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IWW
Practice-W Exercise Archives
Exercise: The Other Side Of the Story (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.internetwritingworkshop.org/).
Prepared
by: Florence Cardinal
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2003
Reposted on: Sun, 18 Jul 2004
Reposted
on: Sun, 9 Nov 2008
Reposted on: Sun, 5 Sept 2010
Reposted on: Sun, 11 Dec 2011
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Exercise:
In 400 words or
less, rewrite a scene from a story familiar to most of us from the
point of view of
someone other than the main character. Tell us the name of the story
you
have chosen and who your viewpoint character is, and then show us what
is different about the way that character sees the action and
personalities involved.
-------------------------
Every character in a story, from the main character right down to the
dog, has a reason for being included, a reason for his or her
actions, a point of view. Yes, some characters are just part of the
machinery of the plot--the
butler announcing the arrival of the Duke. But once that butler
gets back to his pantry and starts gossiping with the housekeeper, he
becomes part of the story, and we
get a different perspective on what's going on in the house. The
way all of the characters interact, the way each one views the action,
deepens and enlivens the
story. In the best stories, the characters, good and bad, act for
clear reasons, their interactions providing the conflict and
narrative tension that makes for a good read.
Some examples:
How might Rhett Butler or Melanie Wilkes see Scarlet O'Hara in Gone
with the Wind?
See Stephen King's Cujo,
where we watch the thoughts of a dog as he
goes mad.
What would the wolf have to say about Little Red Riding Hood?
Some writers have already rewritten a known work from another point of
view. Tom Stoppard, in Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern Are Dead, showed
us Hamlet through the eyes of two minor characters.
-------------------------
Exercise:
In 400 words or
less, rewrite a scene from a story familiar to most of us from the
point of view of
someone other than the main character. Tell us the name of the story
you
have chosen and who your viewpoint character is, and then show us what
is different about the way that character sees the action and
personalities involved.
-------------------------
When critiquing, consider whether we gain new insight into a familiar
tale (the characters, their motivations, the twists of plot) by
experiencing it through a different sensibility. Why does this
supporting character's point of view matter? Would this constitute a
whole new telling of the story?
Web site created by
Rhéal Nadeau and
the administrators of the Internet Writing Workshop.
Modified by Greg Gunther.
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