This was an exercise that I had put off actually because I wasn’t really sure where to take it and didn’t want to write something too long. After thinking on it some more, it actually came to me really easily. I can’t take all the credit for my plot, as it is loosely inspired by another creative work of art. As you read through, see if you can guess what it is!
Exercise: imagine a soldier who has just returned from a war and is having a strange time readjusting to his/her previous life. You can pick the war, even using an imaginary one. Flesh out the character and the setting. Then write a brief passage where this character is going about some everyday activity, but having difficulty with it. Whatever you do, do not think about the theme of the piece. Just focus on the character and what he/she is trying to do.
The year was 2009 when the sky began raining food. There were flamangos, sasquashes, shrimpanzees, tacodiles, and many more threatening creatures. Many men and women were sent to fight off the monsters in an effort to save our land. The war lasted four long years before they finally garbaged everything.
Flint was one of the leading generals for the war, and it was finally the time to head home. He is from Swallow Falls, a small island in the Mediterranean. It’s so small that you can nearly see the water from side to side, but big enough that there is plenty of room to roam around. The sun shined there day in and day out, always a rainbow in sight.
Flint was a very smart man, he was often made fun of for his goofy personality. He invented these “machines”, but nobody took them seriously. That was until he saved everyone in the war from his FLDMSFR – Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator. It was supposed to save everyone from being forced to eat only sardines, their only source of food. He now suffers from major PTSD, from all those terrifying food creatures.
It was evident to everyone in town too, the damage that had been done. He is no longer the happy bubbly kid he used to be. One time, he sat down at a restaurant to eat a burger and started screaming at it. It took two other grown men to pull him off it, as he was pinning the burger to the floor. Once he snapped out of it, he was so embarrassed that he ran out of the store and went to the bank to be alone.
He can often be found sitting along that same bank, just talking to himself, and writing in a small notebook. It is said that he will probably never recover from the trauma of the war, as he feels most responsible for it. Although, the efforts of his family and friends still weren’t enough to convince him of therapy.
Once you have written the passage, write down three to six possible themes. Pick the theme that seems most interesting. Ponder what direction the story may take using this theme in a subtle way.
- Mental Health
- Good vs Evil
- Love
- Redemption
The theme that seems the most interesting to me, and speaks ideas naturally is Mental Health. While mental health is not something to joke about these days, I think that the background of the story is silly enough it could work. A made-up issue such as getting a food coma or having scary dreams would be things that aren’t offensive but could be interpreted in a comical manner. My second choice would probably be love, but instead of him falling in love with another person, it could be love with the food he created and feeling sad.
The Writing Shack 