"War is hell." Fyodor Dostoyevki said this. It's not only hell for those fighting the war, it's also hell for people in the countries being fought in and fought for. It's hell, too, for the taxpayers who have to finance the war. Think about what war does to the mind of a soldier. It's estimated, for example, that a third of all homeless people are men who fought in Vietnam. How do we every repay their sacrifice? The price tag for the war is Iraq is $3 trillion. We've spent millions every single day since that war began. What have we gained? We know what we've lost--lives and money and the good will of countries that see us as an aggressor. Could the money be better spent? No doubt. It could be used, for example, to build roads. Or, spent to strengthen our crumbling infrastructure. The work would give jobs to thousands who are now unemployed. With their earnings, people could pay their mortgages and buy things they couldn't afford before. This would help prop up the sagging economy. Economy and Dostoyevski are linked in the subtitle of a book I had to read for an economics paper. It's by Susan McReynolds. The title is Redemption and the Merchant God. Sometimes putting two things together yields some really interesting results. You wouldn't think Dostoyevski had much to say about economy. I guess it's like the old saying "Opposites attract." What else can I say about opposites? I guess they are what makes life interesting. So, if you take an old maid like Emily Dickinson and have her write about something passionate, like the poem "Wild Nights," that makes for an interesting combination, because it is so unexpected. I'm sure I'm not the only one who likes to be surprised by the unexpected. That's probably the basis of all the horror movies that have ever been made. Speaking of which, the classic with Jack Nicholson about that old hotel was really frightening. I remember screaming out loud in the movie theatre. It's not surprising that it was so scary, because the book on which the movie was based was written by Stephen King. And King, before he was rich and famous, used to dig graves in order to make a living. There are a lot of things I'd do if I was starving, but I don't think I could ever dig graves, especially not in the middle of the night. Beyond being dirty work, literally dirty work, it's so spooky.

Follow-Up Questions

Do I stay on topic in most of the writing, or do I shift to another topic? Am I more interested in my initial or my new topic? ANSWER: I talked a lot about war, which led me to the economy, which led me to talk about opposites and finally to the creepiness of Stephen King. His story made me think about my own career, which is obviously pretty important to me.

What words are repeated in my writing? ANSWER: I used "war" quite a bit, but that may be because my brother is in Iraq and I think about the war every day. I also talked about the economy. Another repeated word is "opposites."

Which of my ideas can be backed up with research during the subsequent research process? ANSWER: I can find tons of information about the war and also about economic conditions. I should also be able to do a lot of research on the topic of getting a job and earning money.

Can I identify one or two questions that most of my freewrite responds to? ANSWER: Some questions that come to mind are: Are there indications the economy is turning around? I have to earn a living in a few years. What kind of job am I going to have?