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Using Today's Headlines in a Story - American Sniper

  • A good way to stir creativity is to look at what's stirring debates and discussions and then focus on that for a story, whether brief or as part of a novel. In most cases, what is circulating as most popular topics will be thought provoking, emotion stirring or entertaining fodder for stories.

    This week, there has been a lot of discussion about American Sniper . Some say it's pro-war and others say it's anti-war. There's a lot of buzz about this right now and so it's a good topic to explore for this article.



    Take a look at it from the angle of the sniper. His job is to protect innocent lives. In one scene, there's a boy about 7 years old and he is holding a rocket launcher. Think about what it would be like to be in the position of that sniper and having to make a decision to kill a child or allow hundreds or more of innocent lives to be lost if that child launches a rocket to a populated area - possibly even a school.

    What would it be like to be a child in that war zone, fighting for your beliefs? This might be a hard angle to explore but try it. Write from that perspective and see what you come up with.

    How about the mother of the child? The wife of the soldier? Perhaps the innocent bystander that witnesses the whole event?

    Do you feel this is a pro-war movie or anti-war movie? What emotions is it stirring? Can you write and stir those same emotions for others reading it?

    #writing

Comments

2 comments
  • Mandi Konesni, Donna B, and Tiffany B like this
  • Mandi Konesni I think that a lot of times people are scared to explore those emotions as they're terrified of what they'd find within themselves. But many fail to realize that as a writer, your job is to make others question what they think, feel... what...  more
  • Tiffany B Thank you, you pose a lot of questions as writers we should ask ourselves as we wield a story line.