When a Theme Emerges
I don't ever sit down and think, "The theme for this book is . . . the search for truth." Or the battle against good and evil. Or . . . whatever it is that the theme ends up being.
However, there are certain recurring themes in nearly all my books. Themes of created families and loyalty, themes of redemption. They emerge, or they are always there. They're themes in my own life, and themes in the lives of nearly everyone I know.
And yesterday, I had one of those extraordinary writing moments. I am working on my 2010 Penguin release, which is about doomed love and a lost illuminated manuscript. And near the very end, scribbled in the margin, my editor asked a totally fair question (what one might term--A PLOT HOLE). "Why doesn't the original owner just pull the manuscript from the auction house?" Without going into all the ins and outs, this rare manuscript is being auctioned, and by doing so, its secrets are coming to light.
And really? If the manuscript's owner doesn't want the secrets revealed, why not pull it? You could drive a truck through that plot hole. I could land a friggin' plane in that hole. And then I realized . . . let him pull it. Because the theme had emerged already--the search for truth and for justice and redemption. And the type of heroine my character is, the type of characters the two men raising her are . . . they would stop at nothing to get at the truth. They would find out the truth about the manuscript just to find out the truth--and for no other reason. Because it was the right thing to do.
Plot and theme just intersected, thereby closing the Plot Hole Tunnel. All traffic has been diverted to theme. Thank you for flying Fiction Airlines. Come fly with us again soon.
As a writer, I love when I have those moments. And you? Got any themes lately? Intersecting with plot? Landing any planes on plot-hole-ridden runways?
25 comments:
My themes and symbols emerge subconsciously as well. I have a .357 Python that, on reflection, is obviously a symbol for...Python...serpent...Satan in the Garden of Eden...
The gun plays a pivotal role in the ultimate success and redemption of my main character--who by now I recognize as somewhat Christlike--but I wasn't thinking about any of that stuff as I wrote it.
What's really neat is when someone else recognizes your themes and symbols before you do. Then you think, Oh, yeah, I guess that is what I meant there...
You said something the other day about odd things writers do, I'm at a party scribbling down what this woman said on a napkin because it was just that good.
Someone at a Writing Show said once, "I'm all over that article without ever once saying I or drawing attention to myself." What he meant was that the theme of the story expressed his own emotional conflicts yet the story was about other people's lives. Because he was emotionally involved he knew just what to focus on and write so that the reader could relate.
Jude:
By the end, I see the themes. I really do. And even as I craft certain sentences, I so get it. But it really IS delightful when readers recognize them too.
SO JUNGIAN! I love it.
E
Richmond:
That is SO cool (the article). I could totally see that. I recently wrote some sections of a high school English text. I am ALL OVER IT in themes of tolerance.
E
Place your tray tables in the upright and locked position, turn off all electronic devices, and make sure your seatbelts are secured.
What I'd do for a decent ATC on Fiction Airlines, huh?
Themes come later, as far as I'm concerned. It's something my subconscious does. They tend to revolve around father-son relationships for some reason, although there are others.
Mark:
We've lost your luggage. ;-)
E
Mostly we seem to be sitting in the plane waiting to take off because the airport is so congested and ATC hasn't approved our runway yet.... :)
Yesterday I was inspired by the nano pep talk. They send out emails every couple days and an offhand suggestion closed up a plot hole I didn't see. My outline just said "so-and-so goes to see so-and-so and they resolve their issues." Boring! Now there will be a car accident and the first person has to take care of the second's children, and THAT'S how they'll come together. Much better.
I love it when motif suggests a theme, and then theme keeps the story focus together. When you're me you need all the focus-help you can get.
In the first chapter of my wip, I have two characters joking around. One says, "I have good news and bad news..."
My sister-in-law read it and asked, "Well, what's the good news?" I got so caught up in the interaction, I forgot to put in the good news! So silly.
I see the theme in the end too, so it goes its jolly way until the book's finished. That's when I sit back and let it settle to see what I've got.
I agree on the recurring themes too, my coordinates are relationships, with a dab of forgiveness tucked inside somewhere.
Melanie:
I love those breakthroughs.
E
kath:
It's amazing how that one thing has clarified the story so much more for me.
E
Robin:
LOL! See? You just amuse yourself.
:-)
E
"I could land a friggin' plane in that hole."
That made me laugh so hard I snorted. :-))))
Yeah, themes always come later for me, too. A book reads more naturally if the theme springs from plot and characterization instead of the other way around. (In my humble opinion, anyway.)
That made me laugh, too! I've done those, too, LOL.
I sort of have to know my big, overarching theme right away, otherwise I don't know which bits to write and which not to write. My themes aren't very grand, LOL, so maybe they're not really themes. I think I start with the emotional lesson/growth of the MC in my mind, then her emotional journey, and then I start from the beginning and write. That emotional lesson tends to be my theme. If that's a theme, that is.
I would never want to write a book on theme. It's always the character and a premise that excite me. Once I know that I can see a theme, but then I forget it. I think that's good, because otherwise I might overdo the theme. I don't want to pound it into the reader's head. It's better if it comes naturally.
LaDonna:
Yeah. . . . I think after the first draft and go back in and shore up the themes that emerged.
E
R.J.:
And that's true of all writing, I guess. Striving for the organic.
E
Hi Spy:
I always feel like I know it innately . . . but then the focus becomes clearer.
E
Hi Edie:
I think anything done too intentionally can feel heavy-handed. Definitely agree there.
E
My favorite theme is power and how it's used. From the power dynamics going on in nearly every sexual relationship (with or without love involved in the mix) to social power dynamics in all it's permutations. Power and how it's used, not used, manipulated, hidden, revealed, etc, fascinates me.
Theme definitely worms its way into my books subconsciously and is a reflection of who I am and what I believe. I guess many of my themes revolve around reaching for your dreams, being all you can be, not living with regrets.
Zoe:
Funny . . . pwoer is rarely a theme in my work. But I do love conspiracy thrillers, which often have that theme.
Suzanne:
Reaching for dreams is a great theme. Resonates with me, for sure.
E
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