Descriptive writing exercise makes cherubs look for details

By Sarah Nolen

The writer fills the page and flips to the next one, frantically continuing her scribbling. The language is English but looks more like chicken scratch.

The author looks up and then quickly glances away, writing more and trying to capture every detail of her subject. The student remembers what instructor John Kupetz said would be the heart and soul of the descriptive story assignment.

Press play to see cherubs at work. Producer Asia Mayfield.

“It’s the details, stupid,” Kupetz said.

Molly Davis, a cherub from California, along with 87 others received the assignment to write a descriptive story. The cherubs were told to observe someone in Evanston. The students had to portray the appropriate tone and mood for their stories and include a metaphor as a part of their descriptive piece.

Kupetz prepared students for the assignment, teaching them how to report and write a descriptive story. He stressed the importance of capturing the details.

“You don’t have enough talent to write on talent alone,” Kupetz said.

 Kupetz warned students against using the verb “to be” and exclamation points. He also encouraged them to take risks.

The students then dispersed into the town with a few last encouraging words.

“To paraphrase Samuel Beckett, ‘Try, fail, try again and fail better,’” Kupetz wrote on the assignment.

Cherubs chose various locations in Evanston to find their subjects. Davis went to Barnes & Nobles and observed a woman reading.

“I thought it would be kind of difficult to sit there and be sneaky about watching someone go about their business and daily lives,” Davis said.

Jessica Friedman, a cherub from New York, said she noticed a suspicious look from her subject after 25 minutes of staring.

Friedman went to Café Ambrosia to find her subject and said she wrote so much that her fingers were sore.

“I didn’t know what I would end up putting in the piece so I wanted to make sure I had enough detail to recreate it,” Friedman said.

She sat in the cafe for 45 minutes recording everything she could about the man she observed. Not only did she write what he was doing and wearing, but also details about the café, including how many teas they offered.

Friedman used Kupetz’s advice from the lecture earlier that day and said she tried to avoid the verbs “to be” or “to have” and use active voice.

“There are words that you can use that are bright that make people want to read your piece and give it light,” Friedman said. “If you want to make your piece feel alive, it takes a lot of effort. It doesn’t come naturally.”

The descriptive story was another assignment cherubs used to improve their reporting skills.

Catherine Rolfe, a cherub from Illinois, perfected her shorthand during her observation.

“I learned to over report because it’s better to have too much information than not enough,” Rolfe said.