In any sort of writing, having a story us one thing. And while it’s up to debate that needing to get a “message” or “theme” across is necessary, it’s always useful to consider. I’ve always found that in no matter what I’m writing, a theme is very hard to get across. This chapter showed me the process of developing one and how to, though, which I’m grateful for. It showed me that a theme can be a catalyst rather than a block for a story by describing it like the glue for a story. This chapter makes me think I developed my theme rather early, similar to Carver, and that I really did end up going in the right direction with my story. I’ve been so scared about other components that I skipped out on taking a theme into consideration, but I’m glad to realize through this chapter that it’s rather fleshed out.
When it comes to theme, I always think of classic American (or British in rare cases) literature that I read in English classes, the idea that you had to be able to pick one central theme and phrase it in a sentence. However, this chapter delves into the fact that they can be open to interpretation, and there can be multiple. I also like how the chapter talked about theme intertwines itself in every aspect of your story— little scenes that characterize your protagonist may also reflect a major desire or fear that is related to a central message. The chapter uses Carver’s Cathedral to discuss this— all of the character’s traits reflecting the idea that, as the book puts it, “true vision is much deeper than the physical ability to see.” Overall, I think I have many themes at play in my writing, but I now understand how it influences other aspects of my story.
I personally liked the way that theme was described on page 197, saying that theme is like shining a flashlight on an aspect of life and allow the reader to see what is there. You don’t have to solve world problems in your story or book based on the theme you chose, but simply choose a topic that you can provide some type of view or standpoint on that allows the reader to see what you have to offer. Unlike the other chapters this one says that every story needs a theme, and the author should know what it is. I feel like the other chapters were relaxed on if you actually used the elements of craft that they suggested or not, saying that it comes naturally with time practice and testing out new things. However, the book says that theme is something that if the writer knows what it is, will allow for the piece crafted to be made in a way that is much more appealing and well rounded to the reader. I know that I feel like I have been struggling with this exact element in my short story that is due this Friday. I feel like for future or for the next story that we write I would like to plan out the plot a bit more and/or decide on a theme or the exact idea I am trying to show before deciding on a story. Not that my short story is bad, but to me it sorta feels a bit cliche, nothing more than just a short story and is lacking a bit of depth, having a child book type feel to it. With this idea, I feel like having the dog as the narrator was what blocked me from making this more in depth because the intelligence of a dog is a lot simpler than a human. So, with a dog narrator I felt as though I was constricted to using simple language. Anyways, theme is obviously important and like the chapter said can make a piece much more appealing to a reader.
This chapter was focused on theme, or the subject of your story. I liked how the author described the theme in general as a container for your story. It’s the way to convey the story while keeping it along a cohesive line. The goal of a story is to make the reader think about what they read, to turn your writing into something that a reader will continue to ponder on their own. Themes are important so that readers do not misconstrued the meanings of your writings. I liked how the authors described how you could actually work towards figuring out what your theme of your story could be. It resonated with me that after the first draft is a good time to work on a theme, since I usually approach writing from the other direction (having a theme already in mind before I even start drafting). Keeping the theme as a natural facet of the story that could be sleuthed out afterwards was really interesting to me. Labeling where those clues may be to a reader about the theme might be really helpful in my writing. Revising and refining my theme after the story is down is something I’ve never even thought of; I often feel trapped thinking about what the theme is of my story when I just start writing it, so it’s very interesting to think of writing a story with no considerations of theme prior to the first draft.
This chapter was all about theme. For me, I often forget that a story needs a bigger picture or a theme. I can write plot decently well but if there’s not something bigger going on then the story simply will not affect the reader the way I wish it would. Often, when I try to fit in a theme it is so cliche and so obvious that reading the story just becomes a joke. This chapter helped me realize that the theme doesn’t have to be pushed down the reader’s throat, rather it should be intricately woven throughout the plot, giving it structure and support but not overwhelming it. When revising my short story, I know I am going to have to pay more attention to theme and I’m going to have to make sure all aspects of my story make sense as a whole when it comes to theme.
Something I really liked about this chapter was when they likened theme to a glass of wine – it’s not the wine, but rather the glass that holds it together. When thinking about theme I think it can be easy to lose yourself in trying to make a good theme. As stated in the chapter, write the story first and let the theme come to it naturally. If you can’t find the theme as your writing, revise and add it later. Having a theme that restates itself over and over is almost as harmful to the story as having no theme at all. A good way to balance this is by establishing theme through details, the POV, and the voice of the story. A cynical POV might be better at conveying the theme than a timid POV, and so on and so forth.
On page 199, Bain talks about how readers, if not provided with a clear theme, will likely draw the incorrect one, and I’m very inclined to agree. When I think back on it, a lot of my stories that everyone mistakes the meaning of, or that I can’t seem to write, don’t really have a theme. I know what my stories are about, I know the characters and the plot, but not why the story is worth reading. For example, one of my stories was about a museum heist and it was supposed to be about the cyclical nature of the prison system, but everyone talked about the nature of addiction instead. That wasn’t what my story was about, but, reading it back, I realized that was far more prominent than anything about prison or criminals.
This aspect is strange to remember, but even stranger is one of Bain’s other points about finding the theme as you go or only after you start writing. This aspect is extremely difficult for me, because it’s all about jumping in blind, something the perfectionist in me hates to death. However, the “gotta get it done for the deadline” me is all about this part. I think it goes hand in hand with how people say to “just start writing” because that’s hard to do when I don’t fully know my characters or fully know the plot or just can’t seem to figure out where to begin.
Chapter 9 was all about theme. I really liked the idea that the theme is the container of the story and that it touches everything in the story. I really liked the ideas the the theme touches everything and creates such an impact on what the story is and what happens within a story. Theme is not something that seems highly important, it seems like something that will just show up and will just already be a part of the story as it is created. But in reality, you have to find a way to make sure that the ideas of the story are being seen with the thematical lines of the story. Being able to see how much theme effects the story and the story that is being told, is really important. Understanding how to create such a bigger world with better understanding is so important.
8 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 13”
In any sort of writing, having a story us one thing. And while it’s up to debate that needing to get a “message” or “theme” across is necessary, it’s always useful to consider. I’ve always found that in no matter what I’m writing, a theme is very hard to get across. This chapter showed me the process of developing one and how to, though, which I’m grateful for. It showed me that a theme can be a catalyst rather than a block for a story by describing it like the glue for a story. This chapter makes me think I developed my theme rather early, similar to Carver, and that I really did end up going in the right direction with my story. I’ve been so scared about other components that I skipped out on taking a theme into consideration, but I’m glad to realize through this chapter that it’s rather fleshed out.
When it comes to theme, I always think of classic American (or British in rare cases) literature that I read in English classes, the idea that you had to be able to pick one central theme and phrase it in a sentence. However, this chapter delves into the fact that they can be open to interpretation, and there can be multiple. I also like how the chapter talked about theme intertwines itself in every aspect of your story— little scenes that characterize your protagonist may also reflect a major desire or fear that is related to a central message. The chapter uses Carver’s Cathedral to discuss this— all of the character’s traits reflecting the idea that, as the book puts it, “true vision is much deeper than the physical ability to see.” Overall, I think I have many themes at play in my writing, but I now understand how it influences other aspects of my story.
I personally liked the way that theme was described on page 197, saying that theme is like shining a flashlight on an aspect of life and allow the reader to see what is there. You don’t have to solve world problems in your story or book based on the theme you chose, but simply choose a topic that you can provide some type of view or standpoint on that allows the reader to see what you have to offer. Unlike the other chapters this one says that every story needs a theme, and the author should know what it is. I feel like the other chapters were relaxed on if you actually used the elements of craft that they suggested or not, saying that it comes naturally with time practice and testing out new things. However, the book says that theme is something that if the writer knows what it is, will allow for the piece crafted to be made in a way that is much more appealing and well rounded to the reader. I know that I feel like I have been struggling with this exact element in my short story that is due this Friday. I feel like for future or for the next story that we write I would like to plan out the plot a bit more and/or decide on a theme or the exact idea I am trying to show before deciding on a story. Not that my short story is bad, but to me it sorta feels a bit cliche, nothing more than just a short story and is lacking a bit of depth, having a child book type feel to it. With this idea, I feel like having the dog as the narrator was what blocked me from making this more in depth because the intelligence of a dog is a lot simpler than a human. So, with a dog narrator I felt as though I was constricted to using simple language. Anyways, theme is obviously important and like the chapter said can make a piece much more appealing to a reader.
This chapter was focused on theme, or the subject of your story. I liked how the author described the theme in general as a container for your story. It’s the way to convey the story while keeping it along a cohesive line. The goal of a story is to make the reader think about what they read, to turn your writing into something that a reader will continue to ponder on their own. Themes are important so that readers do not misconstrued the meanings of your writings. I liked how the authors described how you could actually work towards figuring out what your theme of your story could be. It resonated with me that after the first draft is a good time to work on a theme, since I usually approach writing from the other direction (having a theme already in mind before I even start drafting). Keeping the theme as a natural facet of the story that could be sleuthed out afterwards was really interesting to me. Labeling where those clues may be to a reader about the theme might be really helpful in my writing. Revising and refining my theme after the story is down is something I’ve never even thought of; I often feel trapped thinking about what the theme is of my story when I just start writing it, so it’s very interesting to think of writing a story with no considerations of theme prior to the first draft.
This chapter was all about theme. For me, I often forget that a story needs a bigger picture or a theme. I can write plot decently well but if there’s not something bigger going on then the story simply will not affect the reader the way I wish it would. Often, when I try to fit in a theme it is so cliche and so obvious that reading the story just becomes a joke. This chapter helped me realize that the theme doesn’t have to be pushed down the reader’s throat, rather it should be intricately woven throughout the plot, giving it structure and support but not overwhelming it. When revising my short story, I know I am going to have to pay more attention to theme and I’m going to have to make sure all aspects of my story make sense as a whole when it comes to theme.
Something I really liked about this chapter was when they likened theme to a glass of wine – it’s not the wine, but rather the glass that holds it together. When thinking about theme I think it can be easy to lose yourself in trying to make a good theme. As stated in the chapter, write the story first and let the theme come to it naturally. If you can’t find the theme as your writing, revise and add it later. Having a theme that restates itself over and over is almost as harmful to the story as having no theme at all. A good way to balance this is by establishing theme through details, the POV, and the voice of the story. A cynical POV might be better at conveying the theme than a timid POV, and so on and so forth.
On page 199, Bain talks about how readers, if not provided with a clear theme, will likely draw the incorrect one, and I’m very inclined to agree. When I think back on it, a lot of my stories that everyone mistakes the meaning of, or that I can’t seem to write, don’t really have a theme. I know what my stories are about, I know the characters and the plot, but not why the story is worth reading. For example, one of my stories was about a museum heist and it was supposed to be about the cyclical nature of the prison system, but everyone talked about the nature of addiction instead. That wasn’t what my story was about, but, reading it back, I realized that was far more prominent than anything about prison or criminals.
This aspect is strange to remember, but even stranger is one of Bain’s other points about finding the theme as you go or only after you start writing. This aspect is extremely difficult for me, because it’s all about jumping in blind, something the perfectionist in me hates to death. However, the “gotta get it done for the deadline” me is all about this part. I think it goes hand in hand with how people say to “just start writing” because that’s hard to do when I don’t fully know my characters or fully know the plot or just can’t seem to figure out where to begin.
Chapter 9 was all about theme. I really liked the idea that the theme is the container of the story and that it touches everything in the story. I really liked the ideas the the theme touches everything and creates such an impact on what the story is and what happens within a story. Theme is not something that seems highly important, it seems like something that will just show up and will just already be a part of the story as it is created. But in reality, you have to find a way to make sure that the ideas of the story are being seen with the thematical lines of the story. Being able to see how much theme effects the story and the story that is being told, is really important. Understanding how to create such a bigger world with better understanding is so important.