Reaching Out Through Themes

I'm often asked why I want to be a writer, especially when I describe the general publishing business to outsiders. I get this "Is it really worth it?" look, along with the question. There's many possible answers to it, but there is one that, for me, stands out the most.

I hope that someday, my story will touch someone. I hope it will reach a complete stranger, someone I've never met and never will, and that after reading my book, this person won't be the same.

Some novels change our lives. The Lord of the Rings, for example, made me a hardcore fantasy fan. But beyond that, I believe there are novels that change who we are.

 To me, this is Tigana, from Guy Gavriel Kay.

Last weekend I posted about the importance of themes. This week, I had to do a short presentation on a novel or a movie I liked. As I prepared it, it hit me how much I cared for the message and the themes in Tigana.

In (short), Tigana is the story of a small group's fight to bring back their province, Tigana, in the memory of the residents of the Palm after a powerful sorcerer wiped it out from everyone's mind.

This novel is all about remembering something. It speaks of the importance of words and history in one's cultural identity -- all of which, with Quebec's constant fight for French's preservation, resonate deep within me.

Of course I loved every other aspect of the novel - the characters, the voice, the setting, the incredible dialogs... Everything (though I hear some find it a bit of a slow start). But they aren't the reason Tigana is my all-time favourite (in fact I think The Lions of Al-Rassan, another of Kay's great novel, is better at character and pace). Tigana touched me because of its themes, which I care deeply about.

And if I can reach another person this way, all the hard work will be worth it.

The Theme Hidden Within

Themes in my writing is something I've struggled with in the past. My problem was that I disliked being hit over the head with a message when I read, and if for a moment I had the feeling a writer had written the novel not for the story but for the message hidden within, it ruined the experience.

So how could I justified seeking to put my messages in there? Theme was nice and cute, but it didn't matter much to me: all I cared for was the story.

Looking back (but not that far back, really), I know I was both right and wrong. The story is what matters, but it will always carry a theme.

Either I leave it there, dangling awkwardly, misunderstood and misused, or I learn to use it and blow even more life in my stories through it.

I woke up to them reading Donald Maass' Writing the Breakout Novel, which had a few great suggestions to find out what mine were. At that point I could tell what my theme was, but my grasp of the concept of them was still shifty.

The following day, Larry Brooks posted about the elusive theme on Storyfix. I love his way of explaining theme:

Theme is how a story touches you.  What and how it causes you to think about.  How the story mirrors and/or comments upon real life.  Theme says something worth saying, even when it’s obvious.

I can roll with that definition of theme. Suddenly it doesn't seem like trying to force a message and preach. It's the universal impact the story has, and through what it can reach your readers. I might not be the best at incorporating it yet, but you can bet I'll be playing with theme in the coming writing.

Recurring Elements in Your Writing

Have you ever looked back at your writing to realise you seemed to bring back the same elements and themes from one story to another? I know I do, and I know I'm not alone, as Margo at Urban Psychopomp did a post about it last October. But as November came to an end and I looked back at my two novels, I realised I had more connecting elements than I thought, and sometimes they're present in older stories, too.

So let's take a look, shall we?

1. The wind as a divine element.


I'll blame living in a windy city and loving the constant gusts for this one. It's not the first time I associate wind with power and change. In Edingher it's the main religion while in White Echoes it's a single character's personal belief. I may have an obsession for wind.

2. Music as a channel of emotions, especially grief.


This was an intentional theme for Edingher - or, well, I knew music would be an important plot element in Prince Heike's attempt to redefine his country's obsession for expansion (from physical considerations to cultural ones). I had not planned on grief, perhaps because I had not planned on there being grief. White Echoes' use of music as a channel for grief is completely unintentional. It was a spontaneous idea, but I am likely to keep it, if I can.

3. Pregnant women giving birth

There's not a lot of explanation to give on this one, except that in both case it's a major plot point. I have no idea what made me want to write about pregnancy this year, but there it is!

4. Home/Family

Associating these two is perhaps my most frequent and obvious theme. It's in nearly every story I imagine, because family is something I care a lot about, and because I feel it's important to be somewhere you feel like you belong. I don't do it on purpose, but I'm aware it's in my writing.

So, what are your themes? What elements did you find sprouting up in all of your stories? Do you know why they're there?