Toward the Future and From the Past

1. Writing this play actually ended up being a lot more of a trail than I expected! Not being able to use a narrator made me realize that my dialogue between my characters was going to have to be lengthy and complex. It was fun being on the other side of the play because rather than watching a play we were creating it. Also sometimes a scene for you was very easy to understand while it's very complicated for your peer evaluators. The three rough drafts made the process long but more successful. Overall if a five page play takes THAT long, I’m glad I’m not Shakespeare.

2. If I were to give a ten year old advice my words of wisdom would probably be, never take the little things in life for grant it and take advantage of childhood. I would say this because too many children these days are going up way to fast. No longer do ten year olds want to play outside; they want to have cell phones and act like grown ups. I took advantage of my childhood and I am grateful to my parents for having urged me to explore the world around me. It would be a terrible a loss if all ten year olds only played video games. Being able to appreciate the world young makes you a happier and more grateful adult.


3. There are several things that make a novel have a great impact and last forever. First of all, the story has to effect and relate to the people of the author's time. Shakespeare or Jane Austen would never have been so well known if their types of stories and comedies hadn't appealed to the men and women of their era. The author of "forever novels" also has to have witty and quick dialogue that excites the audience as well as have a plot that isn't generic and bland. In a perfect world it would be nice to have one of my books read by millions and later become a novel that lives on forever but truthfully that will never happen. I don't think my stories would be catchy enough and I’d have to improve my writing quite a bit. Overall, everlasting novels are great but I’d rather read them, not write them.

Blogging: Theme

Tuesday, February 12, 2008


1. After having read various different novels through out my life, I have come to realize that great pieces of literature actually portray the theme through events and characters that show these traits. "The Great Gatsby" is a perfect example of this theme portrayal. Jay Gatsby along with Daisy and her husband revolve around this idea that materialism does NOT lead to idealism. The way the story plays out, people can see that the events occurring and the theme presented are very much parallel to each other. Though there may be come exceptions to the general rule but overall, must go novels have vivid themes.


2. There are several different themes that I feel I could express rather well in a personal play of mine but the most important one to me would be the theme; happiness is simple and complications of life hide that simplicity. I see this theme as a way to truly show something I believe to be true. We as a society complicate life trying to live it to the fullest. If we didn't do such a thing then maybe people would realize that happiness and fulfillment are right in arms grasp and all you need to do is reach for it.


3. The conflict I would use would be the person versus person conflict. I feel that the person versus self conflict would be rather complicated to portray and I would prefer to keep things simple. An old fashioned hero versus villain conflict has always caught my eye because there is so much you can work with in that situation. I would probably have my hero and villain fighting over something or someone the hero had once lost but wants back, maybe a lover’s trifle or some problem similar to that one. It makes things a lot more intense and on the edge!

First Blog!

1.

There are several reasons why reading for a writer is so important. Well, it's almost like taking another look at there own job. Jumping out of their own shoes you might say. Once writing, each author gets into their own niche which sometimes causes them to become narrower minded and less interesting. With reading each writer can be an observer of a novel and it gives them a different perspective on writing books. Also, it helps with the creative part of the writing. Authors sometimes get into ruts causing them to loose the focus and the imagination necessary for a best-selling novel. When reading it spurs many different thoughts and ideas that could potentially be used in their upcoming novel. Finally, it would just allow writers to enjoy other writers work. Rather than being analytical and in their own job mode, they can relax and immerse themselves into another author's world.

2.

Something that rather irks me about the world of today is our society lack of recognizing world catastrophes. Rwanda and Darfur are just example of the horrific man created problems that many governments refuse to recognize because the catastrophes are so inhuman and savage like. Many just believe genocides like these to be myths because of the lack of coverage on the events and censored information. No one would want to be in a situation such as that one, so why wouldn't we help other countries with such problems? Others argue that because they don't hit close to home so no one cares, but actually they could. If we were in the middle of a huge catastrophe wouldn't we want to call for reinforcements? And how would we feel if no one came? Horrible. Human societies need to come to grips with the truth of mankind’s nature and start helping as much as we can.

3.

There is one painting that truly does give me inspiration and I found it on my first trip to Milan my sophomore year. I was with friends in a Renaissance Museum full of sculptures, paintings and furniture when I first saw it. It was the last painting in the whole gallery and it portrayed a marvelous palace with a man and a woman walking together decorated with elaborate colors and real life expressions. It was like nothing I had every seen. Other paintings had never truly made me stop and just stare into the picture as much as this one had. It being a very simple picture with just a few props allowed me to realize the simplicity of life and relax. Once in the gift shop I immediately bought a poster and have been able to ponder upon it ever since.