Symbols & Imagery

I don't consciously insert symbolism on the first draft, but I find that it crops up naturally. So after my first draft is written I go back and take a look at it and see where recurring symbols or images pop up. Then I play with them and reinforce them, adding in more where it works.

For instance, in my WIP, I noticed a lot of the scenes and setting involved growing things. I consciously had one character start working in the garden as a symbol of his decision to finally start emerging from his shell. But then looking back I realized that I have another character look into a dilapidated fountain and notice that life is actually coming out of the stagnant rainwater - moss, tadpoles, etc. And when the two characters come together, they end up walking through a park. So I went back and changed things around a little... I took a third character from one setting and had him do the same scene, but at the fountain. I decided to set the garden on fire at the "oh no it's all going to fall apart" moment. Etc.

In one of my short stories, I carried through the symbolism of green eyes. The MC is mourning the loss of his wife, who had green eyes. A woman he meets in the story is wearing green contacts - she is the "false" woman who cannot take his wife's place. And when he punches his brother in the eye, he gets his brother a package of frozen green peas from the freezer - his brother replaces his wife. None of that was there on the first draft; first I wrote the story, and the only thing that was there initially was the wife's green eyes. But then I needed him to get his brother something for his eye, and I thought, hey! Green peas. And then it clicked with the other woman.

So for me, inserting symbolism is mainly looking for what's already there naturally, coming to an understanding of WHY it's there, and then amping it up.

Birol said:

Do you consciously use symbols or imagery in your novel? If so, how? Do you use it to create emotion? Underscore a theme or recurring idea? What types of symbols or images do you use to create these things? How well do you feel you've accomplished your goals?

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Never. I can look back over the books I've written and see themes and images that recur, and are obviously important to me, but I discover them after I'm finished, not before.

My feeling is that if you consciously try to employ such devices, they are likely to come across as contrived, artificial, and clumsy. If, in the course of relating a story you know in the marrow of your bones, you produce something that comes across to readers as symbolic or good imagery, it probably works a lot better.

caw

There is a difference between consciously trying to employ such devices and developing them when they pop up in one's writing. It may be as simple as avoiding mixed metaphors or as complex as taking advantage of some metaphorical aspect of a story and carrying it through as story tone or story theme. Most uses are short term and don't lend themselves to a significant degree of further development, and it's best to not try with these (for the reasons mentioned by others). However, some stories are enriched when the author makes short-term or long-term use of these devices to provide more story impact or more story depth. Just as it takes a good writer to avoid excessive use of these literary devices, it also takes a good writer to take full advantage of them. I find both sides are areas of active learning (hopefully improving) and active experimenting in my work.

How a writer handles things like this falls under the umbrella of "writing style"--something as individual as the humans generating it.

No and I hate all 'meta' elements--things that the characters are unaware of; they are there just for the reader, like symbols and proper names with a meaning. The stuff JoNightshade said she put into her story--it isn't bad writing, but I'd never do anything like that. It's artificial, obviously the author interfering in the story. But it's fine if a character considers something as a symbol for something else. For instance, my MC sees in a monkey in a cage and thinks of a prisoner in a cell.

I'm still figuring out how I use symbolism. I know, already, that if I write without intending to place symbols, they make their way in, and they're usually quite appropriate thematically. So lately I've been trying to figure out some of this ahead of time, to maybe help streamline my drafts, just to see what happens.

So far, so good. I feel like things are more cohesive when I know what I'm doing with the themes from the beginning...I find it especially helpful when I'm winging it on the plot, because I've still got myself tied down to SOMETHING besides just the characters, certain elements that must recur. I'm also optimistic that this method will mean I actually write something long enough to publish, or at least break 40,000 words on a finished product...

A little of both, in the end. I plan some of it out, but I know my subconscious will still be plenty busy working out more symbols and motifs. Hooray for teamwork??

I just write stuff. If recurring images show up I'll pop them out a bit. If some images seem to fight one another I'll prune away what's not helping the story. If I seem to have a framing metaphor, I might choose it over another, and keep consistency.

That's all for short stories. I do use imagery mostly consciously in poetry. And I haven't the faintest clue what I'm doing in the novel (I mean that on every conceivable level).

You really made me stop and think! And I found that if I do use imagery at all, it flows naturally. I don't consciously use symbols or imagery in my writing.

No. I don't even think about it. If it occurs, I'm not aware of it.

I sometimes employ symbols & imagery, accentuating them to the point where most readers will be aware of what they represent, but not feel like I'm saying "look, look." It's not an easy balance to achieve.

My characters tend to consciously use symbolism. In one case I had a very feminine looking man and he wanted to wear something ironic, where the style of it was feminine but the content/meaning was masculine, so I decided that in their culture butterflies symbolize femininity and dragonflies symbolize masculinity, and it was in style for a woman to wear jeweled butterfly clips in his hair, so this male character ordered a set of dragonfly hairclips custom made so he could wear them to a party. I also have had characters give origami roses as a traditional valentines day present (they symbolize effort and caring on the part of the giver because they take an hour of careful work to make). And some dragons who were worried about infertility had egg symbolism popping up in their story in several forms, from lucky jewelry to a magic ritual.

I'll use symbolis or motifs that crop up naturally in the story, as long as they have an authentic place in the story. I never try to draw attention to them, though, or explain why they're there. I think subtlety is the key to preventing it from feeling like authorial intrusion.

Birol said:

Do you consciously use symbols or imagery in your novel? If so, how? Do you use it to create emotion? Underscore a theme or recurring idea? What types of symbols or images do you use to create these things? How well do you feel you've accomplished your goals?

Click to expand...

Seeing as I write stories dealing heavily with dreams and Jungian themes, you bet I consciously use symbols and imagery in my writing.

I often do it to underscore the story's theme, since to use it to evoke emotion might fall flat if a symbol doesn't hold the same meaning for every reader. How well have I succeeded? I don't know. I could tell for sure only if a reader were to speak up with something like, "OMG! That is so the archetype of the Animus there! I can't believe I didn't get it at first!" But I'm guessing that most of my readers (what few there may be) aren't into Jung, so don't really get the symbolic subtext. Oh well.

As for what types of symbols and images I use, it varies so widely I could never get into much detail. Suffice it to say I like to use lots of archetypal images and themes of individuation, in my own naive, probably pop-psychology way.

Birol said:

If the readers do not fully realize them, do you think the symbols you use still add depth and meaning to the story?

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I think we write whatever we want into the story. Some people will get certain elements, some will get others. While many are not familiar with Jung, some are. It isn't as either/or in my opinion. In my middle grade books there are definitely bits that adults understand over kids, for example. I don't believe it is about writing something for all people, but writing something that can be understood by most, and some more than others. If you write something even that most people won't understand, so long as the story is clear what does it matter? And heck, what does it matter if the story isn't clear without the symbols, that only a select audience will truly understand it? That's what niche writing is all about. I also find it odd that so many here think writing symbols with purpose into their work suddenly makes it pretentious or too calculated. There are different ways to write books, and so long as it works, so long as the author does it with a deft hand, I don't see how it really matters.

Personally I don't use a lot of symbolism, but in my middle grade especially I use names that have more than one meaning. In my YA I reference A LOT of Shakespeare and chances are many who might read it won't get them all, but some will, and those who don't can still appreciate the imagery that the Shakespeare evokes.

I dunno, I don't think there is anything wrong with consciously trying to write in symbols into one's work. It's just like writing anything consciously into your work. Are we therefore saying that people who outline have forced writing because it didn't just appear on the page before them? We plan many things about our writing, why can't we plan that as well?

Birol said:

Do you consciously use symbols or imagery in your novel? If so, how? Do you use it to create emotion? Underscore a theme or recurring idea? What types of symbols or images do you use to create these things? How well do you feel you've accomplished your goals?

Click to expand...

I usually don't have imagery or symbolism in the first few drafts. But, as I edit and rewrite, they do tend to present themselves. It's like cleaning out an attic; as I throw some junk away I discover hidden treasures underneath. I imagine my subconscious put them there in some form but my conscious mind ignored those bits as I worked out the story.

So, after frequent editing, I do consciously bring some aspects of theme to the forefront while other themes are left alone. In any case I've found that subtlety is a key component. I believe it's part of the craft in regards to writing. After all, Hitchcock did it through film. Remarkably well, too. It's a challenge to get the reader to think about what's going on beneath the veil and I feel it's up to the writer to discover what he/she is trying to communicate; whether a theme is implied or not.

Not deliberately, but it never fails that some readers see symbols and imagery that I did not consciously intend.

I'm not sure if what I do is what you're talking about.
I don't do symbols. But I do try for -- I guess you might call them, 'themes', in the story.


I have a sea captain as a major character. His profession and his past show in his dialog and his internal monologue and in his thoughts. He 'speaks like a sailor'. He thinks like a sailor.

And when he's in the scene I use water- and sea- related images as much as I can. They're like a 'theme music' that accompanies him through the story.

I have a story that's about 'seeing' and realization' and 'bringing hidden facts to light',
so I fill the scenery with candles and sunlight and fires. I play with light and reflection and sparks and so on.

Now this 'imagery stuff' is something I do consciously.
I don't expect the reader to notice and I don't suppose it actually improves the story any.
I guess I do it for my own satisfaction.

After reading so much literary criticism when I studied English Literature many moons ago, you bet I stick them in! They're as useful as punctuation for helping the reader at times. Take The Mill on the Floss and all the symbolism of fertility: so many green things, a fast and alive river...erm...I've forgotten the rest...and how it impacted on the main character's life. What was her name? Did it not have something to do with fertility as well? I like the extra dimension, whether the reader gets it or not. And hopefully I don't do it in a cheesy or obvious way.

It depends on the story and my intent whether I conciously include symbolism. But in general, I try to keep consistency, and avoid mixed metaphors outside of dialogue, so sybolism is somewhat likely to be there, even if I didn't conciously put it there.

I'm not clever enough for that sort of depth. I just write (hopefully!) entertaining stories that are fun. I'll leave the deep stuff for the rest of you! =)

Mad Queen said:

No and I hate all 'meta' elements--things that the characters are unaware of; they are there just for the reader, like symbols and proper names with a meaning. The stuff JoNightshade said she put into her story--it isn't bad writing, but I'd never do anything like that. It's artificial, obviously the author interfering in the story. But it's fine if a character considers something as a symbol for something else. For instance, my MC sees in a monkey in a cage and thinks of a prisoner in a cell.

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I would point out that everything about a novel is "artificial." By definition it's an artificial construct - I mean, just think about it - how often in real life do we experience events that build slowly, climax, and then end in a satisfying conclusion? Life is so much messier than a plot line. If I wanted something "authentic," I'd be writing a memoir. Or perhaps a textbook. Our job as the author is to construct a narrative that envelops the reader. There are many different ways to do this - plot, dialogue, character building, choice of words, and yes - symbolism.

As others have pointed out, the key is to do it subtly. Nobody wants a giant flashing sign pointing to the symbolic elements in a story.

I look at symbolism as part of the hidden foundation of a story - something that works on a subconscious level. You can read the book without noticing it, without realizing why the narrative works so well and feels so strong and emotionally powerful. But when you go back and peel back the layers, symbolism emerges as one of the pillars your story stands on.

I think that's why people so often find symbolism in stories where the author didn't even intend it - as humans, we're practically hardwired to recognize such things.

This reminds me of a story.

When I was in a collegiate creative writing class, I wrote a short story about a guy who killed himself by driving his Thunderbird off a cliff. The last bit of the story was a description of him watching the water as it closed over the car and how he fixated on the hood ornament as the car sank. Someone in my class was offended at the Christian imagery.

I was confused. When I asked what Christian imagery she was talking about, she said, "Well, Thunderbird begins with a 't' which is like a cross and the cross of Christ was the last thing he saw."

I'm still scratching my head over that one. That being said, I find that I leave the discovery of imagery to other people. It doesn't matter if I add any or not, someone will attach meaning to a symbol regardless of my input.

JoNightshade said:

I would point out that everything about a novel is "artificial." By definition it's an artificial construct - I mean, just think about it - how often in real life do we experience events that build slowly, climax, and then end in a satisfying conclusion?

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You're right that fictional stories are usually neater and more satisfying than real stories, but as long as the events in the fictional story are not too contrived, I can maintain an illusion of reality. Symbols, on the other hand, can't be anything other than the author's hand manipulating the world, unless it's the character who notices the symbols. For instance, you wrote:

JoNightshade said:

A woman he meets in the story is wearing green contacts - she is the "false" woman who cannot take his wife's place.

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It's you, the author, and only you, who could be saying this woman cannot take the wife's place.

Ignore what I wrote if you believe such things happen in real life, that is, coincidences have meaning. It's destiny talking to you or anything like that. I always consider coincidences as meaningless events, unless they happen again and again, forming a pattern, in which case they must have a natural explanation.

JoNightshade said:

I think that's why people so often find symbolism in stories where the author didn't even intend it - as humans, we're practically hardwired to recognize such things.

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Right, so I'll leave the symbolism to the reader and my characters. I, the author, won't consciously insert any symbols into my stories. If I insert one unintentionally and notice it later, I might even remove it.

In my opinion, a much better device than a symbol is the detail that reveals an aspect of character's personality or defines a place.