Last week I did a writing activity based on a recommendation from the book So, You Want to Be A Writer by Vicki Hambleton and Cathleen Greenwood (the review is on its way!). The suggestion/prompt was to "Use an Author as a Model" (p.67). It's pretty simple: "Try looking at the first few paragraphs of a favorite book. Choose three sentences and copy them, substituting new names and mostly new verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Keep the basic sentence structure the same."
Last week I used J.K. Rowling as my model, using Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as my jumping off point. This week I'm looking to the father of fantasy, JRR Tolkien using The Hobbit. Here are the first three sentences:
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet, a dry bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle.
Below is my new version with all my changes in italics:
On a farm in the SouthEast there lived a boy. Not a two-legged, normal preteen boy, filled with the thoughts of video games and icky girls, nor yet, a weak crippled, broken boy with nothing in him to build up upon or dream of: he was a confident boy, and that equals strength.
He had an intensely piercing gaze, blue eyes, behind a long focused sniper scope in his steady arms.Well... that turned dark, didn't it? What the heck is wrong with me? Anyway, let's just say he's going out hunting for food... that will make this boy less scary!
What do you think of this week's transformation?
Have you tried this prompt yet? If so, share your writing in the comments section?
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