A Villainous Perspective

(ESSPA Creative Writing, 2015-16)

PROSE

Choose a well-known fictional villain/antagonist/bad guy from literature or the movies and write about the situation from their point of view, or write about their experience.

Requirements:

  • Cannot be less than 1 page or over 2 pages. Must be typed, double spaced, 12 font, and in Times New Roman.
  • Choose an existing character from a story-- do not invent a new one.
  • Choose a story that is well known (like fairytales, children’s movies/stories, or comic book/superhero stories. It will be easier to judge if the story is known, thus better for you!)
  • The name of your villain must be the title of your prose.

Ideas to Consider (not required):

  • You have a choice to write from the following points of view: first person, third person limited, or third person omniscient. Think about which would be the strongest choice for what you want to write about. First person is recommended.
  • People, and characters, don’t often see themselves as the bad guy.
  • Engage your powers of empathy to imagine what it is like as the villainous character.
  • Creatively extend the ending of an existing story to illustrate the villain’s experience OR reveal the villain’s experience during an existing fictional plot.

POETRY

Write a ballad featuring a well-known villain/antagonist/bad guy as the hero of his or her story. The ballad must follow this structure: 3 rhymed (abcb)four-line stanzas. The poem’s content should emphasize a central exciting or dramatic event experienced by the villain/antagonist/bad guy.

Requirements/Help:

  • Typed, double spaced, 12 font, and in Times New Roman
  • Choose a villain/antagonist/bad guy from a story that is well known (like fairytales, children’s movies/stories, or comic book/superhero stories. It will be easier to judge if the story is known, thus better for you!)
  • The exciting or dramatic event featured in the ballad should have actually occurred in the original fiction. For instance, you are not extending the ending of an existing story.
  • Put a space between each stanza, so each stanza is visibly separate
  • Rhyming explained (abcb): Only the second and fourth lines rhyme. More specifically, the last word of the second and fourth lines (rhyme b and b) of each stanza must rhyme. The first and third lines (rhyme a and c) of each stanza must not rhyme with either each other or the second and fourth lines.
  • Ballad: a musical narrative song or poem that recounts an exciting or dramatic episode. Some ballads includes elements of plot such as exposition, conflict, climax, and resolution.
  • The name of your villain must be the title of your poem.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

All submissions must have a cover page:

Student Name

School

Grade

Title of Work

Prose or Poetry? (choose one)

Email all submissions by Friday, February 26, 2016 .I will reply with a confirmation email. Pease try to send all submissions from your school building in one email toward the end of the submission due date.

Attn: Monica Filippone

Kiski Area High School

200 Poplar St.

Vandergrift, PA 15690

Entries will be judged against others from the same group: middle school– grades 6, 7, 8, and high school– grades 9, 10, 11, and 12. Several members of ESSPA will form a committee to select the top three writings for both prose and poetry for each group (grades 6-8 and grades 9-12). Committee members will not judge submissions from their own school or district. Winners will be announced at the ESSPA spring meeting. The winning plaques will be given to the sponsors at the meeting.