Steve Carson said:
Writing Exercise: Getting Inside the Witch's Head
"Write what you know" is about the most frequently repeated piece of writing advice you'll hear, but sometimes trying to imagine something far outside your experience and perspective can lead to a great story. I heard an interview once with Gregory Maguire, author of "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West," in which he discussed how he ended up writing the story. He was trying, he said to understand evil, and at first set out to write a story from the perspective of Hitler. That, he said, proved to be too difficult, so he went to the next wickedest figure he could think of--the Wicked Witch of the West--and a story was born.
The Exercise
Pick a character whose perspective--though not necessarily experience--is as opposite your's as possible. If you hate sports, write from the perspective of a sports nut. If you are an athiest, write from the perspective of a deeply religious person. If you are afraid of heights, write from the point of view of a highwire artist. Write at least two pages from the perspective of this character.
The Objective
To generate story ideas by imagining what it would be like to be someone who holds views entirely opposite your own, whether on large issues or small.
Examples
Please post examples of this exercise as replies to this post.