tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481366597096394318.post1194521356581978772..comments2023-06-03T07:32:54.087-06:00Comments on Falling In Love With Romance: Finding the Theme - It's Easier than You ThinkSuzie Quinthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03111067679903509683noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481366597096394318.post-46506464697848960032011-03-29T10:35:34.776-06:002011-03-29T10:35:34.776-06:00I hadn't realized how my own views on the impo...I hadn't realized how my own views on the importance of species conservation snuck into my story when I wrote the rough draft, but in later drafts, the heroine said this about an endangered species of dragon:<br /><br />“Larger things are happening in our world. It’s time we opened our eyes. He wrote this guide over twenty years ago, yet even then he noted the wyrm’s numbers were in decline. He posits the reduction is because of the mining interrupting their life-cycle. How could such important information escape us, when this animal is so central to the Cochet?”<br /><br />The Cochet are threatening war to reclaim the breeding grounds of this dragon, to safeguard the species. Heady stuff!Kelly McCradyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14811072775266296703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481366597096394318.post-80181272622840072742011-03-27T22:30:37.665-06:002011-03-27T22:30:37.665-06:00It's amazing, isn't it, Ryan, just how muc...It's amazing, isn't it, Ryan, just how much smarter our characters are than their creators? They know what the theme is. Which of course means our subconscious also knows. We just have to entice it out where we can see it.Suzie Quinthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03111067679903509683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481366597096394318.post-70390789850609555552011-03-27T22:24:35.757-06:002011-03-27T22:24:35.757-06:00I also think that if you don't *think* you kno...I also think that if you don't *think* you know your theme... you actually do have it somewhere tucked away in your brain. It's picking it out of there that's the problem. And I think, we write with that theme in mind whether we do it consciously or not.<br /><br />I discovered my theme through one of my characters. He said (inadvertently paraphrasing Hamlet): "There is no good or bad. There is only what people think."<br /><br />The theme is "What is good and evil?".<br /><br />It's a story where the "Church" are the enemy and the main characters hold an "evil" power. So what *is* evil, really?Ryan Sullivanhttp://thedarkcornerofthemind.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481366597096394318.post-43196489786554953712011-03-27T20:20:00.945-06:002011-03-27T20:20:00.945-06:00Wow; I'd never thought about it that way. Tha...Wow; I'd never thought about it that way. Thank you!Julie Bihnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16694252260205949341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481366597096394318.post-11883350763933025812011-03-27T17:21:11.873-06:002011-03-27T17:21:11.873-06:00That was interesting, thanks.That was interesting, thanks.CMSmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13623922567796370246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481366597096394318.post-82068700798416222132011-03-27T13:23:34.958-06:002011-03-27T13:23:34.958-06:00Glad I could help. Theme has always been the piece...Glad I could help. Theme has always been the piece I shunned because I could never wrap my hands around it with any confidence. That's changed now and I'm delighted to share it.Suzie Quinthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03111067679903509683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481366597096394318.post-77976120712360806002011-03-27T10:27:36.144-06:002011-03-27T10:27:36.144-06:00This is a wonderful post, Suzie - thanks so much! ...This is a wonderful post, Suzie - thanks so much! I've been struggling with this task; one teacher recently urged me to "identify the central thematic core" of my work, which felt quite overwhelming. Your post takes something I'd viewed as challenging and makes it sound like a fun experiment. Many thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com