Writing Exercise: Devil's Advocate

Tabatha

February 12

Sometimes when I'm in the middle of editing a project instead of drafting I will turn to writing exercises to get my brain working in new ways. This is a fun way to keep myself sharp and continue to write new words even while editing old ones. This month, since I am actively editing the short story collection, I decided to try an old favorite.

Devil's Advocate is a simple challenge.

Take something ordinary that you have an opinion on and write the other side of the argument. For example, you may argue that Pepsi is better than Coke, that pineapple doesn't belong on pizza, or that you should always condition your hair before washing it. It doesn't matter what you argue so long as one basic rule is followed: what you right cannot be your actual opinion.

This exercise is good for a writer because it reminds you that other opinions exist and helps you get in touch with valid reasons they may be out there. This can help you find the voice of a character you might use later or even develop into more serious controversies later in books. For the beginning, keep it simple and low stakes. Have fun with it.

For my purposes today, we'll go with this one: never keep leftover food.

Imagine this scenario. You eat as much as you can from your restaurant plate but simply can't finish the last of the portion. It's too much. There's enough left on the plate for you to possibly make a second meal out of. The waiter returns to your table and asks if you'd like a box. Simple concept happens every day. So what do you do? I'm here to convince you NOT to take that box. Leave the leftovers. Walk away.

Firstly, we all know we won't eat those later. The styrofoam box will sit there in your refrigerator until you cannot remember buying it. You'll work around it for days, moving things that you need to access up and over the carton and pushing it back to the depths of the fridge. Out of sight, out of mind. Then, in a week or so you'll be cleaning the fridge and you'll find it. Maybe it's stamped with the name of the restaurant, which always prompts a quick memory game of "when did we last eat there?" Maybe it's not, which means you'll really have to access the old memory to remember what this might be. Eventually, you'll end up discarding it without even opening the container so you don't have to get a whiff of what might be in there. Don't even get me started on how much room those stupid containers take up in the trash can. The second you toss it in there you just have to take the entire bag out. Really, what was the point of the leftovers? When did you think you were going to eat it?

Despite the personal preference on whether or not you'll eat it, not taking those leftovers has a purpose to help all of us as well. Imagine you own the restaurant. Waiters, dishwashers, and managers will notice all the plates coming back with too much food on them. This information gets passed along up the chain of command until it lands back on your desk, as the imaginary business owner. Now this tells you two possibilities, both equally requiring your attention: either the food is not good or there's entirely too much in a portion. If this information gets the restaurant's attention, they'll want to do something about it. If portion sizes go down, costs go down, and we can probably afford to eat out again and finish what's on our plate. Not taking that food home is a huge sign to the business that by keeping those portion sizes so large they're wasting money on food costs and no business likes that.

So the next time you're offered a box remember, just say no.

This exercise is NOT my original idea but the writing IS. Feel free to use the exercise. In fact, if you blog about it drop a link in the comments so I can check it out!