My job was to spruce up the old scripts of a deer, a spider, a sunflower, a skunk, and a tree. The education coordinator envisioned livelier speeches. She wanted the scripts written in first person and kept to 300 words. Then the rest was up to me.
I decided that each script should have a hook, which would create interest and engage the audience. Though I had a restricted word count, I still wanted to make sure that I had a beginning, a middle, and an ending. (My nonfiction writing has taught me well). I conducted a little more research, added it to the passages, and rearranged the order of paragraphs for clarity. Lastly, as with any nonfiction writing, I tied the ending to the beginning. Beforehand, these pieces ended abruptly. With the new endings, the speeches had a more satisfying conclusion.
I suppose the biggest challenge was getting inside the heads of the animals and plants—come on, what would a tree think and say? But actually, it was quite fun. In fact, my tree had a bit of an attitude.
It's nice taking a break from writing nonfiction articles and picture books and trying something different. Maybe you'll have an opportunity to attempt something new, too. But you might ask: What’s in it for me when I share my writing talent with others? Perhaps you’ll find it offers you practice and inspiration. Maybe it will lead to another assignment. It's a given it'll showcase your skills and quite possibly, help to get your name better known. For me, writing these scripts fueled my imagination and made me feel good about helping a worthwhile organization. How about you? Are you willing to help others with your writing talent? Are you willing to take advantage of the writing opportunities that may come your way?