influential. The drastic change from the man too nice to be king to an unfeeling, cruel ruler illustrates the influence that surroundings have on one’s character. Shakespeare shows in Macbeth that people must be careful in choosing who has significant roles in their lives because these others may bring wonderful good or terrible evil. Work Cited Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Dover Publications, 1993. Print. Kate Westman Grade 12 Notre Dame High School 2701 Vermont Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37404 Ms. Wheeler The Mind of the Writer Every day I shuffle into the living room after a long, stressful day of school and tests, letting my backpack slide off my shoulders and onto the floor. Some days I hold my breath and hope the hard wood floors can handle the weight of all my text books. Exhausted, I sink into my favorite spot on the sofa and pull my computer over to my lap… That’s when it happens. When I open the word document that contains my book and listen to the obscure music played by bands few have heard of, that’s when I lose myself. Suddenly, I am no longer looking through my own weary eyes, instead I see through the eyes of my protagonist. His joy becomes my joy, his anger becomes my anger, his sorrow becomes my sorrow – for the amount of time I spend engrossed in my writing, he and I share everything. As he barely avoids an oncoming sword, I can feel my own heart begin to race. When he tragically loses a close friend and is consumed with sadness, I find myself grieving with him. Contrary to what most people believe, as the writer I have little to no actual influence over the story itself. When I find the faces of my characters they mold the adventures for me, committing acts of heroism or at times even horror I would have never thought possible. I do not come up with their deeds on my own, nor could I if I wanted to; I simply observe and put them in writing. I find inspiration for them everywhere, in places most people wouldn’t think to look. If I go to the store and I wonder down one of the crowded isles and catch a glimpse of a young girl stumbling to the ground, then is quickly helped up by a gentle stranger. At that moment the kind stranger could have a place in my novel as a character with pure traits and a big heart. Inspiration comes in similar ways for my antagonists. There are some cases when all inspiration requires is a single face, and by looking at that face I can see a personality underneath worthy of note.
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