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IWW Practice-W Exercise Archives
Exercise: Birds of a Feather

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: Sun, February 17, 2013
Posted on: Sun, May 22, 2016
Posted on: Sun, July 19, 2020
Posted on: Sun, November 13, 2022

____________

In 400 words or fewer, give us a literal ‘bird’s eye’ view of an event
or scene.

____________

How would an outdoor wedding, a farmer plowing a field, or a vehicle
racing along a highway look to a bird from the air? What does a sea
bird notice when it flies over the ocean? Would a bird be a
dispassionate observer, or would it react to what it sees? Does it
have an opinion about the behavior of other birds? Is this avian
narrator a flighty bird or a wise and solemn bird, a bird of prey or
a pretty song bird? Is the bird instinctively aware that something
it's watching might be dangerous or hazardous? Does it take any
type of self-protective action?

____________

In your critique consider whether or not the writer has created a
convincing ‘bird’ narrative voice and avian thought pattern. Did the
writer choose detail and vocabulary that colored and informed the
‘bird’ character?

Give the author your opinion of the story, illustrating your
statements with examples from the text


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Modified by Gayle Surrette.