Today's topic comes to us from Writer's Connect newsletter Issue 63. The top tip of the week invited you to consider the themes present your work. When you know what they are, you have much a better sense of the direction and/or the 'heart' of your piece. Better yet, when leveraged correctly, themes can change people's lives and make them remember your work for years to come.
Not sure what yours are, or don't feel like you're using them effectively? Here's a blueprint for elevating your work to the stars and beyond—and then conquering them!
Thank you to Tyrone Couch for contributing this blog.
Phase One: Choosing Your Weapon
The first step is to come up with a theme for your story and commit to it. You don't have to limit yourself to just one, but it's wise to pick one to stand above the others and have them relate to it in some way. The more your central theme is reinforced, the stronger its destructive power becomes! Just be careful not to complicate your narrative unnecessarily by having too many threads running at once.
If you're already waist-deep in your manuscript and there's a distinct lack of a plan for world domination, don't fret! It's never too late for an evil, under-handed scheme. In fact, some authors write a complete draft before even deciding upon one.
The best themes are universal, relate to the human condition in some way, and are thereby accessible to everyone. All the better to spread your fell influence across the galaxy.
Phase Two: Planting The Seed
When it comes to subjugating entire planetary systems, subtlety is key. Arriving at the doorstep of an advanced civilisation and declaring your intent to enslave or otherwise control them won't get you very far.
As the old adage goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.
The goal here is twofold:
a) to make your horse want to drink, and
b) make him believe that it was his idea.
If you offer him water every thirty seconds, he's not going to drink it just to spite you, even when he gets thirsty. In the same way, if your readers know you're trying to influence them, they won't have a bar of it. You've got to persuade them as gradually and as covertly as possible.
Mention how hot it is, and leave it at that. An hour later, reminisce (out loud) about the nice, cold drink you had at the last tavern. Later still, tell your horse that you're thirsty. Then, take the long road across a pure, sparkling stream and see if he doesn't drink.
Phase Three: Execution
By the time your story reaches its climax, your reader should already be under your thrall. They might even have caught on to what you were up to chapters ago, but they don't mind; they'll follow wherever you lead, and drink whatever you tell them to.
The climax of your story is also where your themes should come to a head. The ideas and ideologies therein should be tested to their limits. If there was any room for doubt in your main characters' stance on the issues, now is the time for them to take a stand.
This is the moment you've primed your hapless victims for; when subtlety takes a back seat, and it becomes clear which side of the argument you should be on.
Phase Four: The Aftermath
The deed is done. As the smoke begins to clear, you look out upon your new domain. The battlefield comes back into focus—and you find it blanketed with bended knees, as far as the eye can see. You allow yourself a satisfied smile, and turn away from the grovelling masses. After all, your journey is far from over:
An acerbic demeanour or statement is one that is harsh, pointed, and leaves little room for ambiguity. It is characterised by criticisms that, while often astute, are delivered unkindly and not always with the best of intentions (though this is frequently played upon for comic effect).
The reviewer's acerbic commentary is scathing, but the readers can't get enough.
Quotidian Quote
“In every bit of honest writing in the world, there is a base theme.” ~ John Steinbeck
Get Competitive!
A selection of current writing competitions YOU can enter!
The Yale Drama Series
Format: Full-length play Theme: Any Word Count: max. 65 pages Entry Fee: Nil Prize: $10,000 plus publication Closes: 15/08/2022
Before you go all-in on an entry for any of the above competitions, it's highly recommended that you look over the fine print to make sure that your submission qualifies and you're happy with the terms of engagement.
To help yourself make an informed decision, the Australian Society of Authors has a highly informative post on their website called 'What to look for in a writing competition's T&Cs' . To locate the article, click on 'Home', then 'News'.
(function(d,s,i,r) {
if (d.getElementById(i)){return;}
var n=d.createElement(s),e=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
n.id=i;n.src='//js.hs-analytics.net/analytics/'+(Math.ceil(new Date()/r)*r)+'/9182723.js';
e.parentNode.insertBefore(n, e);
})(document,"script","hs-analytics",300000);
var astra = {"break_point":"921","isRtl":"","is_scroll_to_id":"","is_scroll_to_top":"1","is_header_footer_builder_active":"1","revealEffectEnable":"","edit_post_url":"https:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au\/wp-admin\/post.php?post={{id}}&action=edit","ajax_url":"https:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","infinite_count":"2","infinite_total":"0","pagination":"number","infinite_scroll_event":"scroll","no_more_post_message":"No more posts to show.","grid_layout":"1","site_url":"https:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au","blogArchiveTitleLayout":"","show_comments":"Show Comments","masonryEnabled":"","blogMasonryBreakPoint":"921"};
var edd_scripts = {"ajaxurl":"https:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","position_in_cart":"","has_purchase_links":"","already_in_cart_message":"You have already added this item to your cart","empty_cart_message":"Your cart is empty","loading":"Loading","select_option":"Please select an option","is_checkout":"0","default_gateway":"stripe","redirect_to_checkout":"0","checkout_page":"https:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au\/checkout\/","permalinks":"1","quantities_enabled":"1","taxes_enabled":"1","current_page":"384480"};
var wpcw_frontend_params = {"api_url":"https:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au\/wp-json\/wpcw\/v1\/api\/","api_nonce":"f8aff242e6","ajax_api_url":"\/?wpcw-ajax=%%endpoint%%","ajax_api_nonce":"1092598032","ajaxurl":"https:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","enrollment_nonce":"185b7752af","progress_nonce":"42b0328ae3","str_uploading":"Uploading:","str_quiz_all_fields":"Please provide an answer for all of the questions on this page.","timer_units_hrs":"hrs","timer_units_mins":"mins","timer_units_secs":"secs","min_password_strength":"3","i18n_password_error":"Please enter a stronger password.","i18n_password_hint":"Hint: The password should be at least twelve characters long. To make it stronger, use upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols like ! \" ? $ % ^ & ).","course_progress":{"i18n_confirm_reset_unit":"Are you sure you wish to reset your progress of this Unit? This CANNOT be undone.","i18n_confirm_reset_units":"Are you sure you wish to reset your progress up to this Unit? This CANNOT be undone."}};
var wpcw_course_note_params = {"api_url":"https:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au\/wp-json\/wpcw\/v1\/api\/","api_nonce":"f8aff242e6","ajax_api_url":"\/?wpcw-ajax=%%endpoint%%","ajax_api_nonce":"1092598032","delete_note_confirm":"Are you sure you wish to delete your note?"};
var quicktagsL10n = {"closeAllOpenTags":"Close all open tags","closeTags":"close tags","enterURL":"Enter the URL","enterImageURL":"Enter the URL of the image","enterImageDescription":"Enter a description of the image","textdirection":"text direction","toggleTextdirection":"Toggle Editor Text Direction","dfw":"Distraction-free writing mode","strong":"Bold","strongClose":"Close bold tag","em":"Italic","emClose":"Close italic tag","link":"Insert link","blockquote":"Blockquote","blockquoteClose":"Close blockquote tag","del":"Deleted text (strikethrough)","delClose":"Close deleted text tag","ins":"Inserted text","insClose":"Close inserted text tag","image":"Insert image","ul":"Bulleted list","ulClose":"Close bulleted list tag","ol":"Numbered list","olClose":"Close numbered list tag","li":"List item","liClose":"Close list item tag","code":"Code","codeClose":"Close code tag","more":"Insert Read More tag"};
( function( domain, translations ) {
var localeData = translations.locale_data[ domain ] || translations.locale_data.messages;
localeData[""].domain = domain;
wp.i18n.setLocaleData( localeData, domain );
} )( "default", {"translation-revision-date":"2024-05-06 03:31:51+0000","generator":"GlotPress\/4.0.1","domain":"messages","locale_data":{"messages":{"":{"domain":"messages","plural-forms":"nplurals=2; plural=n != 1;","lang":"en_AU"},"%1$s is deprecated since version %2$s with no alternative available.":["%1$s is deprecated since version %2$s with no alternative available."],"%1$s is deprecated since version %2$s! Use %3$s instead.":["%1$s is deprecated since version %2$s! Use %3$s instead."],"Dismiss this notice.":["Dismiss this notice."],"Expand Main menu":["Expand Main menu"],"You are about to permanently delete these items from your site.\nThis action cannot be undone.\n'Cancel' to stop, 'OK' to delete.":["You are about to permanently delete these items from your site.\nThis action cannot be undone.\n'Cancel' to stop, 'OK' to delete."],"Collapse Main menu":["Collapse Main menu"]}},"comment":{"reference":"wp-admin\/js\/common.js"}} );
var thickboxL10n = {"next":"Next >","prev":"< Prev","image":"Image","of":"of","close":"Close","noiframes":"This feature requires inline frames. You have iframes disabled or your browser does not support them.","loadingAnimation":"https:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au\/wp-includes\/js\/thickbox\/loadingAnimation.gif"};
var astraAddon = {"sticky_active":"","svgIconClose":"<\/span>","hf_account_show_menu_on":"hover","hf_account_action_type":"link","header_main_stick":"","header_above_stick":"","header_below_stick":"","stick_header_meta":"","header_main_stick_meta":"","header_above_stick_meta":"","header_below_stick_meta":"","sticky_header_on_devices":"desktop","sticky_header_style":"none","sticky_hide_on_scroll":"0","break_point":"921","tablet_break_point":"921","mobile_break_point":"544","header_main_shrink":"","header_logo_width":"","responsive_header_logo_width":{"desktop":220,"tablet":220,"mobile":208},"stick_origin_position":"","site_layout":"ast-full-width-layout","site_content_width":"1240","site_layout_padded_width":"1200","site_layout_box_width":"1200","header_builder_active":"1","component_limit":"10","is_header_builder_active":"1"};
var gform_i18n = {"datepicker":{"days":{"monday":"Mo","tuesday":"Tu","wednesday":"We","thursday":"Th","friday":"Fr","saturday":"Sa","sunday":"Su"},"months":{"january":"January","february":"February","march":"March","april":"April","may":"May","june":"June","july":"July","august":"August","september":"September","october":"October","november":"November","december":"December"},"firstDay":1,"iconText":"Select date"}};
var gf_legacy_multi = [];
var gform_gravityforms = {"strings":{"invalid_file_extension":"This type of file is not allowed. Must be one of the following:","delete_file":"Delete this file","in_progress":"in progress","file_exceeds_limit":"File exceeds size limit","illegal_extension":"This type of file is not allowed.","max_reached":"Maximum number of files reached","unknown_error":"There was a problem while saving the file on the server","currently_uploading":"Please wait for the uploading to complete","cancel":"Cancel","cancel_upload":"Cancel this upload","cancelled":"Cancelled"},"vars":{"images_url":"https:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au\/wp-content\/plugins\/gravityforms\/images"}};
var gf_global = {"gf_currency_config":{"name":"U.S. Dollar","symbol_left":"$","symbol_right":"","symbol_padding":"","thousand_separator":",","decimal_separator":".","decimals":2,"code":"USD"},"base_url":"https:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au\/wp-content\/plugins\/gravityforms","number_formats":[],"spinnerUrl":"https:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au\/wp-content\/plugins\/gravityforms\/images\/spinner.svg","version_hash":"2da9c357d55eb2cbc9a8a65ff5a836cc","strings":{"newRowAdded":"New row added.","rowRemoved":"Row removed","formSaved":"The form has been saved. The content contains the link to return and complete the form."}};
var gform_theme_config = {"common":{"form":{"honeypot":{"version_hash":"2da9c357d55eb2cbc9a8a65ff5a836cc"}}},"hmr_dev":"","public_path":"https:\/\/bookwritingcoach.com.au\/wp-content\/plugins\/gravityforms\/assets\/js\/dist\/"};
tinymce.addI18n( 'en', {"Align center":"Align centre","Ok":"OK","Bullet list":"Bulleted list","Insert\/Edit code sample":"Insert\/edit code sample","Url":"URL","Color":"Colour","Custom color":"Custom colour","No color":"No colour","Spellcheck":"Check Spelling","Row properties":"Table row properties","Cell properties":"Table cell properties","Border color":"Border colour","Cols":"Columns","Paste row before":"Paste table row before","Paste row after":"Paste table row after","Cut row":"Cut table row","Copy row":"Copy table row","Merge cells":"Merge table cells","Split cell":"Split table cell","Center":"Centre","Background color":"Background colour","Text color":"Text colour","Paste is now in plain text mode. Contents will now be pasted as plain text until you toggle this option off.":"Paste is now in plain text mode. Contents will now be pasted as plain text until you toggle this option off.\n\nIf you are looking to paste rich content from Microsoft Word, try turning this option off. The editor will clean up text pasted from Word automatically.","Rich Text Area. Press ALT-F9 for menu. Press ALT-F10 for toolbar. Press ALT-0 for help":"Rich Text Area. Press Alt-Shift-H for help.","You have unsaved changes are you sure you want to navigate away?":"The changes you made will be lost if you navigate away from this page.","Your browser doesn't support direct access to the clipboard. Please use the Ctrl+X\/C\/V keyboard shortcuts instead.":"Your browser does not support direct access to the clipboard. Please use keyboard shortcuts or your browser\u2019s edit menu instead.","Edit|button":"Edit"});
tinymce.ScriptLoader.markDone( 'https://bookwritingcoach.com.au/wp-includes/js/tinymce/langs/en.js' );
