make this character seem as menacing as possible.

So super excited to see you go on this one, to see you kind of link all of these fantastic things that we are focused on today to create a really nice piece of creative writing.

So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you like to move on to some feedback.

Okay, fantastic work on that.

It is lovely to see you bringing all of these things together and having now a really kind of first rate piece of work in front of you.

So really well done.

So you might have written something like this.

The villain prowled into the dark alleyway, his heavy boots thudding ominously against the grimy pavement.

Shadows clung to him as he moves stealthily.

His sinister grin barely visible in the dim light.

With each deliberate step, a sense of dread followed him.

So my task for you as follows, a quick self-assessment task.

So can you self-assess your work and check that you have the following things? Have you included three strong verbs? Have you included two strong adverbs? And does your description show a clear intent? So where do you show your character as being quite menacing? So make sure that you identify those things in your work as well.

Okay, what a fantastic lesson it has been today.

Thank you for all of your hard work and all of your focus as we have moved through using vocabulary effectively in fiction writing.

So let's just recap all of those fantastic things that we have looked at today.

So firstly, careful selection of verbs and adverbs are key in description as they strongly impact Meaning.

Changing a verb or adverb in your creative writing can change the way the reader views a character.

Using specific language can reveal a character's intentions and emotions.

And finally, being clear what your intention is before writing will help you make more effective word choices.

It's been an absolute pleasure to teach you today, and I really look forward to teaching you on another lesson in this sequence.

So thank you very much and goodbye.