Second Writing Prompt

1. Theme is unbelievably important in a novel. It gives a story direction and purpose. It hones the reader’s thoughts, guiding him or her to notice what is truly important. Indeed, it is theme itself that gives a story a reason for existing-for truly, what is a story without a theme but a random jumble of words with a convoluted message? More then that, theme allows the reader to get in touch with the book's characters. Can anyone honestly say they would (or would not have) connected as much with, say, Harry Potter, if not for the books (and his personality's) themes of optimism, friendship, and renewal? In fact, even great literary works like To Kill a Mockingbird is nothing-absolutely nothing-without a theme to drive it and make us think. The opposing viewpoint would probably claim that you could still develop characters without a theme, and that you can still have a respectable story. While I do agree with that to an extent, I would also argue that you would feel like something is missing-perhaps a character's motive, or a key plot difference.



2. One theme I might consider developing is very simple- the idea of war. What constitutes war, why do people go to war, why do people protest war? Given the current events, this is very important to me- I feel that, given the charged atmosphere we currently have in the country, a war-time play might be appropriate. War also gives characters a chance to interact in various ways that they simply would not in peace time. It has always been interesting, to me, to see how humans act in life threatening situations as opposed to peace time, and what better way to expose a character to danger then to put them in the very deadliest of conflicts.

3. War presents several conflicts intrinsically-such is the nature of the beast. Conflicts that could be developed in a play include a corrupt war, perhaps started by an equally corrupt government. It could show the nature of the populace in such times, and the attitudes of the soldiers. Alternatively, the entire play, or rather, much of it, could be set in the middle of the war itself, showing key battles and interactions. Perhaps a tragic story of two family members fighting on different sides, or a more light hearted story about a struggling drill officer that simply wants to move up in the ranks, or even a simple story about a rebelling soldier and his oppressive superior officer. Regardless, as I said, war presents several conflicts-as such their are just as many to chooses from for a war story.