Prompt #37 — Write Like Kate Cortese

By starting in media res, this piece (view here) asserts a kind of familiarity with readers. However, it skillfully weaves in elements of backstory, ensuring readers are never really lost, and even though the subject matter is surreal and sensational, throughout the piece the narrator’s tone remains matter-of-fact. This contrast between plot and voice lends the story tension and dramatic interest.

PROMPT

Try writing a story with a melodramatic plot, but give the narrator a dispassionate perspective. That’s not to say your narrator should be uninvolved but that he or she should remain unruffled in the face of drama.