Writing Assignment 3

Prompt 1:

I thought that the play writing was really exciting. It was intersting to try and convert creative writing energy and thinking into a play. The format was fun to learn, but I thought it was really hard to write, because it was difficult to image what the audience would be able to get out of my dialogue and actions. With a narrative, you know that the reader is going to see everything that you write and so you intentionally write down what you need the reader to understand. I have written a few screenplays before (when I was younger I was certain I was going to be a screenwriter) so I am used to this dialogue-heavy sort of a story. However the difference is that there is a lot more possibility with movies (I like film more than stage, sorry) I like sort of going big with action and storyline, which is hard when you are confined to a stage. I will still write scripts, when I find time, but I do appreciate playwrights more, now that I have gone through the difficulties and possiblities of the stage.

Prompt 2:

I think that giving advice to a five year old would be hard, so I'll stick with a ten year old. I think that I would tell them to be indifferent to various viewpoints. I am very observant and I have been since I was young, so now when people around me are having discussions I have the ability to listen to their information, not respond, yet repeat and comment on the information when necessary. I also think that it is necessary to read, especially current events, and be knowledgable beyond just what's happening in school tomorrow or at home. 10 years are sort of on the brink of complete childhood and youth. You can comprehend more at 10, and it is probably the best time to learn. I give this advice from my personal experience (I think that people who give advice because they just felt like it is a smart thing to say is weak) Why would you give information if you don't know how it should affect you. I think this advice should be used in their lives all around, and should not be confined to school or to home or to practice.

Prompt 3:

I think that great literary works are ones that pertain to universal themes that do not have bounds based on circumstance. Despite the obvious time period in Pride and Prejudice, it can be used in theory in today's world. Great literary works also have to be written well, it's hard to image a crappy novel surviving more than a few years. Jane Austen's novels are vey beautifully written. These books have less to do with personal like towards it but more with relatablity. I remember storylines of books more often if they relate to me, than whether or not I liked it. I wish I could write something that would become a great work of literature, but I don't think that I would ever. I would like to publish a work that maybe has some relative sucess, but I don't think even Jane Austen or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or Homer knew that they would write something that would be read for hundreds or thousands of years. It is more of a manifestation of the book itself, less of an author's expectations.

Writing Assignment 2

Prompt 1:
I think that for any great piece of writing there is an ulterior motive or moving force for a piece. Why else would you write something if you didn't have a point unless you were really bored and was just rambling. Whether you want it or not, I think a moral or a piece of information that inspired you will come through in your work. (Trust me it happens to me all the time...I just start writing about something because I felt like it and it evolves into a moralistic work all by itself.) Every book that I've read has a thought - Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Jungle, The DaVinci Code even those kiddie books that we read in like fourth grade (Behind the Bedroom Wall, Titanic Crossing, etc.) Even with a book that seems so random like Catch-22 anti-war message is still present. I love Catch-22 for that reason, it is like satirize-a-palooza and it's really funny, but there is a theme and a message. There are many people who feel that some books have no theme, and perhaps it is not overtly explained or written, yet if you delve deep enough, you will find it. In conclusion, theme is very important and always present in a work!

Prompt 2:
Recently I have been thinking a lot about impermenance and like the present mostly through the process of college search. It used to be ominous and like out-there, but now, "the future" is like, once you graduate. When I was little, I used to always want to grow up, but now I sometimes wish I was 10 and ignorant again, with more time for contemplating "the future." It's like the apocalypse, we see it and we know its coming but we don't realize it's here until it is. Confusing, to say the least, but I think that this theme bleeds over into many different things, like wars and global warming and political disputes. Everything is changing in this everchanging world (does anyone know the song "Everybody's Changing" by Keane?) Thus, I think that, impermanance and appreciating the day is an important and interesting theme.

Prompt 3:
I was watching 24 the other day and realized how many people were involuntarily or very suddenly killed (by Jack Bauer amongst others.) I remember in season three, President David Palmer, was given the ultimatum by Stephen Saunders, to kill acting CTU Director Ryan Chapelle, played by the hilarious Paul Schulze, because he was getting too close to Saunder's Zurich bank account. He was given an hour, and Jack Bauer had to shoot him. Ryan knew fully well that he was going to die and Jack asked if he wanted to talk to anyone or had any last wishes. Ryan said no, but I think it would be intersting to see a person with an hour to live. What would they be remembering (internally, and to do) would you really see if the stove had been left on, or if your mom would take the news lightly or go into a depression. I think that this conflict is very intersting I think it would be interesting and a challenge to write a play about it.

Writing Assignment 1

Prompt 1:

I think that reading is crucial to a writer because it teaches many things. It not only provides inspiration for the writer, it often teachers a writer how they can improve. For example, despite my admiration for Stephen King's horror novels, I would never be able to write something like that with any sort of conviction. Me + Horror Novels = mockery and faux fright. This I learned from Stephen King. On the contrary, Salman Rushdie is probably my favorite author and I aspire to write like him, his poignant imagery and fantastic sense of characterization.

As per the question of inspiration, a writer must have a passion to write, if they are hoping to really make the most of a blank page of paper. Words are very powerful, and they become even more powerful if they are used to show a perspective or a belief. It is easier to do something you love that fake something you hate. If you read a book and are truly inspired to write because of it, that reading has been a critical and important part of your writing process.

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Prompt 2:

I think, in America at least, there is a sense of isolationism. There are many degrees of Americans feeling that they are alone. Take for example -- something that I know a lot about -- the world of Hindi Cinema. It may not seem likely, but basically every country, except for America, acknowledges and distributes Hindi films. My favorite actor, Shah Rukh Khan, was recently award a High Honor of the Arts from the French government, he was also interviewed for BAFTA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, many of his films have been dubbed and released in Holland and Germany, even Peru. I think that we live in a very global world, it takes 12 hours to fly to Japan, 10 to go to England. It takes two seconds to connect with family oversees via the internet. 100 years ago, even 30 years ago, that was not possible. It is amazing that we can connect so easily, and yet Americans seem to not want to integrate. I assume this is going to be a problem one day, so everyone should start globalizing fast.

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Prompt 3:

I think the most influential work that I have read in my life is Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. If you really love writing, and you really love creativity, you need to read this book. It is just about the most amazing thing I have read in my life. Midnight's Children follows a boy named Saleem Sinai who was born on the even of India's independence at the stroke of midnight. He lives a disturbed life (trust me it is quite disturbing, in a quirky way) and has a telepathic connection with the other kids born on the same day. The idea itself is pretty much really cool, but the writing style is fanatastic. When Saleem is confused, the words all get slurred togther and the writing is very confused. Such emotions are so much more powerful when they can be seen in the writing. Furthermore, the images are really cool. I was giddy the day I bought it and added it to my budding library. I, again, only hope that I can be half of the writer that Salman Rushdie-saab is and I think that this book is the perfect example of his greatness.