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What themes or motifs do you see popping up in your writing a lot?

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
My last long term relationship [but I should probably wait until therapy to share much more].
And old warriors - most of my lead warrior MCs have been past their prime and know it [again probably something else for my next sesh...].
 

Chilari

Staff
Moderator
The question of if the 'greater good' is indeed 'greater' or 'good'.

Now that's an interesting question. I'm going to make a note of that and try to explore that at some point because that is definitely something that I've brushed on before, though never quite got to analysing in depth, and something I want to address at some point. I like the moral questions where the answer isn't obvious.
 

Jabrosky

Banned
The juxtaposition of people from visibly different cultures pops up a lot in my writing and brainstorming. Most commonly I have Northern Europeans mingling with Africans, probably because they provide the maximum visual and cultural contrast in my mind. Sometimes the Europeans and Africans end up cooperating against a third, villainous group of people who may resemble either Middle Easterners, Mediterraneans, or Asians. Even if they don't, interracial romance almost always develops over the story's course.

Like glutton, I like action heroines. Mine tend to be either queens, huntresses, or warriors, but they always end up fighting their enemies themselves instead of relying on a man to do the fighting for them. Commonly they suffer from arrogance or over-confidence as their critical personality flaws.

I'm also rather fond of wild animals as minor antagonists.
 

MadMadys

Troubadour
Let me see here. Things I tend to include are:
- Building friendships through trust.
-Strong and varied female characters.
-Humor. Even when I try to write more gritty things the humor slips in by turning dark/black comedy.
-Rule through an oligarchy. I just seem to like group activities.
-Characters with less than glowing pasts.


I also find it revealing to have a gander at what I never tend to include in my stories as well.
-No love (as a major part of the plot line).
-No families/children (a couple exceptions but for the most part no character is tied to a family structure).
-No religion/faith playing an important role.


The reasons I choose to highlight or ignore certain things doesn't have a ton to do with my personal life but more so what I find interesting to read about. Also, I tend to ignore things I feel are cheap/overdone plot elements (which explains why I don't use love as motivating factor often) or that just aren't very interesting to me. As for why I like an oligarchy, well, no idea. It's not that I think they're better because mine are always wickedly corrupt in the end.
 

risu

Troubadour
Insanity seems to be a trend with me. The villain, the infatuated thief, the hero. But of course, who really is perfectly sane anyways?
 

Devora

Sage
Actually i think another motif that has popped up in a couple of my stories with female characters (and sometimes male characters too) is that they are very strong women (in many aspects) but in the end they either know or find out that they avoid their weaknesses, and that they have to eventually come to terms with their weakness and realize there are people that care for them deeply and want to help them cope.
 

Velka

Sage
Now that's an interesting question. I'm going to make a note of that and try to explore that at some point because that is definitely something that I've brushed on before, though never quite got to analysing in depth, and something I want to address at some point. I like the moral questions where the answer isn't obvious.

I'm having a lot of fun with it, and you're right, there is no obvious answer. My MC is has a very micro world view, while her mentor has a macro view of things. They butt heads a lot. The tricky thing is trying to keep a balance between their world views and ensuring that the validity, and shortcomings of each, are equally represented.
 

Rinzei

Troubadour
Discovering one's true self / reconciling with one's situation - these have come up a lot in my stories in the last few years. Wonder what it means...
 
I have been writing a lot on demons lately, both in physical form and the metaphorical kind. They are both big baddies that need defeating and you can get a lot of story out of them.
 

The Unseemly

Troubadour
Human irrationality's. I simply find that there's always space to poke at something stupid a character does, the "irrationality", however doing it in a believable way. The character makes a choice anyone given the situation would do, so hence - irrationality.
 
Loss.

The impact of history on the present; how history and circumstance limit choices and actions; how history is experienced, interpreted, and retold very differently by different people.

The power of love -- how it can build, how it can destroy, how it can unite and separate. Love is always the wild card in my stories -- and a darn good wild card it is!

Complex male and female characters.
 

tlbodine

Troubadour
Here's another one I just remembered: Awkward and anger-inducing phone conversations with the protagonist's mother.

I discovered that I had accidentally used that same plot device in three completely separate stories, so now I have to retire it. Clearly, there's a bit too much author creeping into THAT issue...
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
Deuterogamy pops up a fair few times in my stories and RPs. Many of my adult protagonists are either widows/widowers, married to one, or both.
 

Yellow

Minstrel
I'll go with the apparent good guys being bad guys without them really being aware of it, and apparent villains being the true heroes without anyone else really being aware of it. It makes for some interesting plot twists I believe.
 
Misfits figuring out how to live in societies that don't really have room for them while finding a few like minded friends/allies to band together with.

Also, in every single book, one of the heroes almost loses their hands. I didn't notice it happening at first. Now that I have noticed it, I wonder what it's trying to say, but I don't worry too much about taking it out. No one else seems to have noticed yet.
 
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