I thought it would be a good idea to give my middle school students a prompt that would force them to use descriptive techniques. First, we discussed what devices they might use, and they suggested the usual – the figures of speech often mentioned in their grammar books – simile, metaphor, and personification. Another group of kids suggested incorporating the senses: sound, sight, smell, taste, and touch. We were on a roll. I urged them to think of more ideas that would help them “show not tell,” and after some consideration, one child offered selecting the most appropriate point of view, and we discussed how stories change when told from third person or first person POV. It was only then that I gave them their prompt – they were to write about their most embarrassing moment. We brainstormed a few ideas, and they giggled at some of mine. I gave them a timeline for this writing project and what components they needed to include for grades, and they set off to work. They