Writer’s Workshop: A Day In the Life of the Sentence Family
by Jenners • 03/29/2012 • Silliness, Writers Workshop • 41 Comments
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I always love the offbeat writing prompts, so this week’s prompt 5 just called to me: Who’d talk the most? Pretend three four sentence types–Declarative, Imperative, Interrogative, and Exclamatory–were people. Write an imaginary scene between them. (inspired by writingfix.com)
After verifying that each sentence type meant what I thought it did (Declarative = Statements, Imperative = Commands, Interrogative = Questions, Exclamatory = expressing emotion), I knew immediately what my scenario would be: a family car trip!
Momperative: Buckle your seat belts.
Toddleragative: Are we there yet?
Delcaradad: Let’s see, we’re going to be driving 300.75 miles at a rate of 16.5 miles per gallon so we should be having to fill the tank up two times.
Tweenclamatory: OMG! Junie just texted!!!! Justin Bieber is going to be in concert while we’re gone on this stupid trip!!!!!!!! I will TOTALLY DIE if I have to go on this trip!!!!!
Momperative: Shut up, Tweenie.
Toddleragative: Are we there yet?
Declaradad: We’ll be there in approximately 5 and a half hours if we maintain a regular rate of speed and don’t hit traffic on the beltway.
Tweenclamatory: MOM!!! DAD!! Stop the car!! I want to get out!! I need to see Justin!!! I don’t wanna go on this trip!!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me stay home!
Momperative: Sit down. Shut up. Stop complaining. You’re going and that is all there is to it.
Toddleragative: Are we there yet?
Declaradad: I’d like everyone to maintain their composure and talk nicely to each other. We all agreed to go on this family vacation, and I, for one, am looking forward to this time together.
Toddlerative: Are we there yet?
Tweenclamatory: Daddy Daddy Dadddy!!! Can you PLLLEAAASE just listen to me? I WILL TOTALLY make this up to you if you’ll just this ONE TIME let me PLEASE stay with Junie so I can go to the Justin concert!! PLEASE???!!! PULEEEZZZZEEE!!!??????
Momperative: Don’t bother your father. No more asking. You’re going and that’s that.
Tweenclamatory: MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!
Toddlerative: Are we there yet?
Declaradad: I believe we should take the next on ramp onto the turnpike but I seem to have misplaced the directions somewhere in here.
Momperative: Turn right.
Toddlerative: Are we there yet?
Tweenclamatory: I’m so not forgiving ANY of you for making me go on this LAME family vacation!!!! I’m totally not going to talk to ANY OF YOU for the rest of the vacation! So there!!!
Declaradad: Now let’s all be reasonable. I think we all agree that…
Momperative: Shut up, Frank. Don’t ruin the peace and quiet with Miss Drama Queen keeping her mouth shut.
Toddlerative: Are we there yet?
Proof there is a cartoon for every occasion. (Click on cartoon for original source)
My favorite line: Shut Up Tweenie! I’m going to borrow that one!
I agree. About 1,533 more time and we’re almost at the correct ratio.
You, as usual, are hilarious!
Well, I wouldn’t say “as usual.” There are many days that I am very far from hilarious! : )
So hilarious! I don’t have teenagers yet but I remember how irrational I was at times. Not looking forward to that with my daughter. It sounds a bit like our car trips though. Usually it’s swapped with Mom and Dad. The Dad in our has is way less patient with the kids. My 9 yr old is good at complaining about every trip. “Do we really have to go to Norway? I’d really like to stay home and play on the computer.” What is wrong with him?!
I kind of channeled myself as a tween for that character. (I was a bit of a drama queen.) And it is terribly wrong when kids want to go play on the computer instead of visiting Norway!! ACK!
A difficult prompt done with flare! Love it!
Thank you, milady!
AWESOME SAUCE!!!! (Sorry, I have been on a challenge to use that word and well.. this felt right)
I did enjoy that and oh my gosh… reminds me of the road trips we took with the boys when they were younger but no one was crying over Justin Beiber.
I love it … AWESOME SAUCE right back at ya! It is a great phrase. I’m glad to hear your boys never had Beiber fever.
Very very impressive! That mom sure was a mean one while the dad was a bit of a um… pushover to say it nicely. Too funny
I figure one parent is always the good cop and the other is the bad cop. : )
For the first half of the trip, that was totally my dad…more into the speed and time and fuel usage than anything else. To channel the Tween: BORING!
I based Declaradad on my own dad. He had a little notebook (this was before you had “on board computers” in the car) and he would write down all the stats of the trip: when we left, mileage, how many gallons when we filled up and all that so he could figure out all the stats. I remember on one trip he started dictating all this into a little dictaphone!!!! Must be a man thing.
I’m sitting here killing myself laughing. You’re very good.
Glad you enjoyed it!
too funny Jenners!
Tweenclamatory sounds like my daughter 
This was me when I was that age. (Sadly.)
very creative! Your dialouge is causing flashbacks, that sounds exactly like the vacation Mr. J and I just took with the girlies three!
I said it before when you said what you were doing, I think you’re NUTS (but a great grandma) to take the girlies three on vacation with you!
This is very clever!
Thanks!
Hilarious, as usual.
You flatter me. (Keep it up.)
I think Declaradad lives in my house, along with a combination of Tweenclamatory/ Toddleragative. I have had so many trips that sounded like this. Brilliant post today!
Just thinking of those trips gives me a headache. My son is definitely Tweenclamatory/Toddergative rolled up into one.
You definitely nailed the stereotypical family there!
It was weird how those sentence types fit into the stereotypes of mom dad tween and toddler. Scary almost.
You are brilliant, Jenners! This is great!
Well, brilliant might be overstating things a bit.
So well done!
Aw shucks … thanks.
If you had a tween, I’d think you’d written this from actual experience.
It is possible that I remembered this aspect of myself when writing.
I enjoyed that very much! You are so creative! Declaradad sounds very much like my husband.
Mine too. (He may have been the model for it.
)
Very clever…… I so identify with Toddlerative as this and ‘I need the toilet’ are much heard sentences whenever I travel anywhere.
I’d be interested in which words you can up up with today on my post.
http://pettywitter.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/take-word-any-word.html
Ooohh…can’t wait to see what you have in your post today!
LOL – pure genius!
I just wish I’d been able to draw that cartoon!