Back story based on the song Ode to Billie Jo by Bobbie Gentry.
Assignment # 3: Write a 500-word (two pages, double spaced) back story based on the song Ode to Billie Jo by Bobbie Gentry. A back story is a fictional piece which describes the events which have transpired in one or more characters’ lives (in a film, book, short story, play, lyrics to a song) BEFORE the fictional story begins. This song tells a story. Your job in your back story is to create a story which tells WHY Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge and answers any other questions left open by the end of the song. Specifically, your back story should follow the guidelines below: Your back story should be written in story form and should not be an essay. You may use dialogue and narrative or narrative only. As a practical matter, write your back story in the past tense. Your back story can be anything you want it to be, but it should answer at least the following questions: Why did Billie Joe McAllister jump off the Tallahatchie Bridge What were the narrator and Billie Joe discussing at church? Why was Billie Joe at the saw mill? What did Billie Joe and the narrator throw off the bridge? What was the relationship between Billie Joe and the narrator? Be as creative as you can. You can spread your wings with this story and add facts not included in the lyrics, but you cannot write anything that contradicts the facts of the story as presented in the lyrics. Do not use the same back story which was the basis for the film and book, RESOURCES FOR WRITING ASSIGNMENT # 3 The story behind the song Ode to Billie Joe
Back story based on the song Ode to Billie Jo by Bobbie Gentry