Jumping On the Themewagon!
*note to self, don't end a post with "More thoughts tomorrow" unless those thoughts are already written.* :p
Spent a distracted weekend trying to finish saving Arcadia from an evil Valuian admiral. Didn't quite make it due to also finishing off a short story for the DKA Magazine short story contest. Glad to have that thing behind me. With around 30 entries it will take them a while to sort out the winners. But should hear back by the end of the month I think.
So one of the big themes out there these days is Theme. OK so that's one of the many ways to come about it. Becky has been mulling over the whole issue of theme over at her blog for the last 27 days. Lots of deep thought going on there.
So here's my thoughts on how I go about finding and crafting "Theme" within my stories.
First off the importance of a clear and didactic theme depends on the type of book that you're wanting to write. If you're aiming for a world changing, lasting two hundred years type of story, then yeah theme is going to be very important. I'd say right up there on an equal level to the actual story.
If all you want to write is a fun novel that can maybe help a person through a tough day, or just provide a few hours of enertainment. Then having a huge and deep theme isn't necessarily as important. Though it still needs to be there.
Personally I fall somewhere between the two.
I also firmly believe that readers, bringing their own life experience with them, will discover their own themes and symbols within a book. Things that you as an author never paid much mind to will jump out and speak volumes to the reader. Especially if they are actively looking for symbolism or a theme.
So how do I go about crafting the theme? I'll talk about that in the next post.
Spent a distracted weekend trying to finish saving Arcadia from an evil Valuian admiral. Didn't quite make it due to also finishing off a short story for the DKA Magazine short story contest. Glad to have that thing behind me. With around 30 entries it will take them a while to sort out the winners. But should hear back by the end of the month I think.
So one of the big themes out there these days is Theme. OK so that's one of the many ways to come about it. Becky has been mulling over the whole issue of theme over at her blog for the last 27 days. Lots of deep thought going on there.
So here's my thoughts on how I go about finding and crafting "Theme" within my stories.
First off the importance of a clear and didactic theme depends on the type of book that you're wanting to write. If you're aiming for a world changing, lasting two hundred years type of story, then yeah theme is going to be very important. I'd say right up there on an equal level to the actual story.
If all you want to write is a fun novel that can maybe help a person through a tough day, or just provide a few hours of enertainment. Then having a huge and deep theme isn't necessarily as important. Though it still needs to be there.
Personally I fall somewhere between the two.
I also firmly believe that readers, bringing their own life experience with them, will discover their own themes and symbols within a book. Things that you as an author never paid much mind to will jump out and speak volumes to the reader. Especially if they are actively looking for symbolism or a theme.
So how do I go about crafting the theme? I'll talk about that in the next post.
posted by Stuart at 7:25 AM
1 Comments:
So, Stuart, you do have the next post written, right? LOL
I know many authors start out with a theme in mind and write their story, keeping it in focus. On the other hand, there are those like me that write a story and theme begins to surface on its own. I've done it both ways, and much prefer the "natural" birth process--if you will!
Blessings!
Beth.
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