17/02: Telling It Backwards
Category: Writing Exercises
Posted by: wingnut
Telling it Backwards
Have you ever noticed that some of the funniest stories are told out of order? You start to ask questions that lead to nowhere when answered, and after all is said and done, the story ends at the beginning. I’ve heard jokes like this told about farmers, court cases, and a variety of other scenarios, but the ingredients for each are the same.
1. The story has a beginning, middle and end.
2. The narrative also has a beginning, middle and end---but the order is quite different from the event.
3. Complications to the plot are involved, preferably quite twisted.
4. The telling of the story can seem confusing, but the end of the story gives clarity to the preceding details.
Example:
Let’s say a teenager is in the emergency room explaining a unique wound. The police officer is trying to remain serious as the teen relates how his shotgun went off, leaving a bullet in his butt.
Join me in the conversation….
“As I was saying, officer, the gun was hanging on the nail upside down.”
“Upside down? Pointing toward the floor ?”
“Well, sort of, but it was pointing toward me more than the floor and I was trying to slide it up by the strap when ‘POP!’ it just went off.”
“But why couldn’t you just pick it off the nail and rehang it properly?”
“Because it was out of reach and I could only reach the sling with the tip of my finger.”
“But why was it out of reach?”
“Officer, the bathroom only has the one nail and the gun was hanging on it.”
“Bathroom? You were in the bathroom with a shotgun?”
“I couldn’t leave it unattended, sir. And as I was saying, the gun was on the nail and I couldn’t reach it. It went off and got me in the butt.”
“In the butt. You were in the bathroom where your shotgun hung upside down on a nail. You tried to maneuver it and it went off. Correct?”
“Correct.”
“And you said you couldn’t reach the gun beyond a part of the sling?”
“That’s right, sir. I was on the toilet when the gun went off.”
***
I hope you got the idea. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a story like this so I need to practice some more of these. It will help a lot if I have Yours to learn from.
Have you ever noticed that some of the funniest stories are told out of order? You start to ask questions that lead to nowhere when answered, and after all is said and done, the story ends at the beginning. I’ve heard jokes like this told about farmers, court cases, and a variety of other scenarios, but the ingredients for each are the same.
1. The story has a beginning, middle and end.
2. The narrative also has a beginning, middle and end---but the order is quite different from the event.
3. Complications to the plot are involved, preferably quite twisted.
4. The telling of the story can seem confusing, but the end of the story gives clarity to the preceding details.
Example:
Let’s say a teenager is in the emergency room explaining a unique wound. The police officer is trying to remain serious as the teen relates how his shotgun went off, leaving a bullet in his butt.
Join me in the conversation….
“As I was saying, officer, the gun was hanging on the nail upside down.”
“Upside down? Pointing toward the floor ?”
“Well, sort of, but it was pointing toward me more than the floor and I was trying to slide it up by the strap when ‘POP!’ it just went off.”
“But why couldn’t you just pick it off the nail and rehang it properly?”
“Because it was out of reach and I could only reach the sling with the tip of my finger.”
“But why was it out of reach?”
“Officer, the bathroom only has the one nail and the gun was hanging on it.”
“Bathroom? You were in the bathroom with a shotgun?”
“I couldn’t leave it unattended, sir. And as I was saying, the gun was on the nail and I couldn’t reach it. It went off and got me in the butt.”
“In the butt. You were in the bathroom where your shotgun hung upside down on a nail. You tried to maneuver it and it went off. Correct?”
“Correct.”
“And you said you couldn’t reach the gun beyond a part of the sling?”
“That’s right, sir. I was on the toilet when the gun went off.”
***
I hope you got the idea. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a story like this so I need to practice some more of these. It will help a lot if I have Yours to learn from.
