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IWW
Practice-W Exercise Archives
Exercise: The road to hell (v. 2)
These exercises were written
by IWW members
and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its
members.
You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that
you found
them at the Internet Writers Workshop
(http://www.internetwritingwor
kshop.org/).
Prepared
by: Rhéal Nadeau
Posted on: July 23, 2002
Reposted on: August 15, 2004
Reposted on: August 7, 2005
Reposted, revised, on: March 30, 2008
-------------------------
Exercise: In 400 words or less, write a scene in which the character's
actions
backfire, leading to a result contrary to what the actor desired.
Show us how this
can be used to increase narrative tension and thus drive the story
forward.
-------------------------
Sometimes our characters' intentions may be foiled--unforeseen outcomes
result
from their actions, and that leads to further plot twists.
It's been said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
This principle is
also referred to as the "law of unintended consequences." Any action
might have
consequences the actor hadn't thought about and didn't want. In
writing, this can
help drive the plot and maintain or increase the protagonist's level of
difficulty.
Here are some trivial and less trivial examples of the law of unintended
consequences:
-- If we tell a child not to lick a metal post on a freezing day, the
child is more likely
to try it to see if that's true. Similarly, a standard response to a
"Fresh Paint" sign is
to touch to see if the paint really is wet. In either case, telling
someone not to do
something increases the temptation to do just that..
-- In the grander scheme of things, legislators run into this all the
time. For example,
city planners try to deal with traffic jams by building more roads,
with more lanes.
As a result, people drive more, so the roads are just as jammed as
before. In another
example, Prohibition didn't reduce the negative impacts of drinking,
but instead
increased criminal behavior.
Literature gives us many examples of this principle. Consider the
classic Romeo and
Juliet tragedy.
Juliet's parents try to plan her life, who she will marry. This only
drives her to a
desperate act of rebellion. Juliet tries to escape her parents' control
by faking her
own death--but since Romeo never gets the message about this ploy, her
acts lead to
both their deaths. Throughout this play, we find examples of actions
leading to
unwanted consequences.
Use these examples to lead you to an idea of your own.
-------------------------
Exercise: In 400 words or less, write a scene in which the character's
actions
backfire, leading to a result contrary to what the actor desired.
Show us how this
can be used to increase narrative tension and thus drive the story
forward.
-------------------------
In your critiques, note whether you recognize the intention that goes
awry, the way
that happens, and the consequences. As always, discuss the
quality of the writing
in general.
Web site created by
Rhéal Nadeau and
the administrators of the Internet Writing Workshop.
Modified by Greg Gunther.
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