Writing Prompt: 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.
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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 ofsomeone 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.
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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.
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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?
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