shifting perspectives
In writing, sometimes we can really shake things up when we choose to look at things from a new perspective.
Writers can get really inventive with this trick—I’m thinking of Sarah Harris Wallman’s story, “One Car Hooks Into the Next and Pulls,” which tells the story of an extramarital affair from the point of view of the train that the two lovers meet on.
For this writing prompt, you’ll tell a familiar story—but from a new perspective. You can choose to write a true story about something that happened to you or someone you know—or you can choose a fictional story to experiment with.
Non-ficton: Write a story about an experience you had that upset you. However, instead of narrating the experience from your own point of view, narrate it from the point of view from someone else (or something else, if you want to get really experimental) who was a part of the experience or heard about it afterwards.
Fiction: Tell the story of a well-known fairy tale or myth, but instead of narrating it from the traditional hero or heroine’s point of view, choose another character or object in the story as your narrator. For example, you might tell the tale of “Cinderella” from the point of view of the stepmother, or the story of “Pandora’s Box” from the point of view of the box.
