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IWW
Practice-W Exercise Archives
Exercise: Back in the Day
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: Charles Hightower
Posted on: October 29, 2011
Posted on: March 17, 2013
Posted on: August 17, 2014
Posted on: April 5, 2015
Revised and Posted on: April 15, 2018
Posted on: December 6, 2020
Posted on: December 11, 2022
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Exercise: In 400 words or less, use an older character's
conversation with another individual to transition us between
present and some time in the past when the character was in
the prime of life. You should briefly ground us in your
character's current condition¸ and then smoothly transition
into a scene in the past - a time of particular importance
in your character's youth.
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You might have an old pirate describing his or her days of
glory to a recent recruit, an aged lawyer sharing a grueling
court case with a reporter, a law officer reliving the
takedown of a notorious criminal, a wartime veteran recalling
a battle from years before. The possibilities are endless.
Your goals are to perform a smooth transition, and to make us
care about the character.
There's no need for the entire piece to be in dialog, unless
you choose that approach.
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In your critique, you might identify anything that strikes you –
in a positive or negative way - about the contrast between old
and young versions of the character. Did the transition work for
you? If not, what might be done to improve it? Did the dialog
and tale feel natural? Most importantly, did the character and the
tale hold your interest? Would you want to read more?
Web site created by
Rhéal Nadeau and
the administrators of the Internet Writing Workshop.
Modified by Gayle Surrette.
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