Into The Sideways World
Writing prompts inspired by Ross Welford's sci-fi adventure Into The Sideways World
Today’s writing prompts are inspired by Ross Welford’s sci-fi adventure Into The Sideways World (2022).
Description
When twelve-year-olds Willa and Manny hear of a mysterious animal prowling their town, they are determined to prove it is real. Following the creature into a cave one full moon, they are swept into an alternate, ideal, world – one where pollution and conflict have been conquered decades ago and even their own families seem happier.
But when they return, no one believes them. So, with a global war looming in their own world, their quest for proof of the Sideways World becomes ever-more urgent, in a nail-biting race against time.
And Willa and Manny will have to make an impossible decision: because once you find a perfect world, can you ever leave it behind . . .?
Writing prompt: The sideways world…
The main characters in the book, Willa and Manny, find a way to travel to an alternative universe (the sideways world). Imagine that you could travel to a sideways world, one that’s the same as ours but with some crucial differences.
What kind of world is it? How is it different to ours? Did any historical events in the book turn out differently, changing the course of world history? (In the book, President Kennedy wasn’t assassinated in 1963, leading to world peace).
Have fun with this exercise. There are a couple of ways you can go with it. One is to imagine that the sideways world is one where things have gone horribly wrong. There are lots of ways for the world as we know it to end, including plague, natural disaster, war and alien invasion. Pick one and go for it.
The other way is to follow the idea in the book and imagine a world where everything has turned out better. What things can you think of that would make the world a better place? How might they have turned out in your sideways world? If it helps pick out one thing that’s personal to you and focus on that.
You can step this writing prompt up a level by writing about an imaginary character going to a sideways world, instead of yourself.
Writing prompt: Make your own flyke…
In the book’s sideways world people get around on vehicles like flykes, a kind of flying jet ski that powered by a mix of pedal power and nuclear technology. What alternative option to modern day transport can you come up with?
Remember, this is sci-fi so you can as inventive as you like. Have fun, and remember your vehicle doesn’t have to be big – anything that helps you move, even a skateboard, can be transformed (just like Marty McFly’s hoverboard in Back to the Future).
Now imagine what it would be like to drive / ride / fly / sail your vehicle. Think about the way each of the senses, including touch and smell, are engaged. How is it different from riding in a car or on a plane?
Readers
Read this book for a fast-paced, creative sci-fi adventure.
Writers
Read this book for a great example of how the main characters’ actions keep making things worse, rather than better. Willa and Manny keep making bad choices, but of course it all works out in the end. Think about how the author managed this without forcing the plot.
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