Piggybacking onto Friday's brief post, I want to talk a little bit about theme. Or, more to the point, what is your story about? Not the plot, not who does what, who lives and who dies but what is left when you scrape away plot and character. Nothing? Is your story just a bunch of stuff that happens?
Or is there more there? Something you did or did not intend to be there.
Our minds are constantly working when we're writing. I often say my subconscious is smarter than I am. I've talked to a lot of writers who will look at their work long after they'd finished it and said 'how'd that get in there'? Also there's the almost comical way people will put their own interpretations on a work. You see this a lot in college.
Sometimes our readers can spot things that we can't, because we're too close to the work. And sometimes they're just filtering everything through their own world view. Which can make them embrace your stories for reasons unrelated to what you intend and it can make them reject it for the same reason.
But lets assume you decide to do this consciously. Theme gets talked about in a number of books on writing but that really boils down to 'what is your story about'? Even a straightforward man vs nature story of survival can be about more than just making it back to civilization. It can be 'about' discovering your limits aren't what you think they are. Or that survival at any cost means paying more than you intended. More complex plots may touch on the importance of faith in a carnal world. Or the madness of blind belief in...pick your poison: God, Leaders, Business, the American Dream.
Or is there more there? Something you did or did not intend to be there.
Our minds are constantly working when we're writing. I often say my subconscious is smarter than I am. I've talked to a lot of writers who will look at their work long after they'd finished it and said 'how'd that get in there'? Also there's the almost comical way people will put their own interpretations on a work. You see this a lot in college.
Sometimes our readers can spot things that we can't, because we're too close to the work. And sometimes they're just filtering everything through their own world view. Which can make them embrace your stories for reasons unrelated to what you intend and it can make them reject it for the same reason.
But lets assume you decide to do this consciously. Theme gets talked about in a number of books on writing but that really boils down to 'what is your story about'? Even a straightforward man vs nature story of survival can be about more than just making it back to civilization. It can be 'about' discovering your limits aren't what you think they are. Or that survival at any cost means paying more than you intended. More complex plots may touch on the importance of faith in a carnal world. Or the madness of blind belief in...pick your poison: God, Leaders, Business, the American Dream.
My first novel wasn't written with a theme in mind. So I was pretty surprised when one of my readers pointed out that Smooth Running is ABOUT identity. Figuring out who you want to be. Using technology or magic to change who you are. Not bad, subconscious. Way to go.
My second novel, I deliberately wanted to tell a story ABOUT the traditional rites of passage from boyhood to manhood. I wanted to tell a symbolic and literal story about a journey. For all it's flaws (over-editing being one. Grr) it accomplished that goal pretty well.
Which brings me to my third novel. I had a theme of Trust that I wanted to explore. I created a teenaged boy with trust issues and then put him through the wringer only to have his deepest fears confirmed that trusting someone will ultimately hurt you and make you feel betrayed. And I hate it.
Yep. I've been dragging my feet finishing The Mageborn Mechanic because I hate the theme and resolution I put in.
What's the lesson there? Write Themes that you LIKE. Focus on something that uplifts the reader and not what confirms their darkest fears. At least for me. Now I have to finish the rough draft but I'm going back and seeing if I can't change the story I wrote.
Don't get caught like I did. Figure out what you're story's ABOUT before you start. Ask yourself if you'd want to read a story like that. Because we should be writing what we love to read. Do that even if you don't have a theme in mind. Your subconscious (or your Muse) may be like mine
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