TuesdayTips137

Block Buster
Ideas To Thwart Writer's Block

Tell Me What You Saw

Today's #TuesdayTip is another writing exercise/writers' block buster.
They say that there are always two sides to a story. If you really want to describe a scene in a book - or just fancy a fun activity - it can help if you understand what happened from all sides. Then you can pick and choose which narrative to present to the reader.

For today's activity, we are going to write an interview with a secondary character.
First choose a scene that you know well. It could be written or from a drama. You are now going to interview a witness who saw the scene, but wasn't directly involved.

For example, imagine the end of Star Wars Episode IV: The Empire Strikes Back. In this scene, Darth Vader has pushed Luke Skywalker out onto a catwalk. He is trying to persuade Luke to join him on the dark side. Whilst doing so, he cuts of Luke's hand with a lightsaber. He also makes one of the most memorable declarations in movie history. "Luke, I am your father."
We are supposed to see the scene through the eyes of one of the two main protagonists, Luke or perhaps Vader. Instead, what about a third party? A storm trooper standing just out of shot, watching transfixed. What do you think they would say if they were interviewed afterwards? Could they feel so intimidated by Vader that they decide to keep it short and sweet? Maybe they have sympathy for Luke? Would they keep that stunning revelation to themselves? What if, instead of a formal interview, they were being grilled by a fellow storm trooper back at the barracks? What emotions would they be feeling?

Sticking with the Star Wars theme, there are many who believe that the original trilogy is less about the life of the Skywalker family, rather a recounting of the adventures of a certain plucky little astromech droid. Why not tell a scene from R2D2's point of view?

How did you find the exercise? Did your story go in an unexpected direction? Did your character have a different interpretation to that of viewers of the film? As always feel free to comment here or on social media.

If you are a writer with a tip to share, or fancy writing a fictional interview between you and one of your characters, please feel free to email me.


Until next time,
Paul.