THE THREE CANADIAN PIGS

By Jocelyn Watkinson

This was a very interesting exercise! Going back to see such a cringeworthy first couplet made me appreciate how far I’ve come in my writing! The very first couplet that existed was:

V1.

There once were three pigs who lived in the cold

Played hockey each day on a lake, I am told.

Eww the forced rhymes…

But the following couplet is what ended up becoming the opening line in the book. By V4, the opening line was

V4.

After their scrimmage, all stinky with sweat,
three pigs met a wolf as they packed up their net.

From there, there were small changes (One day after scrimmaging vs. After finishing scrimmaging, or stinky vs. smelly) but by V10 I eventually landed back at:

V10.

After their scrimmage, all smelly with sweat,

three pigs met a wolf as they packed up their net.

Having the opening line be catchy with lots of alliteration and packed with action was important to set the tone for the story as a competitive hockey game with a lot on the line…their bacon!