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Is there one theme that keeps repeating in your stories?
By: Maryann Yin,
on 2/8/2011
Children’s book character Madeline stars in this year’s L.A. Times’ Festival of Books artwork. The illustration celebrates the new book, Madeline at the White House by John Bemelmans Marciano.
Marciano is the grandson of original Madeline author/illustrator, Ludwig Bemelmans. Jacket Copy reports: “He never met his grandfather, but he uses the same materials Bemelmans did, including gouache and ‘pens that you have to dip in ink.’ Ludwig Bemelmans started with a pencil sketch and then did an ink drawing over that — as does Marciano.”
In this video, the author explains that the new book was inspired by his grandfather’s friendship with former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. In total, Marciano has published five Madeline titles, continuing the six-book series created by his grandfather. Marciano has also written Bemelmans: The Life and Art of Madeline’s Creator and stand-alone titles like Harold’s Tail and There’s a Dolphin in the Grand Canal.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
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By: Susan Taylor Brown,
on 1/10/2011
I was looking for a theme of the year and had posted that it was going to be GRATITUDE, which I still think is the one I am most keeping at the forefront. But this weekend it occurred to me that it is also shaping up to be a year of LETTING GO.
I want to let go of so much emotional baggage I've been carrying around for years.
I want to let go of expectations.
I want to let go of toxic people in my life.
I want to let go of one-way relationships.
I want to let go all this stupid worry that I am doing "it" (whatever "it" that might be at the time) wrong.
I want to let go of not writing what it is I want to write because someone said that "trend" was over or they were sick of it or they didn't think it would ever sell.
My agent once pointed out that both my current project and my new WIP explore similar themes. She meant this in the best possible way, and her observation holds true. I really do like to play with good vs. evil, alive vs. afterlife, heaven vs. hell.
I also read a lot of books and watch a lot of TV (SUPERNATURAL, anyone?) and movies with those same motifs. Blame it on Star Wars or Indiana Jones or those hot Winchester Brothers… but I adore stories dripping with epic stakes, spiritual overtones, and classic symbolism.
What can I say? I just love a good variation on a theme.
And I’m not alone.
Donald Maass, in Writing the Breakout Novel, asserts theme transforms a manuscript into “more than just a story.” He believes theme is integral, emerging “from the very substance of the story.” While the patterns and messages of theme are finessed in final drafts, they can’t be tacked on or artificially manufactured. Themes begin in the subconscious and develop organically.
Mary Kole, my Abfab Agent, has also addressed this topic on her blog. She believes that in any work, “there should be distinct themes and ideas that you [can] point to as the center of your book.” To her, theme is “like magic… connections you never knew you’d made, common images and ideas that resonate with the larger meaning of your work, all sorts of interesting stuff.”
In her post, she explains how to develop these connections.
Looking for other resources on THEME? Try reading these:
STORY by Robert McKee
THE POWER OF MYTH by Joseph Campbell
THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES by Joseph Campbell
List of Common Themes in Literature by Janice E. Patten
That’s a lot of THEMES…tell me, which ones do you write and dream about?
Hungry for more? Try this recipe for Angelic Peach Trifle. You’ll enjoy the layers and the subtle almond flavor.
By: Cinda Williams Chima,
on 9/29/2010
Today I'm guesting over on Fantasy and Sci-Fi-Lovin' Girl's Blog here.
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By: Karen Cioffi,
on 8/9/2010
In accounting – if you (the accountant or bookkeeper) are off even one penny, you have to search and work until that penny is found – all the income, expenses, assets, liabilities of a business must all sync at the end of every month, quarter, and year. Your balance sheet, which reflects every penny in and out, must be perfect. All this along with reconciling the monthly bank statements.
The various data from different departments, such as research and development, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and payroll, must all be included.
Writing, in some aspects is similar to accounting; each element of a story - theme, setting, plot, conflict, characters - must all work together to create an error free balance sheet at the end. In other words, they must meld together to create a coherent, engaging, and interesting article or book. The end piece must have proper grammar, and the correct formatting. And, if something is amiss, the author needs to find the troublesome spot/s and correct it.
In both arenas, details are important, as is balance.
Suppose in accounting your accounts payable far exceeded your accounts receivable, or your liabilities far exceeded your assets. This would make for a dire situation, and one that would need correction.
Well, in writing, suppose you have wonderful characters, but they have no where to go; your story lacks an engaging plot and conflict. Or, maybe you have a great storyline, but your characters are flat, they have no dimension; these situations are also cause for alarm and need to be addressed.
In writing, it’s the combination of all the elements of writing that moves a story forward and creates a page-turning adventure. You may have a character driven story, or a plot driven story, but in both, you need all elements of the story to weave together, to create synergy.
Synergy is a great word. It means the combination, joined forces, or combined effects of individual elements which will create an end result that is greater than the sum of their individual effects or capabilities.
I actually like Wikipedia’s definition: “Synergy, in general, may be defined as two or more agents working together to produce a result not obtainable by any of the agents independently.”
This is what the elements of writing, joined together in just the right way, produces. Theme, setting, plot, conflict, and characters combine forces to go beyond their individual capabilities. The writing synergy process creates an end result that is not attainable by any of the elements independently.
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Theme and Your Story
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The stories were a hybrid. A lot of them were based on traditional tales that I tweaked here and there, embellishing myths that were little more than a line. For example, at Chinese New Year, it is common to find pictures of two plump children dressed in red decorating doorways. These children are called Da-A-Fu. Why? I researched and only found a very short summary of them: they were two spirits transformed as children sent to destroy a green monster that was terrorizing a village. There were no details of how or why or what village, but it was enough to spark my imagination. So with that, I created the twin characters of A-Fu and Da-Fu in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon who destroy the Green Tiger.
Not a very organized one! Every time I wrote a story I would think, does this have a purpose with the rest of the plot? If there were at least 2 threads that could tie it to the larger story then I kept it. If there weren’t, I cut it. It was really just a lot of obsessive thinking.
I knew the ending about the questions before I wrote the book. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is very loosely based on a folktale called "Olive Lake," though I changed it quite a bit. In the folktale, the main character is only allowed to ask the God of the West a limited amount of questions, so the structure was already there! All the additional ending elements--Fruitless Mountain turning fruitful, etc, I had planned before I started writing as well--I like to have kind of an end goal so I know where I am going when I write.
However, one also has to be flexible as they write too! For me, all the storylines with the Book of Fortune and the Secret of Happiness came pretty late and those, I think, are the real heart of the ending.
I actually enjoy revision. It's writing the first draft, that initial output, that kills me! And my editor, Alvina Ling, is not only my editor but a great friend so I really trust her opinions on my writing...and she understands when my writing is quite rough.
But I don't really have a clear organized process. I write the first draft the best I can, send it to Alvina and wait for her response. Usually she has a really good idea of what to do with it and then I get to work. I like the retooling of the story; I feel like revision is when the st1 Comments on INTERVIEW WITH GRACE LIN: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Post #7, last added: 6/7/2010Display Comments Add a Comment
Less simply put, theme is the abstract equivalent of the protagonist’s universal need fashioned into a statement of what he or she has come to learn. The theme states the personal growth or character change that completes the inner story arc. It has not been separate from the plot but has entwined with it. (pp. 212-213)
With pangs of guilt, she thought about how Ba and Ma pushed her to go home early from the field, how her rice bowl was always the first filled, how every night when she went to sleep in her warm bed she knew they were there… (p. 159)
The buffalo boy didn’t have [what Minli had]. Instead, he had a dirt floor, a pile of grass for his bed, a muddy buffalo, and a secretive friend. Yet her turned away her copper coin and laughed in the sun. Minli coul2 Comments on DEVELOPING THEME: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon #5, last added: 5/22/2010Display Comments Add a Comment
By: Ginger Nielson,
on 5/2/2010
By: Adventures in Children's Publishing,
on 4/25/2010
Martha Alderson, AKA the Plot Whisperer, posted a great definition of plot on her blog this past week. In and of itself, that might not seem too exciting. But I loved the way she did it, by gradually adding to the definition in a way that mirrors how many of us writers approach a story. She began with plot as a series of events:
Plot is a series of scenes that show outward action.And ended with plot as the core of a well-developed novel:
Plot is a series of scenes deliberately arranged by cause and effect to create dramatic action filled with conflict, tension, and suspense to further the character’s emotional development and create thematic significance.As she added to the definition, she explained the significance of each story element. I particularly loved that she included thematic significance as part of the plot. It is so often overlooked, or tacked on, but when done well it is the unifying force that weaves everything in the plot together. In effect, it is what makes a great novel great. The Plot Whisperer points out, "It is the main thrust of your presentation and what you hope to prove through your story. The theme is the why: what you want your audience to take away after having read your story."
By: Adventures in Children's Publishing,
on 4/11/2010
Laini Taylor, author of the Dreamdark books and Lips Touch, just did a breakout section on plot at the SCBWI Western Washington 2010 conference. I found the recap article posted by the chapter very helpful.
By: Gail Gauthier,
on 3/2/2010
I've been going through some old writers' workbooks gathering my thoughts for a project I'm getting started on. I keep finding notes I took on various books on writing that I read over the past few years. I often don't even remember the titles of these things. I'm hoping I absorbed something that I'm not aware of consciously.
I do recall Rust Hill's Writing in General and the Short Story in Particular. Today I found a note I made while reading Hill: "The theme of the story--begin stating it from the very beginning."
I've been thinking about theme a lot this last year because of a discussion at the child_lit listserv. In a discussion of what makes a book YA, some people said that theme was as important, or even more so, than point-of-view. This, then, would justify classifying a book as YA even when main characters are adults speaking of their adolescent past. I had always believed that that point-of-view was a factor that made a book adult because the main characters were recalling experience through the filter of an adult's mind. YA, I thought, was from the point-of-view of characters who were in the midst of living their young adult lives.
So over the past year I've been thinking that maybe writers should have a good grasp of their theme(s) while they're writing. That note I made sometime in the past reminded me of that. "The theme of the story--begin stating it from the very beginning." Maybe that should be the case with novels as well as short stories, which was what Hill was primarily concerned with in his book.
Here's the thing, though...I've read (and heard) authors say that they're only aware of their themes after they've finished a work. That was certainly the case for me with my early books.
If there are any writers out there, do you think starting with a theme would be a good jumping off point for writing a book? Better than other jumping off points?
“it was the ambition of it, the way it reached for the Big Questions and caught them. It was the reality and humanity of it—that I could genuinely believe this anguished young man in the button-up shirt and this older woman in the neon-green-framed glasses lived and thought and felt up somewhere near Boston. And it was the way the religious issues chimed within my own heart, my own complex internal stew of Big Questions and small actions and deep longing.”
“How do we go about living when there is so much suffering?” (p. 166)
“Am I supposed to put my father ahead of everything?”(p. 211)
“What if doing God’s will hurts the people we love?” (p. 279)
“Only how is it possible to live without being either numb to [pain] or overwhelmed by it?” (p. 302)
So many questions, that Jasmine asks, “Do you always ask so many questions?” (p. 260).
0 Comments on BIG QUESTIONS: Marcelo in the Real World as of 1/1/1900
By: Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 1/24/2010
How do I begin a story? Usually, with an idea that jumps on my shoulder and shouts "Pick me, pick me." Sometimes the idea seems so ripe and whole I think the Muses have send me a full blown picture book, characters, plot and all.
Then I sit down to write, and discover that I have almost everything.
I have a series of events, an anecdote. That magic thread that weaves the events into a story, isn't there. That magic thread is theme, the heart that drives the story.
By: Mary Lee,
on 12/20/2009
Posted on 12/17/2009
Subtitle: In Which I Integrate Reading and Composing Workshops
On My Honor by Marion Dane BauerTommy Trouble and the Magic Marble by Ralph FletcherRiding Freedom by Pam Munoz RyanFlying Solo by Ralph Fletcher
In read aloud, I decided to do a shared reading of Baby by Patricia MacLachlan. I collected enough copies from the public library so that every child can follow along as I read. This book is complicated enough to make it a perfect pick for shared reading in fourth grade. I can help the students navigate the flashback/memories, notice all the clues in the beginning of the book about something unspoken in the family, and think about the ways MacLachlan uses poetry and songs to reinforce the themes in her story.
Posted on 12/16/2009
Posted on 12/15/2009
The next day I shared THE LION AND THE MOUSE by Jerry Pinkney (I reviewed it here). The students picked right up on the themes of family and power and helpfulness. 
By: Martha Alderson, M.A.,
on 12/3/2009
If you are just joining us, welcome! Begin at Day One (you have to scroll down) and work your way here.
Draft #1 represents a leap of faith; you write without worrying about the outcome. Well, perhaps you worry, but if you're following us here, nonetheless you persevered. Congratulations!
In the Native American tradition, mouse medicine focuses on the attention to detail and runs in about 5- to 6-week cycles. NaNoWriMo writers devote fastidious attention to writing at highly concentrated levels. Like the mouse, when we're in the flow of getting the words on paper, we often neglect other areas.
As you begin winding down, let the words subside and your body return to rest.
Last year at this time, on my approach to the Santa Cruz mountains, I spotted a red-tailed hawk at the tip of a redwood tree, like an angel atop a giant's Christmas tree. Halfway over the mountain, I cringed when a hawk flew into my peripheral vision. Rather than crash, in a swirl of feathers, the hawk steered clear.
Hawks embody visionary powers and guardianship. I invite you to enter into the realm of expressing a higher vision of your story beyond the word level itself. Stand back. See the bigger picture and allow for new ideas.
Today:
abandonment
By: Molly Blaisdell,
on 11/8/2009
Hello, Golden Coffee Cuppers. Ohh, day eight, a new beginning, love that about the number 8. Time to get to work!
No clue what a Golden Coffee Cup is? Click here.
Today's a glass of vino five comes from author Sam Youd.
You might know him as John Christopher, Stanley Winchester, Hilary Ford, William Godfrey, William Vine, Peter Graaf, Peter Nichols, or Anthony Rye. Yep, some folks do have a lot of words inside.
So, Sam writes about freedom and the destruction of society a lot. He just revolves around those ideas. Are you revolving around any ideas? Do you have themes that guide your work? What are they? Do you know? Like the words of Bob Dylan, "Everybody's got to serve somebody." We don't want to preach but we have something to say. That's what creative stuff is about -- communicating. I've found knowing what I'm about is very liberating in the creative process. I hope you find some freedom in thinking about what you're about.
Seize the day! Post how your doing and I'll do some holy snappin' See you here tomorrow.
The most successful men in the end are those whose success is the result of steady accretion... It is the man who carefully advances step by step, with his mind becoming wider and wider - and progressively better able to grasp any theme or situation - persevering in what he knows to be practical, and concentrating his thought upon it, who is bound to succeed in the greatest degree. Alexander Graham Bell
By: Martha Alderson, M.A.,
on 9/8/2009
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By: Mabel Kaplan,
on 5/26/2009
The Goanna Island Mystery 
written by Dale Harcombe, illustrated by Dillon Naylor, published by Aussie School Books Pty Ltd 2008
Synopsis:
Across the sandbar from the mainland lies Goanna Island. Legend has it that the ghost of a pirate haunts this tiny island. But Leo, new boy to the area, doesn’t really believe in ghosts, that is, until he is challenged by Mark, the local school bully, to visit the place alone. A pale face peering at him from a window of the old house with a tin roof, piques Leo’s curiosity. The bully is forgotten as Leo musters all his cunning and courage to uncover the truth of the mystery of the island - and the even more important truth that the Marks of his world have forever lost their power over him.
Good Morning Dale!
Welcome to this third stopover on your blog tour of ‘The Goanna Island Mystery’
Thank you Mabel, I am delighted to be here.
When I read 'The Goanna Island Mystery' it occurred to me themes play an important role in holding a story together … so today I'd like to focus on the themes that filter through your stories. But let me begin with the more general question: How would you describe a theme and what role do themes play in a story.
Dale: The theme is the underlying idea behind the book.
Tell me about the themes in 'The Goanna Island Mystery'.
Dale: There are several themes in 'The Goanna Island Mystery'. One of them was fear and overcoming fear. One is bullying and the loneliness some kids feel without friends or because of changed family circumstances. Another is dealing with loss.
For you, is the choice of theme/s apparent from the moment you begin to think about the story or do theme emerge from the writing process itself.
Dale: I don't know that I'd thought about the themes when I started to write the story. Sometimes they only become apparent afterwards or as the story unfolds and I see where it takes me.
You have written a number of books. To what extent can you identify recurring themes that run through much of your writing?
Dale: As I think about what I've written, both published and unpublished to this point, I think I tend to see the recurring themes of the child or adult who doesn't fit in - or is a bit different in some way. I find I tend to use creative people like artists and musicians etc a lot in my work , perhaps for that reason. Dealing with loss comes in quite a bit and also dealing with fear is another theme as it is something we all have in various forms whether that fear is of the water, the unknown as in 'The Goanna Island Mystery', of spiders and things that creep and crawl as in 'Red Alert'! or fear of rejection and ridicule.
Mm! I noted Ebenezer who becomes a kind of mentor or substitute parent to Leo (your main character) is an artist. Describe, if you can, an ‘aha’ moment you've experienced as you reread a published book and uncovered a theme OR had a reader/reviewer reveal something you had not previously noticed was there.
Dale: In 'Pick Me', a story I wrote that was published in School Magazine, a fellow writer commented on how clever and appropriate the name of the character was because all his life the boy wanted a dog. But then he had to find exactly the right one. The boy’s name was Hunter. I didn't think about it as wrote it. Only that it felt like the right name. In ‘The Goanna Island Mystery’ Leo was the perfect name for brave boy overcoming his fear. It brings images of Leo the lion. And lions are strong and the kings of the jungle. Of course, knowing me, I probably also had images of the courage of Leo who took the pack mark and helped Sydney Swans win the 2005 Grand final as well.
Is there a question you wished I’d asked but didn’t?
Dale: Can't think of one, Mabel, Thanks for asking the questions you did. It made me think about some things I hadn't thought about before - like theme.
It's been good to have you here, Dale. I hope you will drop in again for a chat. I'll look forward to following you on the rest of your blog tour.
By: Gail Gauthier,
on 3/11/2009
Ah, theme. Theme is a gnarly thing to discuss because so many people think it is a moral lesson. Bah! I spit on moral lessons. Theme, in the Gauthier world view, is an abstract idea about how people live their lives around which a writer constructs a concrete story. That abstract idea doesn't necessarily involve telling readers how to live. It may just raise questions about how we live.
Some themes occur more frequently in books written for specific age groups. Common YA themes, for instance, will often involve: How we separate ourselves from our families; how we are like/different from our families/peer groups; what will we do with our lives; what do we believe in; what will become of us--Pretty much anything that relates to setting out on our lives and moving toward adulthood without actually being adults.
So adult books that include but are not necessarily limited to YA themes may be of interest to YA readers. At least, that's my argument.
Determining theme, of course, is more of an art than a science. For instance, in one of this week's study subjects, The Dead Father's Club, a possible theme could be how we determine a correct course of action, since young Philip isn't really all that keen on offing Uncle Alan but feels he ought to because Dad's ghost is insisting upon it. That definitely fits into the YA theme scheme of determing what we will do with our lives. But another theme could certainly be children's responsibilities toward parents. When is enough enough? Again, this would fit in with YA themes relating to how we separate ourselves from our families.
Yesterday I was talking about Mary Russell in The Beekeeper's Apprentice, who is a nonYA narrator because she is, technically, an old woman recalling her late adolescence, with adult knowledge of what is going to happen. Though Russell has a great voice, it's not the YA voice teen readers are accustomed to. I suggested this might not be a deal breaker because of theme.
In The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Mary Russell's family is dead. This is what you might call the ultimate separation from family. She accepts a new family in the form of her chosen father, Sherlock Holmes. She "chooses" a father (or falls over him on the first page of the book) who is her intellectual equal. Thus we're dealing with a character who is working out how she is like her "family." As Holmes' protege and an Oxford student she is determining what she will become and moving toward what she will do with her life. At the same time, as a theology student and a Jew who embraces her culture, she differentiates herself from chosen dad. Then, of course, since The Beekeeper's Apprentice is a true mystery (The Dead Father's Club isn't), one of its themes deals with the restoration of order, a love of which crosses over between young and adult readers.
Does theme trump voice when considering crossover potential for young readers of adult books? My guess is that it will depend on the reader.
Off the subject note: It has occurred to me that an adult reading this book who couldn't care less about Young Adult literature, might see themes relating to accepting parental responsibilities, parental love enhancing the parent's life, etc. As I said, determining theme is an art, not a science, and themes might be like communists in the 1950s--under every bush.
to get the characters (that are not paying rent) out of my head.
HILARIOUS. I love it. It’s fun when those characters come around and start telling you their stories, isn’t it:) Happy writing to you. I really think I write to try and entertain but every story I’ve ever written is also trying to make sense of my past.