First things first. In order to get to know each other, I’d like you to post a brief introduction to the e-mail list when you join. Please let the others taking the workshop know who you are, something about your interests, what you’re writing or would like to be writing, and anything else you’d like to add.

Your first assignment will be to define an abstract noun in 100 percent concrete terms. By abstraction I mean something that cannot be perceived directly through the senses: a concept, an idea, a belief. Here are some examples of abstract nouns:

Choose one of these or a different abstract noun. Write a paragraph, a description, a poem--whatever lends itself--that defines your term, without using any abstractions whatsoever. Instead, use concrete terms: things that the reader can see, hear, taste, smell, touch, feel. If you’re defining "fear," for example, try to describe as concretely as possible just what it feels like to be afraid--get your reader inside the skin of someone who’s terrified. When you think you’re finished, go through again and see if there are any stray abstractions lurking that you can banish--aim for a piece of 100% abstraction-free writing.

Post your writing to the bulletin board, and the others will try to guess what abstraction you’re defining. Give your post a descriptive title (without giving it away), such as "Nancy’s Concrete Abstraction" or "Can You Guess What Bill Is Defining?" And while you’re there, take a look at others’ definitions to see if you can guess the abstract nouns they’re trying to define.

This is a hard one! But it’s designed to help you see the difference between abstract and concrete language, as well as get a sense for the extent to which you rely on abstractions in your writing. Try using metaphor or an extended analogy to make your abstraction concrete.

In the next exercise, you’ll work on using vivid nouns and vivid verbs to bring your sentences to life.

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