GETTING STARTED
In three paragraphs: Describe an outdoor accident in which a young man accidently – or not so accidently kills his friend. Describe this from the omniscient POV. Open the first paragraph with the set-up, a description of the river/ mountain on which the two are present. You could write about the treacherous current/ slope and the dangers of navigating it. In the next para, describe the actions and thoughts of the ‘killer’ – upto the accident. In the third para describe the actions and thoughts of the dying man. As he gasps a final breath , give him an insight into what will follow.
You are free to cover the field from any vantage point, external or internal, but make sure that you strive for an orderly succession of images.
Objective: To check the multiple nature of the omniscient POV
Check: Make sure that you have not shifted from one character’s thoughts to another’s midsentence. Have you described the characters sufficiently? Have you described what dying is like?
Construct an unreliable narrator. You could do this in the form of a letter or a diary entry. Have the narrator describe a disturbing event in which he/she was involved. The narrator could be the first young man in the earlier example; it could be a wife who thinks her husband is having an affair; it could be a shopkeeper who thinks his trusted employee is stealing from the cashbox. Use POV , voice and tone in conjunction to create the firm view in the reader that this is an unreliable narrator. ( For instance you could hint at a rivalry between the two friends or at the insecurities of the housewife)
Objective: To learn to use the unreliable first person POV
Check: Have you managed to portray the narrator’s betraying the real meaning of his/ her statements?
My mother said…
You’ve read the short story ‘Girl’. At one level it is a ‘list’ of strictures handed out to a growing girl by her mother. Using the story as a template, make a list of your own family expressions used by your mother. These expressions should bring alive her personal and cultural beliefs, values and attitudes on any one or all manner of subjects: food, hygiene, good habits, bad habits, religion, rituals, customs, opposite sex, saving or spending money, etiquette, behaviour, cricket, recipes etcetera…
Objective : To create a narrative using unconventional methods
Check: Have you given the reader a story with a beginning, middle and end? Have the thoughts, feelings, perceptions of the character come through sufficiently well for the reader to see her and hear her ? Have these been presented in the right order to create a narrative?
In three paragraphs: Describe an outdoor accident in which a young man accidently – or not so accidently kills his friend. Describe this from the omniscient POV. Open the first paragraph with the set-up, a description of the river/ mountain on which the two are present. You could write about the treacherous current/ slope and the dangers of navigating it. In the next para, describe the actions and thoughts of the ‘killer’ – upto the accident. In the third para describe the actions and thoughts of the dying man. As he gasps a final breath , give him an insight into what will follow.
You are free to cover the field from any vantage point, external or internal, but make sure that you strive for an orderly succession of images.
Objective: To check the multiple nature of the omniscient POV
Check: Make sure that you have not shifted from one character’s thoughts to another’s midsentence. Have you described the characters sufficiently? Have you described what dying is like?
Construct an unreliable narrator. You could do this in the form of a letter or a diary entry. Have the narrator describe a disturbing event in which he/she was involved. The narrator could be the first young man in the earlier example; it could be a wife who thinks her husband is having an affair; it could be a shopkeeper who thinks his trusted employee is stealing from the cashbox. Use POV , voice and tone in conjunction to create the firm view in the reader that this is an unreliable narrator. ( For instance you could hint at a rivalry between the two friends or at the insecurities of the housewife)
Objective: To learn to use the unreliable first person POV
Check: Have you managed to portray the narrator’s betraying the real meaning of his/ her statements?
My mother said…
You’ve read the short story ‘Girl’. At one level it is a ‘list’ of strictures handed out to a growing girl by her mother. Using the story as a template, make a list of your own family expressions used by your mother. These expressions should bring alive her personal and cultural beliefs, values and attitudes on any one or all manner of subjects: food, hygiene, good habits, bad habits, religion, rituals, customs, opposite sex, saving or spending money, etiquette, behaviour, cricket, recipes etcetera…
Objective : To create a narrative using unconventional methods
Check: Have you given the reader a story with a beginning, middle and end? Have the thoughts, feelings, perceptions of the character come through sufficiently well for the reader to see her and hear her ? Have these been presented in the right order to create a narrative?
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