Tuesday 13 September 2011

Rewrite...The God of Small things


Write on Wednesday Exercise 14 - The Mighty Mighty Rewrite...
Zanni: I did a workshop with literary author Mj Hyland, who teachers Masters in Creative Writing at Manchester University. She asked us to choose our favourite book, take the first paragraph and then write our own content into the paragraph, keeping the structure, tone, language etc. It's really helpful!

Here's my first go at WoW, I don't think I've attempted creative writing since school days! 

I love the God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. I've tried to keep the tone and language, but change the context and weather.

Original
"May in Ayemenem is a hot, brooding month. The days are long and humid. The river shrinks and black crows gorge on bright mangoes in still, dustgreen trees. Red bananas ripen. Jackfruits burst. Dissolute bluebottles hum vacuously in the fruity air. Then they stun themselves against clear windowpanes and die, fatly baffled in the sun. The nights are clear but suffused with sloth and sullen expectation."

Rewrite
"February in Bourke is a hot hellish month. The days are long and tortured. Dust blows and seeps slickly into the crevices of cars and homes and families. Mirrored light shimmers a mirage. Black crows gorge on the battle-losers and blowies hum their hypnotic drone.
The nights are cooler but instilled with lethargic anticipation."


Comments welcome!

6 comments:

  1. Well, for your first WoW post and considering you say you haven't attempted a creative writing exercise since high school, this was fabulous. Wow. Really enjoyed reading this! It has the same mood and feel as the original and yet, it is it's own story.

    Did you enjoy the exercise?

    Welcome to WoW. I will look forward to reading more from you next week!

    Gill x

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  2. thanks, Gill, i'm enjoying this more than I thought. interesting to read the other psts and the variety of ways the brief has been addressed.
    look forward to next week, or maybe i'll try a second rewrite!
    Kate

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  3. I love this-very evocative, you really have captured the mood of the original. I feel hot and lethargic just reading it :)

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  4. great Jayne, thanks for commening, I wanted to change the tropics to the outback, with a bit of threat thown in...

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  5. Welcome to WoW. I was so impressed with this - 'the hypnotic drone' perfect.

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  6. your re-write is a great contrast to the original. very creative! :-) Welcome to WoW! :-)

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Please leave me comments so I can develop my writing!