challenge - extremes

[newtypeshadow46]

- A topic is set and posted in the Writing Workout Community. The following specifications are made:
*A theme (this could be anything from an expression like "the pen is mightier than the sword" to "use these five words...").
* Criteria required (freeform, premeditated, edit or leave unedited)
* Time, if any, to do it in (example, thirty minutes, one hour, etc)
* When it's due (a day, a week, etc)


"I think it's very naive to suppose that there are not elements of extreme good and extreme bad in every single person. It's merely a question of circumstance whether those elements are brought out or lie dormant for the whole of one's life." ~Ben Kingsley (on finding the sociopath in himself for Sexy Beast (2000)), AARP Magazine, March/April 2004)

Write about yourself or a character 1) in a normal situation, then 2) in a couple of situations that reveal such extreme bad or good.

Note: If writing about someone whose life is already extraordinary, one of their "extreme" situations might be something mundane. Don't be afraid to be extreme, and don’t try to protect yourself/the character from overwhelming anger, pain, mistakes, etc. Sometimes it’s alright to let your dark muses play…

Post results in nine days if writing two extremes; for each additional situation, add three days.

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Challenge: Write yourself or a character first in a normal situation, than two or more situations in which such "extreme good" or "extreme bad" is revealed. Bring out an facet of your/your character's personality that was suppressed or isn't often explored. If you’re writing about someone whose life is already extreme (ex. a mage whose powers awakened when he watched his village massacred by a troop of soldiers, after which he went on a rampage and killed hundreds of soldiers without mercy), one of your extreme situations might be changing the event that made his/her life extraordinary (ex. rampaging mage’s village was never massacred; perhaps his latent gifts emerged, but perhaps they didn’t and he fell in love with the girl/boy next door and lived peacefully ever after). When writing the extremes, don’t be shy or try to protect yourself or a character from overwhelming anger or pain, etc. It’s less fun that way.

I won’t set a time limit, but as they should be the most familiar, the normal situation should not take an inordinate mount of time to write, especially if it is yourself.