Stalker stories: using pictures

Why would we teach our students to write fiction? For one thing it can often be more interesting than fact. For another, fiction has a great deal to teach in the way of emotional intelligence because it allows you to see the world from a different perspective. Thirdly, being creative is one of the few things technology cannot do for us, and is therefore one of the most important qualities companies look for in a professional no matter what field they’re in.
There are many different ways you can introduce your students to fiction writing.
"Stalker" fiction is where you observe a stranger (either in a photo or in real life) and try to guess what their life is like. The structure of a stalker story is to first describe the person and the setting and then imagine the story.
In the following two lessons, the students look at photos, the first one a famous one, the others just ordinary people in different countries. The first lesson below is just about imagining the character and comparing it with reality. The second has the students develop multiple characters until they are ready to put them into a story where they interact with each other.

Lesson 1
A) Go online and find the photo of the Afghan girl made famous by Steve McCurry in the September 1984 issue of National Geographic.
B) What do you think her life was like when that photo was taken? Where was she from? What was she thinking?
C) Imagine and describe what she usually does at

·         6am

·         10am

·         12pm

·         5pm

·         8pm

Compare with your partners: did they have similar ideas?
D) Now look at the photo of the same woman 15 years later at
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2002/04/afghan-girl/index-text . How has she changed? What do you think has happened in her life since the first photo was taken?
E) Imagine what has happened in this girl’s life. Write out the events on a timeline such as the one used on Facebook.
E) Now read the article:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2002/04/afghan-girl/index-text and compare it with your own story.

Lesson 2
A) Go to www.lberger.ca and look at the photo pages. Select a photo of a person or people and describe it to your partner and see of your partner can find the one you’re talking about. Then switch roles.
B) With your partner, choose one of the photos of a person or people. Write a story about the subjects of the photo:
1. Start by describing the setting: Where are they? What time of day is it?
2. Describe the person or people in the photo: How old are they? What are they wearing? What are they doing? How do they feel?
3. Imagine the story that led up to the moment the photo was taken. What happened? Why?
C) Post your story up with a selection of 5 photos including the one that inspired your story. Have your classmates read your story and try to identify which photo inspired it.
D) Put all the stories and photos together in a book for your school library or create a website with all of the photos and stories.