I had another post all written and ready to post, but it didn't seem nearly as relevant to the act of writing as this post, so I dumped it and here you go. You get to be my guinea pigs as I explore a facet of writing I've been in denial about.
Danita read my spirit book after much arm twisting on my part. I wanted another person's perspective on it. As we all know, we get pretty wrapped up in our own work and sometimes can't look at it with an unbiased eye. She said, "You need a theme. Then make it happen throughout the book." Her other profound words were, "A theme is something that keeps the book lasting in the reader's mind after they've read the last page." I liked that! And I want that!
Okay, anyone who has been around me a while knows, I'm a theme phobic. I can't think of themes. How many times have you heard me say that! Well, I took Danita's words to heart and have started analyzing my stories and deciding what the themes are. Or what I want to say with these books.
But I have also looked up what other people had to say about theme. Janet Burroway in her book "Writing Fiction" says - "First of all, theme is what a story is about." Not a person or a place or a thing, but an abstract. It is about love, death, hate, revenge. Usually it also deals with Idea and Morality.
John Garner describes the theme process in "The Art of Fiction" as this, "...it should not be noticed, is not imposed on the story but evoked from within it..."
Donald Maas in "Writing the Breakout Novel" says "A great romance novel makes love matter more than anything else in the world. It does that with the depth of development..."
To create the depth of development you use the "theme" you have come up with for the book and sprinkle the hint of that theme throughout the book without hitting the reader over the head with the theme.
For example: My contemporary theme is- Forgiveness begins within. The hero and heroine both have losses they need to deal with before they can move on and both feel the loss was their fault. So as the story progresses they make little moves toward that forgiveness of themselves.
The spirit book theme is - Love heals. Its simple, kind of basic, but in this story has a huge impact on the hero and the heroine.
Do you come up with a theme for your stories as soon as you start thinking about it, or are you like me and fight the thing tooth and nail only to really see it is needed? Also what are some of your themes and how do they play into the story you wrote or are writing?
14 comments:
Paty--You ask hard questions.
I never use to think of themes. I never used to do a lot of things that somehow ended up in my books (most of the time) anyway.
In the past, I had trouble identifying themes and extrapolating themes to plots and all that. But now it's becoming a little clearer and it is actually something I think about and plan around.
Isn't Danita the smart one for figuring this all out. Anyway, I heard a speaker once say to ask yourself what your book is really about, just as you said, and then keep that theme in mind as you write. I try to do that, and if I can layer it in a little, I try to do that, too.
Say the major theme is revenge because that is currently what I am working on. The heroine wants and needs to avenge the slaughter of her family. That's the main goal. As I write, I will try to examine other ways of revenge in smaller avenues. Another character's revenge against an old boss for instance and as many others as I can think of without laying it on too thick. If the book were about betrayal, I would work things around other aspects of that theme. I doubt the average reader would even realize that's what I was doing (if I'm any good at it.)
Does that make sense? I read a comment from Josh Wheedon, the writer of the old Buffy the Vampire movie and series. He said with each episode, they take something Buffy is going through--say an identity crisis, is she a cheerleader or a vampire killer?--and then revolve the other character's stories around hers, echoing the same theme. Once I knew this, I started watching for it, and sure enough, they did that almost all the time. If she lost her voice literally, than other character's would lose their voices, figuratively. It was very interesting and was my fist conscious exposure to layering.
Thanks for a thought provoking blog.
Alice
You're welcome, Alice!
I think I have, to a point, been using theme for my books, but not really knowing I was and not using it to its fullest potential, which is what I am trying to do now.
I've noticed in shows where the main "theme" is played out in smaller ways with the secondary characters.
A book may be good - but I'm ready to take on the little things that make it a keeper!
I use themes although I often don't find them until I'm editing.
First book: True Love takes a little compromise.
YA: Independence still needs Interdependence
This book: I think I'm finally GETTING the theme thing now. The theme of the book is two fold: One is validation and the lengths to which people go to get it and the other is reflected in the book's theme song (which I play pretty often): "You can't always get what you want, but if you try, you just might get what you need." Realizing the validation theme helped me to change my approach to this book and will change the way in which I edit through that lens. IT was there all along, but now I can tweak those layers in a much more conscious way.
Okay, let's all give a collective...arrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Or maybe just me. Whatever.
*sigh*
I have a theme song, does that count???
Paty, I read your personal blog about this yesterday and ignored it. Then I came here this morning, read this post and again ignored it. And then I went over to www.magicalmusings.com and read a post written by an author talking about how much she feels like a fraud when topics like theme and symbolism come up on the loops.
Oh yeah, that's me. And that's totally why I wasn't even going to comment on this.
Do I have a theme? I'm supposed to have a theme? Holy crap. I obviously know nothing about this whole writing gig!
I don't know. How's that for an answer? When I'm writing, I don't think I'm consciously aware of themes and symbolism in my work. I'm aware of the main story elements I'm focused on, but is that my theme? I think I can look back on a project and tell you what my theme is (was), but during the whole writing process, not so much. I also think I subconsciously take that (maybe unknown) theme and drag it through the book, incorporating it into subplots and character relationships even though I might not have planned it that way.
In my last book, I think the main theme was betrayal. (Piper, Lisa, you both read it...would you agree or am I totally out in left field?) The heroine was betrayed by her ex-lover. The event shaped her into who and what she is in the present. But I also carried it through to other elements of the book - the hero is betrayed by his brother, although in a much smaller way. The heroine believes at one point (the big black moment) that the hero has betrayed her after she's finally taken a chance on another man. And near the end, one villain betrays another to bring us to the climax. When I started writing, I don't think I planned any of that (aside from the main betrayal event), it just sort of came to me as I was writing. Does that make me an instinctive themer (that is sooo not a word)? I don't know.
In my WIP, I really have no clue. Again, I'll probably be able to look back and it and tell you when I'm done. I think this one's more about forgiveness, but that sounds pretty lame to me at this point, so I'm not totally sure. The book I'm brainstorming right now (Thank you, Alice!) is about second chances. But since I haven't worked through those plots yet, I really can't say for sure if those themes will be the ones that stick or not.
Bottom line, I'm not so sure you need to be consciously aware of your theme off the bat. At least, I never am. But everyone's different and what works for one person (me!) might not work for another (like Danita!). If I overanalyzed theme and symbolism I think I'd be too stressed to write the darn book...and that's what's most important, right? Writing the damn book? You can always analyze it after that first draft is done, go back and add theme threads through the thing if you're missing them.
Good thought provoking post, Paty, and one I'm sure (damn you!) I'll be thinking about all day long.
Yeah! I'm not the only writer who is in Theme Denial! LOL
Whew! I thought I was the only one who avoided this like a plague! You are all lifting the shame from me.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
And it is interesting to get everyone's take on this.
Okay, first off Paty, I don't recall any arm-twisting involved in getting me to read your Spirit book...well maybe just a little, but that's becasue I'd read it before and wasn't sure what more help I could give you.
I've read, wrote, and learned a lot since the last time I read it-- a year or so ago? -- so I guess I had something new to say that you could use. Or maybe you were just ready to hear it. Either way, cool.
Some people naturally gravitate towards theme in books, movies and their in own writing. I wouldn't say it started out naturally for me, but is getting more second nature as I mature as a writer. (Other parts of my writing remain immature, darn it).
I've written a blog covering this subject too and tucked it away, so I won't bore everyone twice with themes from my stuff. I'll bore you with it later...so consider yourselves warned!
Good post, Paty!
See, Alice is one of those theme naturals I mentioned. I think Alice is a natural at a lot of this stuff. Could be why she's such a star...
And sounds like Eli is a (reluctant) natural at it too.
PS. Since Paty is giving me such wonderful "atta girls" today, I realize I should have mentioned on Eli's blog yesterday that Paty was the one who pointed me in the right direction for the best starting point for my WIP.
She took a look at it at the retreat and suggested the perfect place -- and one I hadn't even thought of. I was driving myself nuts trying to start a scene earlier or come in a scene later.
So, thanks again for that, Paty.
Now I'm off to try to post oh-so-very-late on the blogs I couldn't post to the other day.
Tah-tah
Theme. Sigh. Maybe it's just the word itself I don't like. But Eli mirrors my thoughts exactly. I don't think about it much, er, I mean at all.
A story is all about character, so for me, the result of the character's growth is the theme.
The novella I'm working on now is about a heroine who starts out thinking little of herself and then uses the sudden possession of a family heirloom as a way to make herself into a better person. It's an excuse. She attributes "magical powers" to this thing when actually the magic is an ability to love herself. She learns in the end that it came from her all along. And the hero, of course, helps her in her discovery. 8^) So I guess the theme of this story is: Self-love is a good thing.
Karen
Karen--Your story made me smile. I used that whole idea a few years ago on a book that featured a magic lantern, like the one in Aladdin. A young girl believed if she rubbed it three times--the lamp is lost, the heroine has it, the girl's brother is desperate to get it back, along the way it changes possession and everyone keeps rubbing it and lo and behold, the dreams seem to come true. Of course, it's all inside them.
I love that whole concept.
I am secretly pleased that not everyone knows a lot about this theme business--sounds like most writers do this in a gut reaction kind of way. This reminds me of one of those things some speaker will try to get everyone to do at a meeting and everyone is scribbling away like mad except me because I don't have the slightest idea what to say.
Now I'll look around and see how many other people are really writing out their grocery list like I am.
Alice
who, once again reiterates, nothing about writing seems to be easy!
And Eli, remember last year in Atlanta when we were fooling around with your presentation to an editor/agent and I asked you what your book was about and kept asking you until you pared it down to a few pithy words? I think that's theme!
Good one, Alice! 8^) Shopping list. I'll remember that for next time. And that 3-wishes story sounds like fun. I'd like to read it.
Paty, I love it when TV shows do that, take a spin on a central theme but have something like 3 different plot variations going on at once with different characters. Those are fun.
Wavy, I wonder if this emphasis on theme isn't simply a way to keep the story on track? It sounds like you have a firm handle on yours. I think some writers take digressive road trips with their stories and end up with multiple themes. I've read some contest entries like that. I think if a few of them had focused on just "one" theme, their stories would have made more sense.
Danita, you're lucky to have such a firm grasp on this theme business. I've attended writers' workshops where the entire "theme" of the lesson is, you got it, theme. When it gets over-explained like that is when I get over-confused.
Karen
I think all writers naturally use theme, they just don't know it and don't use it at the same levels.
Thanks Danita! See I know where to start a book, I just don't know how to keep the momentum of the "theme" going! :)
Thanks to all of you for making me feel not so inadequate!
Karen---I think you're right--the problem isn't in having NO theme it's in having too many. Once I realized the main theme, I was able to bring my subplots into line and better decide which ones to ax by asking the question--does this really advance the main theme or add to it in any way? This is actually the part of editing I can't wait to get started on. Just gotta finish the damn book.
Paty... like Eli, I skipped your theme thing because I've never, ever considered theme and I have absobloominlutely nothing intelligent to say to answer your terrific questions.
Huh, maybe that's why I've never finished anything. I didn't have a theme. LOL
I loved this post, and I'm going to study theme until it sinks in and I can utilize it to get me to the end of a story idea.
Eli, yes, I'd say betrayal is the theme of MMB, and you do have natural knack like Alice and all the other awesome writers in our group.
Thanks everyone for your insights on theme, and thanks Paty and Danita for bringing this to the forefront. It's a great thing for me to work on at this point in my struggles.
Crap, now I have to come up with something for tomorrow's blog. Great. Just great. And this stupid blogspot is trying to drive me crazy by making me type in passwords and names and letters! ARGH!! Make up your fricken mind blogger!
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