Writing Exercise 7: The World Needs Many Stories

This writing exercise is about thinking of other people’s lives without stereotyping them. It’s only a first step and isn’t a quick solution to the world’s or writers’ difficulties.

 Stage 1.
Listen to the talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie that you can find here. It lasts just under 20 minutes.

 Stage 2.
Think about an important event in your life and make notes on key elements. 

 Stage 3.
Now think of someone whose role in work you tend to take for granted.
Write down the skills that role requires.
Imagine someone with feelings as deep as yours doing that job.
Imagine three or four skills or interests they might have - and these should be skills and interests that you value too.
Imagine the family that they love and the friends they care about.

 Stage 4.
Write a story, script or poem in which the person you have just imagined experience an important event similar to the one you chose in stage 2.

 When you have finished, you may find you want to do more research to find out about the life you began by imagining. Find out about other people’s lives- and share what you think are the ordinary, undervalued aspects of your own experience.

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