Quick Write Twelve: Creative Point of View!

Today's Quick Write Challenge!

CHOOSE ONE point of view challenge and be creative!  You MUST choose to write your story in either FIRST or THIRD person point of view.

Challenge One:

Imagine this scenario: an alien species sends a team of spies to Earth to research our species. Being unfamiliar with how things work on our planet, they don't realize that movies are fake. They believe all our movies are real! Under this misguided notion, who do the aliens judge to be the most powerful human being on the planet (a person who they then will capture and take with them for further study)?

Tell this story from the point of view of either the aliens or the actor.  You can use either third person limited point of view or third person omniscient point of view.

Challenge Two:

Imagine this scenario: You find yourself in front of seven identical doors. A voice from above tells you:

"These seven doors lead to seven places.

    Narnia, Neverland, Wonderland, Hogwarts, Camelot, Middle Earth, 
               and Panem."

       Which door do you go through?  Why that door?  What happens?

Tell this story from either third person limited point of view or third person omniscient point of view.

Take FIVE minutes and complete the "Quick Write."  Do not let your pen or pencil stop writing until time is up!

Quick Write Eleven: CHOOSE Your Point of View

Today's Quick Write Challenge!

CHOOSE ONE option and CHOOSE your point of view 'challenge' level.

Challenge Level EASY: First Person Point of View
Challenge Level MEDIUM: Third Person Limited Point of View
Challenge Level HARD: Third Person Omniscient Point of View

P.O.V. Situation One

Write about a character as they wake up in an abandoned building. Do they recognize where they are? Explore their point of view as they wander around this eerie place.  Why do they feel so uneasy? And, above all, whatever happened to whoever brought them here?

P.O.V. Situation Two

Write about a character as they witness the sky change color. Explore this character's thoughts and point of view as they see the effects that follow this change, What could be causing all of this? Could it be this character that is to blame?

P.O.V. Situation Three

Write about a character witnessing an apocalypse, except the world is not being destroyed but reborn. Nature reclaims everything.  Mountains rise, seas rage, and plant life devours entire cities. Explore the mind of a character witnessing the incredible power of Mother Nature.

Take FIVE minutes and complete the "Quick Write!"Do not let your pen or pencil stop writing until time is up!

Quick Write Ten: First Person Point of View

Today's Quick Write Challenge!

Read the First Person Point of View definitions below. CHOOSE ONE option and write from a first-person point of view. 

First Person

In this mode, the narrator is usually the protagonist or central character in the story.  First-person narration is easy to identify because the narrator will be telling the story from an “I” perspective.  Readers should watch for the narrator’s use of first-person pronouns- “I, me, my, our, us, we, myself, and ourselves,” as these will usually indicate that the passage is narrated from the first-person perspective.

Point of View # 1
Write a story from the point of view of a character who lives alone on a floating island above the clouds. The Catch: one day this character ventures a little too far off the edge and falls...

Point of View # 2
Write a short story from the point of view of a character who survived a horrible cataclysmic event.The Catch: what remains of humanity now live within a city sized submarine.

Point of view # 3
Write a short story from the point of view of a character who happens to be a member of an organization looking to defy the government. The Catch: the leaders of the rebel organization have decided to sell this character to the government as a way to achieve a truce

Take FIVE minutes and complete the "Quick Write" challenge! Do not let your pen or pencil stop writing until time is up!

Quick Write Nine: POINT OF VIEW!

Today's Quick Write Challenge!

Read the Point of View definitions below. CHOOSE ONE option and write from a third person point of view.  

Third-person Limited 

 The story is usually told chiefly from the main character’s point of view. It will focus on only the thoughts of one character.  Many of the books you read are probably written in the third person. (KEY WORDS: he, she, it, her, his, character name and so on)

Third-person Omniscient(also known as All-Knowing Point of View):

The storyteller knows each character’s experiences, thoughts, feelings, and actions. It will focus on more than one character's thoughts. (KEY WORDS: he, she, it, her, his, character name and so on)

Point of View # 1

Write a story from the point of view of a child as they go outside to play. The Catch: the child lives in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Point of View # 2

Write a short story from the point of view of a character as they walk into the sunlight. The Catch: the character lives in a world that has been covered in darkness for centuries.

Point of View # 3

Write a short story from the point of view of a soldier. The Catch: the soldier is waking up in the same place they were fighting... except it is hundreds of years in the future.

Take FIVE minutes and complete the "Quick Write" challenge! Do not let your pen or pencil stop writing until time is up!

Quick Write Eight: Personal First Zoom In Moment

Today's Quick Write Challenge!

Read the STEPS below.  Share "Personal First."  To do this, think back to a time when you first tried something, received something, learned something, met someone for the first time or any 'first' in your life.  Write a ZOOM IN MOMENT to describe it in detail. 

Possible 1st time experiences

1. 1st time entering school
2. 1st time playing a sport
3. 1st time meeting a friend
4. 1st time meeting a teacher
5. 1st time using a gift you were given
6. Your 1st birthday (that you can remember)
7. Your first (object) that was meaningful to you
8. Your first time succeeding at something
9. Your first time facing a fear
10. Your 1st time in middle school

Take FIVE minutes and complete the "Quick Write" challenge! Do not let your pen or pencil stop writing until time is up!

Quick Write Seven: Choose Your Adventure!

Today's Quick Write Challenge!

Read the STEPS below.  For this "CHOOSE YOUR ADVENTURE" you will create an original story and include a 'setting snapshot,' a 'flashback' and a 'character snapshot' along the way!

Step One: Choose ONE of the "Adventures" below

Step Two: Begin a story with the EXACT LINE you choose

Step Three: Include at least one setting description, character description, and flashback in your story!


Quick Write Challenge:

Choose an "Adventure" and follow the steps above

ADVENTURE CHOICE # 1
"There it was, as peaceful and mysterious as she remembered; The Rift. The place where it all began."

ADVENTURE CHOICE # 2
"The genie had warned him that world peace was a bad choice for his third wish."

ADVENTURE CHOICE # 3
"There were 14 potions on the shelf.  Their labels were all missing.  She knew one of them was the one she needed. She frantically glanced back over her shoulder. There wasn't enough time to figure out which was which..."

ADVENTURE CHOICE #4
"It was too hard to believe that they were here to share a message and not to destroy us..."

Take FIVE minutes and complete the "Quick Write" challenge! Do not let your pen or pencil stop writing until time is up!

  

Quick Write Six: Mimic The Model... Setting Snapshot!

Today's Quick Write Challenge!

Read the STEPS below.  For this "Setting Quickwrite" you will mimic the model!

Step One: Read the paragraph (model) below.

Step Two: Choose one of the setting examples to describe.

Step Three: Create your own setting description by mimicking the model.

SETTING DESCRIPTION MODEL:

Setting description taken from: "1984" by George Orwell

Outside, even through the shut window pane, the world looked cold. Down in the street little eddies of wind were whirling dust and torn paper into spirals, and though the sun was shining and the sky a harsh blue, there seemed to be no color in anything except the posters that were plastered everywhere... Down at street level another poster, torn at one corner, flapped fitfully in the wind. . . . In the far distance, a helicopter skimmed down between the roofs, hovered for an instant and darted away again with a curving flight. 

SETTINGS TO CHOOSE:

1. At the zoo at night

2. In an abandoned hospital

3. On the edge of a cliff overlooking a destroyed city

  

Quick Write Five: Mimic the Model... Character!

Today's Quick Write Challenge!

Read the STEPS below.  For this "Character Snapshot Quickwrite" you will mimic the model!

Step One: Read the paragraph (model) below.
          Step Two: Choose one of the characters to describe.
              Step Three: Create your own character description by   mimicking the model.

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION MODEL:

Character description taken from: "The Witches" by Roald Dahl

"That face of hers was the most frightful and frightening thing I have ever seen.  Just looking at it gave me the shakes all over.  It was so crumpled, wizened, so shrunken and shriveled, it looked as though it had been pickled in vinegar.  It was a fearsome and ghastly sight.  There was something terribly wrong with it, something foul, and putrid and decayed. It seemed quite literally to be rotting away at the edges, and in the middle of the face around the mouth and cheeks, I could see the skin all cankered and worm-eaten, as though maggots were working away in there."

CHARACTERS TO CHOOSE:

1. An old, tired pirate
2. A young princess
3. An evil villain
4. A teen superhero
5. An ugly giant

Take FIVE minutes and complete the "character mimic" using the  characters given and the model provided.   Do not let your pen or pencil stop writing until time is up!

Quick Write Four: Time for a FLASHBACK!

A Flashback is an interruption in the story's sequence of events.  It takes the reader back to an earlier time and shows something that happened in the past. The event helps to inform the reader of the character's history.  It also helps the reader understand the character's thoughts, feelings, or actions in the present-day part of the story.

Today's Quick Write Challenge!

Read the graphic below.  Follow the "Flashback Steps" below to create a FLASHBACK between your character and the sinister stranger...

"Flashback Steps"

Step One: Begin in the present and "Setup the flashback"
Step Two: Signal the reader that you’re going back in time with a transition (such as "On the afternoon of..." or "It was July 6, 2004...")
Step Three: Tell the "story" of what happened in the flashback (the memory)
Step Four: Bring your reader back to the main story line with a transition (such as "To this day..." or "That was then, this is now...")

Quick Write Three: Character and Zoom in Moment MASHUP!

A Character Snapshot is just like taking a picture.  The only difference is that instead of snapping the photo with your camera, you are painting the picture with your words and description!

Today's Quick Write Challenge!

Read the graphic below.  Write a Character Snapshot and Zoom in Moment 'MASHUP!' by focusing on the vivid details of the character's appearance and then ZOOM IN on your thoughts in the moment you lock eyes!

Quick Write Two: Setting Snapshot

A 'Setting Snapshot' is similar to a zoom in moment!  It is when a writer 'freezes' time and describes the setting with vivid details!

Today's Quick Write Challenge!

Read the graphic below.  Write a 'Setting Snapshot' focusing on the vivid details the character notices when he/she enters the old castle.  If you are struggling with how to begin, try one of these starters:

1. Small droplets of water hit the floor as he entered the castle.  The thunderous power of the rain could be heard outside, but what awaited inside was simply remarkable... 

2. The floors creaked due to old age as he stepped slowly into the entrance...

3. What used to be a beautiful place to live seems to have turned into a place only found in one's worst nightmares...

Quick Write One: Zoom in Moment

A 'Zoom In Moment' is just like freezing time. It is when a writer focuses on a very small moment using vivid details to bring it to life!

Today's Quick Write Challenge!

Read the excerpt below.  At the end, Alfred steps into a world he was not expecting.  Write a 'zoom in moment' focusing on the moment in time when Alfred first opens his eyes and notices the vast world in front of him.

Alfred opened the secret door slowly and the cobwebs that held it shut for years simply broke into pieces.  The creaking sound of the rusty old frame as the door opened sounded like a blaring alarm in the silence of the old building. Nothing but darkness shone through the opening yet with one step Alfred was inside.  The door slammed behind him and almost instantly a world like none he had ever scene was revealed to him. With one glance Alfred knew he was home...

Take 5 minutes and create the Zoom in Moment when Alfred first sees what is in front of him.  Do not use the pronoun 'I' at all... GOOD LUCK!