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Exercise #222: Pick Six
Posted 7/27/07
Roll a die* three times, to give yourself three random numbers. Got ‘em? Each number will correspond to a section below. The first number will be your choice from the first set of six, the second result will be your choice for the second set, etc. Got it? Okay, here we go.
Your character:
1. your childhood friend
2. your first doctor
3. your first roommate
4. your sibling
5. your best friend’s spouse
6. your next-door neighbor
Has this electronic device in his/her/its home:
1. answering machine
2. video surveillance system
3. house alarm system
4. master remote which controls at least two devices (ex: television and video recorder)
5. garage door opener
6. master timer which controls at least two devices (ex: living room lights and radio on/off)
Your character realizes the machine is acting oddly and decides to do something about it. He/she/it:
1. Tries to unplug it.
2. Attempts to pack up and move.
3. Sees a psychologist, who in unconvinced about the truth of the story.
4. Confides in a friend, which may be a bad idea.
5. Calls out the service rep, which may also be a bad idea.
6. Tries to reason with it.
Now you have the setup. As for what to do with these, all the talk about narrative versus dialog makes me think we should do something around that. So here you are. :-)
Your SUB should be in two sections, included in the same email. For the first section, write about your character’s situation using primarily narrative. The narrative must come from either your character or your electronic device.
For the second section, write the same scenario using primarily dialog. Your dialog must be between your character and your electronic device.
The sections of your SUB do not need to be complete stories, but should be long enough to get a feel for the difference between dialog and narrative. If you are successful, you’ll also be able to tell which one works better, at least in this instance.
Word limit: 750 words for each section
Please use the subject line:
SUB: Exercise #222/yourname
* Don’t have any dice handy? Try putting slips of paper with the numbers 1 through 6 in a hat, or go to this site: http://www.random.org/nform.html
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