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IWW
Practice-W Exercise Archives
Exercise: Lost and Found
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: Alice Folkart
Posted on: June 12, 2011
Reposted on January 3, 2016
Reposted on December 20, 2020
Reposted on March 26, 2023
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In 400 words or less, show us a character who has lost someone
or something, searches for, and finds it. The character can be
solo or have supporting characters.
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Losing something important can be emotionally devastating, or
at the very least, inconvenient. In this exercise show what's
lost: a person, an animal or an object, or even something
intangible like faith or trust. Show why it's important to your
character to get it back--what part of did it play in his or her
life, what did it represent? How does the character react? To
what lengths will this person go to recover it? Consider the
opportunities for comedy in this exercise.
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In your critique consider whether the author makes us care about
this character and whether or not what has been lost is found.
Are setting and sensory detail used effectively to heighten or
reflect the character's situation? Did the author attempt humor,
and if so, was it successful? And of course, consider the merit
of the writing as a whole.
Web site created by
Rhéal Nadeau and
the administrators of the Internet Writing Workshop.
Modified by Gayle Surrette.
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