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Theme + Characters

C

Chessie

Guest
Likewise with love. There are a hundred versions of true love, not all of them happy.

Unfortunately, my audience requires a happy ending so I must comply. The second problem is that I can't kill anyone. Kinda sucks all the fun right out of it. ;)
 

Demesnedenoir

Myth Weaver
Oh dear, no killing... umm, umm... I might be able to pull that off in a short... heh heh. Heck a garden gnome drowned in my flash fiction... apparently I can't do nobody dies, LOL. Although technically, garden gnomes may not need to breathe... the jury is out.

Unfortunately, my audience requires a happy ending so I must comply. The second problem is that I can't kill anyone. Kinda sucks all the fun right out of it. ;)
 

Queshire

Auror
So something strange has happened recently. I discovered the theme of my latest WIP. 0.o

I didn't start out with the theme. I started out by coming up with ideas for my MC's character development and elements of my magic system as well as a few other bits of worldbuilding. The theme came from how all that connected. I didn't start out with the theme before I started working, but I didn't leave it until after I was done with the story.

For me, I think that the best way to use your theme when you're writing is as a source of inspiration. You don't try to force it, you don't try to tie everything to it. If you treat it as inspiration then it'll all end up tying back to that theme in the end.
 
C

Chessie

Guest
For me, I think that the best way to use your theme when you're writing is as a source of inspiration. You don't try to force it, you don't try to tie everything to it. If you treat it as inspiration then it'll all end up tying back to that theme in the end.
There's definitely something to this. After struggling with Jutoh for an hour, I ended up going back to my outline and realized that everything has fallen into place with my theme. It's like the characters and story magically (pun intended) came together. Not that I'm trying to shove a point down anyone's throat. Theme is important to me. I like to answer questions via my writing.

For example, this whole concept of eternal love. What the heck is that, right? I don't believe in soul mates or true love or anything of that nature (unless we get spiritual/religious and I ain't going there). So this is more of me trying to figure out what someone would do to be together with their sweetheart literally forever. Of course, magic must be involved. The original concept is inspired by the horror that is Dracula, and when he finds Mina. So it gave me an idea and a ton of questions.

How far can I push these people? To what lengths are they willing to go through for love? To what lengths am I willing to go for love? How does this all tie in together? How can I make readers question these things? Maybe they won't. If they're anything like I am, they just want to curl up on the couch with an entertaining story and who cares about anything else. But I do like placing nuggets of philosophy in my stories. Not enough to bog it down, but more along the lines of several days later, huh...so that's what that was about! We just recently watched D'Jango Unchained and it left me thinking like that for days. Sometimes that's a pretty neat thing to come across in fiction. :)
 

Demesnedenoir

Myth Weaver
It's hard to believe in anything that is poorly defined... Such as "true love" or "love at first sight" because love is difficult to define, I'm not entirely sure what anybody else means by the word love, period. I do have one bizarre instance of "something at first sight". It was freakish, never experienced anything like it before or after in my life. Locked eyes with a girl across a jam-packed bar and we both walked to each and introduced ourselves, and just wandered into the pizza joint on the side of the club. I will never know what it was, because I talked to her for all of 5 minutes in my life before her friends drug her away while giving me a wrong phone number or I wrote it down wrong (she was from out of town, staying at friends). The sensation was wild, I expected to feel it again someday... 25+ years later, it's still a little haunting.



There's definitely something to this. After struggling with Jutoh for an hour, I ended up going back to my outline and realized that everything has fallen into place with my theme. It's like the characters and story magically (pun intended) came together. Not that I'm trying to shove a point down anyone's throat. Theme is important to me. I like to answer questions via my writing.

For example, this whole concept of eternal love. What the heck is that, right? I don't believe in soul mates or true love or anything of that nature (unless we get spiritual/religious and I ain't going there). So this is more of me trying to figure out what someone would do to be together with their sweetheart literally forever. Of course, magic must be involved. The original concept is inspired by the horror that is Dracula, and when he finds Mina. So it gave me an idea and a ton of questions.

How far can I push these people? To what lengths are they willing to go through for love? To what lengths am I willing to go for love? How does this all tie in together? How can I make readers question these things? Maybe they won't. If they're anything like I am, they just want to curl up on the couch with an entertaining story and who cares about anything else. But I do like placing nuggets of philosophy in my stories. Not enough to bog it down, but more along the lines of several days later, huh...so that's what that was about! We just recently watched D'Jango Unchained and it left me thinking like that for days. Sometimes that's a pretty neat thing to come across in fiction. :)
 
C

Chessie

Guest
Des, you're right in that love is abstract. I do believe that theme, in general, is. That's why my characters need specific story goals (related to theme), so they don't go chasing the end of rainbows. :)
 

Demesnedenoir

Myth Weaver
I caught the end of a rainbow once, it hurt like hell and the leprechaun took all my cash.

Des, you're right in that love is abstract. I do believe that theme, in general, is. That's why my characters need specific story goals (related to theme), so they don't go chasing the end of rainbows. :)
 
C

Chessie

Guest
I caught the end of a rainbow once, it hurt like hell and the leprechaun took all my cash.

Lol this reminds me of a beer induced conversation with friends once about whether 4 leaf clovers exist or not. It got rather heated. Do carry on...
 
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