Block Buster
Ideas To Thwart Writer’s Block
Writing Exercises: That’s Not How It Happened!
This activity is a staple of creative writing classes, and can be really good fun.
The aim is to rewrite a scene that you know well, or a story that you are familiar with from the point of view of a different character.
If you never intend for anyone else to read this, then choose whatever you want. If you are going to be sharing what you’ve written with an audience, it works best if you choose a well-known story or scene; that way they can enjoy the subversion of the familiar tale.
The stories that we are most familiar have usually been defined in terms of who the protagonist is and we tend to see it from their perspective. Take the traditional tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Usually, we see the story either through Red Riding Hood’s eyes, or if it is told by an omnipotent narrator, from the position that she is the hero of the tale.
The aim is to rewrite a scene that you know well, or a story that you are familiar with from the point of view of a different character.
If you never intend for anyone else to read this, then choose whatever you want. If you are going to be sharing what you’ve written with an audience, it works best if you choose a well-known story or scene; that way they can enjoy the subversion of the familiar tale.
The stories that we are most familiar have usually been defined in terms of who the protagonist is and we tend to see it from their perspective. Take the traditional tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Usually, we see the story either through Red Riding Hood’s eyes, or if it is told by an omnipotent narrator, from the position that she is the hero of the tale.
- But what about telling the story from the perspective of the big (allegedly) bad wolf?
- What is the shark thinking in Jaws as it relentlessly pursues the three men on the boat that insist on attacking it?
- What does ET actually think of Elliot?
- And how does poor old Darth Vader feel when his beloved son rejects his attempts to reconnect after he was stolen from him at birth, and he’s forced to cut off Luke’s hand to defend himself?
The point of this exercise is to practise placing ourselves in unfamiliar shoes. By forcing ourself to see something from the other’s side, we can bring all of our characters to life, not just the hero. You might never use anything that you write here in your project, but knowing why your villain is doing what they are doing can help you describe their actions more realistically.
Remember the rules:
- Set yourself a time limit.
- Write without stopping, editing or overthinking.
- Write whatever comes to mind and don’t worry if it doesn’t make sense.
- It doesn’t matter if it has nothing to do with the scene that you are stuck on.
Do you have any ideas for busting writer’s block? If so, share them below or on social media.
Until next time, happy writing.
Paul
