Theme

jerry phoenix said:

tell me about the themes you use in your work. do you use the same themes for different projects? do you pick a theme before you start or see what develops as you write? what was the most supprising theme you discovered in a sf/f book-yours or someone elses?

if this has been discussed to death, and you know where, drop me a link here.

Click to expand...

I've wondered about this for myself and I find that my writing for the past eight years is usually centered around the ideas of redemption and salvation.

Even the (bad) vampire story I'm writing right now has become somehow about redemption of the main character (the vampire).

My Eagle Ridge series? Oh, yeah, definitely about salvation! The first story arc (that takes place in the first three books) deals with the salvation of one of the main characters and how that salvation goes on to redeem other characters. It's strange, but I didn't know what that theme was until I started writing the third book and realized how it was going to end. Which caused me to stop writing in protest for a week. And was one of the most painful endings I've ever written.

Rabe...

jerry phoenix said:

tell me about the themes you use in your work. do you use the same themes for different projects? do you pick a theme before you start or see what develops as you write? what was the most supprising theme you discovered in a sf/f book-yours or someone elses?

Click to expand...

For me, theme is such an intrinsic part of telling a story (why tell a story if it has no point?) that I don't tend to "pick" themes anymore. They just belong because they're as much a part of the story as the characters and setting are. That's the way theme should be; otherwise, it risks being so hit-you-over-the-head obvious that it loses its meaning.

That being said, a lot of my work focuses on Jungian themes of individuation, it seems. The Shadow, the Anima/Animus, the Self, things like that. Just because when I read about these things, they made sense, and archetypes show up in mythology all the time. (My fantasy heavily focuses on mythology.) It all just fit together and over time the themes worked themselves into my stories.

I use all sorts of different themes, but a lot of times, different themes can blend together--a story can have more than one theme, of course--and the Jungian ones seem to pop up in most of the longer series stories I write. *shrug* That's just the way my writing goes.

Themes don't tend to surprise me unless they're themes pointed out by other people. I was surprised once that somebody got the theme of growing up and entering adulthood from one story of mine, but it made sense when she explained it, since individuation is related to that idea. I might get surprised to learn that I've been writing a particular theme I didn't (consciously) know about all along, though.

I tend to write stories based on questions; the questions inevitably shape themes. For instance, one of my fantasy stories was based on the question: what would it be like to suffer apartheid if everyone looked like each other and had the same religion? As you'd expect, themes of justice, discrimination, poverty, identity and personal meaning emerged from that.

Themes are often found in the desires of major characters, or the problems that they face, or the consequences of their decisions. Sometimes they're echoed in setting motifs too -- for instance, clothing, horses and cultural symbols became important in the apartheid story.

I can't think of a fantasy theme that has surprised me in itself, but sometimes what's surprising is how it's rendered. Gene Wolfe is my favourite fantasy author for themes -- he uses a very rich palette, and unlike most fantasy writers he has a light and subtle touch. For example, The Book of the New Sun series contains plot-level themes around faded glories and renewal, with chracter-level themes on leadership, morality, loyalty and duty. But anchoring those in an apprentice torturer who is proud of his work but nonetheless compassionate for his subjects is, I feel, a stroke of pure genius. Likewise, motifs that blur man, monster and simulacrum of man and monster resonate beautifully against such thoughts.

My themes tend to develop as I develop the plot, because there's usually a larger character-driven question behind the story. What would happen if... kinda things. My protag always has something internal they're conflicted over, and often that's the general theme of the story.

This particular WIP is a thematic study of a specific topic. As such, each character (every single one, whether major, minor, or incidental) has to deal with this topic in one way or another, and every single scene has to address it.

I don't know if it'll work.

It doesn't yet. :|

I find it easier to discover themes in my writing after it's finished (usually some time afterwards). If I try to impose a theme, it doesn't always work too well.

I don't really discover my themes at a set time in the process. They can appear anywhere along the line. I can't think of any themes I've seen that are "surprising", sorry.

Hmm, I know there was a big discussion on theme on Absolute Write a while ago, not sure if it was here or in the novel forum though, and the issue was more 'do you intentionally put theme in your book and should one do so?'

I do very intentionally build my stories around exploring some themes. I write romance which has an established set of themes associated with it (Love conquers all, if you love something set it free, all's fair in love and war, ideas of what an ideal man/woman/mate/relationship/other genetic donor for a child are like, intentionally standing in the way of love is an act of prejudice or plain evil, how is love (or jealousy) related to friendship, what is loneliness and what does it say about the meaninglessness of one's life, etc.) Beyond that I like themes about cultural evolution/progress, ethical use of force and dishonesty, xenophilia vs xenophobia (that goes back to prejudice again), standing up for oneself and being true to one's dreams, dealing with bullies, and leadership/followership/team structure and the team's holistic emergent power.

The theme for my WIP seems to be "appreciating what you have before it's gone", which is kind of interesting because I seem to be not doing that right now in my life