PPDT Tips – Writing story for a difficult topic.

Approach to certain pictures which candidates find difficult to handle can be simplified by following the right steps, e.g:

• Step I: Introduction of main character and bringing him to a ‘meaningful purpose’ without unnecessary details, like age, worked in such and such company, at so and so place, etc.
• Step II: Appropriately ’empower’ the main character so that he is able to handle the meaningful purpose so created, actively and plays the role of an enabler rather than one who is only seeking help right at the outset.
• Step III: Write the ‘action’ part of the story, in terms of how the issue was tackled. The same should be covered in at least 5-7 sentences. Through this part you should be able to project your maturity and awareness regarding the purpose created by you. Hence, you must choose a subject/ theme about which you have a first hand information.
• Step IV: Write down a logical outcome of the actions done by the main character to accomplish the meaningful purpose created by you.

Summary: Structure your story as follows:

• – In 2-3 lines introduce your main character after empowering him/ her based on what you want your main character to do, i.e. creating a meaningful purpose.
• – In 5-7 lines how this meaningful purpose was accomplished.
• – In 2 lines a logical outcome of the actions done by the main character to achieve the meaningful purpose.

Moving forward, let’s see how to observe the above picture:

• Look at the background/ objects in the foreground/ attributes of the characters:
  Answer: Background is a room.
• Objects that are seen: Bed, painting on the wall, books on the side table.
• Attributes of characters: Women sleeping and man looking tired and yawning.

Now, put yourself in the frame and connect with the more active person in the picture, i.e. the man who is yawning.
Next, ask yourself who you could be and what could you be doing and why you are doing it.

Answer:
I could be a newly wed man, who has gone for the first outing with his wife with the motive of getting to know each other better. You always add a bit of value to your story by saying that he had not been able to do so because of a prior commitment.

Story could go like this:
Rahul who was a budding entrepreneur, had worked exceedingly hard to establish his new start-up. It was for this reason that during the initial few months of their marriage he had been unable to give enough time to his wife. Understanding the importance of keeping up with his social obligations, he decided to take her, as per her choice, for an adventure outing.

They reached Bir Biling in HP and engaged themselves in a lot of enthralling outdoor activities like, paragliding, treking, camping out in the wilderness, etc. Each day after his wife slept off, Rahul would work late into the night to follow up the progress of his work back home and ensure that he duly honoured all his work commitments as well. He would also carry out research for the next day’s outing, so as to make their trip memorable.

Hence, he was able to devotedly fulfill the requirements of work, besides having to spend quality time with his wife. Over the days, they got to know each other more intimately, resulting is better bonding and enhanced understanding between the couple.