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Writing an upside down world: Editor's Notes #417 May 20, 2024 |
| Hello, —Robert M. Pirsig In this issue: 1. Writing an upside down world 2. Tickled my funny bone 3. Interesting Web site 4. Writing prompt 1. Writing an upside down world 8 o’cluck by Jill Creighton and The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by A. Wolf as told to Jon Scieszka earned their perennial favourite status in my primary classrooms by reimagining the wolf character of children’s fiction. Flipping the roles of hero and victim, the authors wrote stories that tickled the fancies of young children because they ran against genre. For these stories to work, the writer and reader have to share a deep understanding of the original genre. Otherwise there is no joke. But when there is a shared understanding, a clever writer can take any cast of characters, any setting, and any plot to create a story that delights the reader largely because of the way it turns the world upside down. Most often, these potentially humorous flips apply when the story rests on a basically upside down world. Instead of writing a whole story that flips, consider turning lesser parts of an otherwise normal story on its expected head. Perhaps a minor character plays against type. Maybe some part of a ghost story is not in a creepy old house down the block, but in the bright light of day in an amusement park. Could a jilted lover turn out to really need the money, not the partner? If you consider this type of writing, I suggest you start with a list of all the aspects the straight story would have. Then list potential flips for each. Finally, try out a few to see which ones are more successful. An upside down world could be the thing that makes your story stand out from the others when a publisher or agent is considering manuscripts or when a reader is choosing a book from a shelf in a bookstore or library. =========== 2. Tickled my funny bone Why is the third hand on a clock called the second hand? With thanks to Shelia W. =========== 3. Interesting Web site Here is an article on spoofing genres for children. Some good general advice. https://www.instituteforwriters.com/feeling-spoofy/ =========== 4. Writing prompt Thinking about upside down led me to thinking about palindromes, words that are spelled the same backward and forward, which led me to this link here. If any of the individual word palindromes inspire you, by all means, use one of them as a writing prompt. I found the phrases and sentences more appealing as launching pads. I would love to see what you can do with any of them. https://www.rd.com/list/palindromes-list/ =========== Join Writer's Helper Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WritersHelperEditor Follow me on Twitter @AudreytheEditor Link on LinkedIn https://ca.linkedin.com/in/audreyowen (Email me first so I know how you know me.) =========== If you know a writer who would appreciate receiving Editor's Notes, forward this issue. If someone has passed this on to you, you can get your own free subscription by signing up at https://www.writershelper.com/newsletter.html |
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