What is a good theme/plot/idea for a short story for a high school english class?

Question

No i'm not asking you guys to DO my homework I'm just asking for ideas.

We have to write a play thats about 10 minutes long and i can't hink of any good ideas...anyone have any?

Answer 1

Well, this is thing I got from Joe Craig (author of The Jimmy Coates series) which is to help write books, but I suppose it might work with a play too.

1- THINK - Unbelievably hard. Not normal, everyday thinking. Test your brain. Dedicate your entire mind to your story. Put effort into thinking. Imagine your brain is an oven. Most of the time it 's on, but on a very low temperature. It doesn't need to work very hard for you to get on with life. Even for work or school, you probably only turn it up a little - enough to get the job done. Try really turning up the heat. Turn it up so far you break the dial. It might take time to heat up - it will certainly take hours to cool down - but see how hot you can make it.

2- THE FIRST DRAFT OF ANYTHING IS RUBBISH - Every book ever written, every story ever told. The first version, when the author first reaches the end, puts the last full stop, and leans back with a sigh, is terrible. That's just the way it is. But because that's true of every story throughout history, it means you have licence to write without worrying how good it is. You KNOW the first draft is going to be rubbish - so was every first draft of Tolstoy, Horowitz, Rowling, Shakespeare, Nabokov and Dr Seuss - so don't worry about it. Just write it. Then you can go back to it and edit - THAT's when something starts getting good. Another novelist I know uses the phrase - don't get it right, get it written. I like that.

3- WRITE NOW, EDIT LATER - Similar to the last point. Look at it like this: In your head, there are two people: a writer and an editor. Turn off your editor. Send him away for a while, until your writer has had a chance to write something. I heard of one author who even turns off his computer monitor so that he can't possibly read what he's written. That way his editor simply has to wait. Don't stop to say to yourself, 'That line's no good,' or, 'This is so self-indulgent'. Write. Now. Later, wake up your editor and edit. But you can't edit until there's a first draft there on the page waiting for you. In other words, turn off your intellect. Use your instinct. You'll need your intellect later, but for now, trust your gut.

4- WRITE FOR YOURSELF - Don't try to guess what other people will think. And don't try to impress anybody. You are your only audience. But be the toughest, meanest, most impatient audience in the world.

Give it a try( hope it works)!

Answer 2

The most important things to consider are Audience and Purpose. So who are you aiming for? People your age? People older than you? Younger? Then, you want to know what you want to do, like tell them something, or make them feel an emotion. You only have 10 minutes so there's not point creating a whole different world. You could try to make it stand out, like from an unusual point of view, like a child's, or someone looking back on their life.

Answer 3

That is personal. Start writing and see what spills out. That's how I get over writers' block.