Sara Schaff is the author of two short story collections The Invention of Love and Say Something Nice About Me. She is a CLMP Firecracker Award Finalist in fiction and a finalist for the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award for short fiction. Her writing has appeared in Catapult, Kenyon Review Online, Yale Review Online, The Belladonna, Michigan Quarterly Review, LitHub, and others. 

A graduate of Brown University and the MFA program at the University of Michigan, Sara has taught at Oberlin College, the University of Michigan, and St. Lawrence University, as well as in China, Colombia, and Northern Ireland, where she also studied storytelling. She lives in the North Country and is an assistant professor of English at the SUNY Plattsburgh.

In this episode Sara and I discuss:

• How approaching her characters emotions more authentically created a significant change in her writing style.
• What a writer can do to best bring a reader into the story, and help a reader fully get to know their characters.
• Why feedback from other writers isn’t always helpful if it relies too much on suggestions for fixes and harsh criticisms, and not enough on building community.

Plus, their #1 tip for writers.

About the Author

Sara Schaff is the author of the story collections The Invention of Love (Split Lip Press 2020) and Say Something Nice About Me (Augury Books 2016), a CLMP Firecracker Award Finalist in fiction and a 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist for short fiction. Her writing has appeared in Catapult, Kenyon Review Online, Yale Review Online, The Belladonna, Michigan Quarterly Review, LitHub, and elsewhere. 

A graduate of Brown University and the MFA program at the University of Michigan, Sara has taught at Oberlin College, the University of Michigan, and St. Lawrence University, as well as in China, Colombia, and Northern Ireland, where she also studied storytelling. Sara lives in the North Country of New York State with her husband, the poet Benjamin Landry, and their daughter. She is an assistant professor of English at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.

You can find out more about Sara on her website. You can also follow her on Goodreads, Instagram and Twitter.

The Invention of Love

The stories in The Invention of Love are about, among other things, women taking control of their lives, even as they fall apart. What is love, if not an invention—not just a human instinct but an artful construction? The women who people The Invention of Love, Sara Schaff’s second story collection, long to conceive of themselves  as artists, as lovers, as good sisters and daughters—while contending  with financial insecurity and the reality of twenty-first century womanhood. A college student finds her voice as an artist through a tiny lie. A woman grieves her mother’s death by shopping for houses she can’t afford and will never live in. Against the backdrop of the 2016  election, a copywriter contends with misogyny in the workplace by using that very misogyny against her incompetent male boss. Nostalgic for the women they were or might have been—or still might yet become—their stories illuminate the moments where everything changes—even when what  changes is how we must see our futures.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 333

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio or Google Play and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 333: Unpacking the Short Story Workshop – Interview with Sara Schaff appeared first on DIY MFA.

Yes, that may be a loaded question. But as a writer, you have good reason to remember it while crafting your protagonist. Your character’s motivations often evolve into her goal for the story, which then determines the direction of the plot. But did you know that the protagonist’s motivations also indicate some of the story’s literary themes?

Think of it as a chain reaction. Once you decide the protagonist’s motivations, you’ll know what she wants to achieve by The End. You’ll also discover which strengths and weaknesses will help or harm her on her journey, how her motivations will inform her decisions, the obstacles she’ll face, and what’s at stake. And once you’ve figured out those elements and begun writing, the story’s themes will naturally emerge. In other words, once you know the protagonist’s motivations, the rest of the story’s thematic pieces will fall into place.

Sounds daunting, right? Don’t worry. In this edition of Theme: A Story’s Soul, we’ll go over four steps that can help you ensure your protagonist’s motivations will influence the story’s themes.

Step #1: Decide What Your Protagonist Wants and Why

A protagonist’s motivations are twofold: what and why. The what is the desire that the character longs for at the story’s beginning. Typically this desire is tangible and relatable, which will persuade the reader to believe the protagonist can achieve it and to connect with her on an emotional level.

The why unearths the meaning behind this desire. It digs into the character’s backstory and psyche to reveal the need that’s driving her want. (You can use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to help you determine where your character’s motivations fall.) For example, a teenage boy may want to find new friends because his family moved to a new town, and he craves knowing he belongs somewhere. Or the heroine may want to trust a new romantic partner after being abused by another man, and she believes she deserves a healthy, loving relationship.

This layered approach to character motivations isn’t new to literature. Choose any book from your collection, and you’ll find what the protagonist wants and why they want it. Here are three different examples from books on my shelves:

• J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Harry wants to feel like he belongs somewhere. He’s been raised by his uncaring relatives ever since his parents were killed, so he doesn’t know what it’s like to have a loving family.
• Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward: Spensa wants to attend flight school and become a starfighter pilot, just like her father. It’s been her dream since she was little; and even though her father was branded a coward for deserting his team during his final mission, she’s determined to not let anyone stand in her way.
• Cormac McCarthy’s The Road: The unnamed father wants to ensure his son’s survival. With winter on the way in their post-apocalyptic world and few trustworthy people out there, he feels compelled to do everything he can so his child can live.

So as you explore your protagonist’s motivations, take some time to answer these questions:

1. What does the protagonist want?
2. Is this motivation tangible or achievable, given the character’s circumstances and/or the story world? Why or why not?
3. Is this motivation relatable? Will the reader understand and/or sympathize with the protagonist because of this motivation? Why or why not?
4. Why does the protagonist want this goal? What need is driving this yet-to-be-fulfilled desire?
5. What has transpired in the protagonist’s life and led to the lack of fulfillment of this need?

A person’s desires and needs aren’t cut-and-dried. Rather, they’re complex because of that person’s unique blend of values, dreams, attitude, and personal history. So by considering your protagonist’s motivation in layers, you’ll ensure their motivation is as complicated as that of any human being—and make your character seem even more real.

Step #2: Awaken or Threaten This Want with the Inciting Incident

The key to tying the story to the protagonist’s motivations begins with the inciting incident. This first major plot point, which happens during the first couple of chapters, draws the character into the main conflict through a single life-changing moment. So if this scene is going to shake up the character’s world and send her on a (figurative or literal) journey, why not shape that scene so that it plays upon—or preys upon—her motivations?

An inciting incident typically impacts the protagonist’s motivations in one of two ways:

1. It Awakens: The protagonist is aware of her goal or desire but hasn’t actively pursued it. Thus, the inciting incident entices the protagonist through an event that introduces the main conflict and increases the protagonist’s awareness of her motivations by giving her a taste of its fulfillment.
2. It Threatens: The protagonist is pursuing her goal/desire or appears to have already fulfilled it. Thus, the inciting incident acts as a threat to the protagonist through an event that introduces the main conflict and attempts to remove what the character holds dear from her life, compelling her to react so she can protect the people or ideals she loves or has been striving for.

To determine which direction your inciting incident should take, ask yourself, “How do I want the reader to feel when the inciting incident scene is over?” The awakening approach works best when the character’s circumstances are already less than ideal. That way, the inciting incident can offer a glimmer of hope, which can make the reader excited about the protagonist’s life changing for the better. 

The threat approach, however, can be effective no matter how promising or terrible the protagonist’s circumstances are. If the reader has connected with the character even in a small way when the inciting incident occurs, the reader will feel worried or concerned about whether the protagonist can save what she cares about. Which emotional response would fit your story best?

Let’s see how the inciting incidents in our three examples awaken or threaten each protagonist’s motivations:

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: At the zoo, Harry is talking to a boa constrictor when his cousin, Dudley, and his friend push Harry out of the way. Harry then unknowingly uses magic to release the snake from its glass enclosure and set it after Dudley. This begins a chain of events that sends Harry to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the first place where he feels like he belongs.
• Skyward: On the last day of school, Spensa’s teacher tries to convince Spensa to skip the pilot’s test, implying that she would automatically fail per the flight school admiral’s orders. Later, a disheartened Spensa finds an abandoned starfighter in a nearby cavern. This discovery reignites Spensa’s desire to fulfill her dream, and she resolves to take the pilot’s test no matter what.
• The Road: The father’s motivation is clear from the beginning. His every thought and action revolves around keeping his son alive, including carrying a pistol for protection—which he uses when a stranger tries to abduct his son.

Step #3: Use the Protagonist’s Motivations to Influence Her Choices

Once the inciting incident occurs, the protagonist becomes more aware of her motivations than ever. She may not fully understand how high the stakes are yet, but she knows what’s important to her. She also knows she may have to make difficult decisions to make her goal a reality or to protect what she cares about. So as the story continues and the protagonist is forced to make those tough choices, she’ll fall back on her motivations and let them guide her decisions and actions, for better or worse.

At this point, you’ve already done most of the hard work. In Step #1, you determined your character’s motivations so you could craft an inciting incident that aligns with her goals or desires (or threatens to take them away) in Step #2. Now, for Step #3, keep the protagonist’s motivations in mind as you write each plot point. When it’s time for your character to make a new decision or take action, use these questions to ensure her next move is consistent with what she wants:

1. Which option aligns most with the protagonist’s motivations? If the decision is a choice between “the lesser of two evils,” which option does the character see as being in her best interest? 
2. How does the protagonist feel right now? How does her emotional state help or hinder her decision-making abilities?
3. How do the protagonist’s decision and its outcome raise the stakes even higher?

Will your protagonist always make the right decisions? Of course not. Sometimes emotions will cloud her judgment. Other times, the outcome will turn out differently (and adversely so) than she hoped. But through it all, her motivations should remain consistent throughout the story, and her decisions should hold true to those motivations. And by ensuring that her choices grow more challenging and the costs even higher, you’ll prove to the reader how much the sources of the protagonist’s motivations truly mean to her.

What kinds of decisions have our three example characters made since Step #2? Let’s take a look:

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Harry makes several of his decisions as a result of his desire to belong and be loved. He confirms his acceptance at Hogwarts because he wants to be with other children like him who perform magic. Later, he visits the Mirror of Erised to “see” his deceased parents because he misses the family he’s never known.  
• Skyward: Spensa clings to her dream despite the odds against her. After she’s denied entrance to flight school, she is offered a way in by one of the first-year instructors and accepts it. Toward the end, after Spensa is expelled from flight school, she chooses to join the effort to defend the starfighter base against an alien attack—and to learn more about why she can “hear the stars.”
• The Road: One doesn’t have to read too far to find more evidence of the father’s desire to ensure his son’s survival. He shows it during the story’s most pivotal moments as well as in his everyday actions, from providing the boy with food to choosing their shelter for the night. He also demonstrates it when he speaks to his son by offering advice, telling stories, and apologizing for yelling at him.

Step #4: Discover the Themes That Emerge from These Motivations

Notice what happens as you use Step #3 to craft the rest of the story. When each choice the protagonist makes aligns with her motivations, those motivations will remain consistent from beginning to end. And because you designed the main conflict to tie in with what your character wants (see Steps #1 and #2), the source of her motivation will constantly be on her mind as the story plays out.

This repetition is key to nurturing literary themes in a story, and not just from the protagonist’s motivations. That’s why repetition is part of our working definition of “theme.” In order for an idea to become a theme, it needs to be revisited throughout the story in an artful and nuanced way. Allowing your character’s goals and desires—her driving force since Page 1—to influence some of those themes is one of the most salient ways to achieve this repetition.

Review the work you’ve done in Steps #1 through #3. What concepts emerge through the protagonist’s motivations, the inciting incident, and the character’s choices afterward? It’s perfectly fine to list a couple of themes instead of one. As I mentioned earlier, our own motivations are complex, so we can’t expect ourselves to boil down our dreams and goals into one simple idea. Instead, ensure the themes you find align with what your character wants or is fighting for. And if they do, then you’re well on your way to creating a story that will be logically and thematically consistent—and that will make your reader feel endeared to the protagonist and invested in your story.

Below are the themes revealed from each protagonist’s motivations in our three examples. Do you have others to add to this list?

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: friendship, family, home, belonging
• Skyward: courage versus fear, dreams and hopes, coming of age
• The Road: love, mortality, isolation

What are your protagonist’s motivations? How does the story’s inciting incident awaken or threaten them? What themes emerge from the story as a result of those motivations?

Sara Letourneau is a freelance editor and writing coach who lives in Massachusetts. She’s also a poet whose work has appeared in Mass Poetry’s Poem of the Moment, The Aurorean, The Avocet, The Bookends Review, Golden Walkman Magazine, Soul-Lit, and other journals and anthologies. She can often be found performing her poems at local open mic nights, reading good books, roaming the shores of Cape Cod, and enjoying a cup of tea. Learn more about how Sara can help you with your writing at Heart of the Story Editorial & Coaching Services. You can also connect with her at her writer website, Twitter, Goodreads, or Instagram.

The post How Your Protagonist’s Motivations Influence Your Story’s Themes appeared first on DIY MFA.

If you missed our previous posts on this theme, why not read those first? Start with our case study on man and the natural world if you’d like an introduction to the theme. Or check out our recommended reading list of books about man and the natural world or our five reasons for why this theme matters. Otherwise, let’s get writing!

Make the Setting Integral to the Plot

Setting is already one of your story’s central elements. So when man and the natural world is one of the themes, the setting becomes an even bigger player in the game–so big, in fact, that it can influence the plot.

Think of stories you’ve read where the plot relies on the setting. How do the unique natural elements of the setting make the story’s events possible? In Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, for example, Mary’s transformation from sickly and selfish to healthy and caring happens as a result of her nurturing her uncle’s abandoned garden back to life. The friendships she develops with the other residents of Misselthwaite Manor contribute to this as well. But how would the story change if Mary was sent to live in a downtown orphanage that had no garden? The theme of man and the natural world would probably disappear—and the plot of this classic children’s tale would be drastically different.

So as you determine how the setting influences the plot, consider the following six keys to connecting these two building blocks of storytelling:

1. Location: Where does the story take place? Ensure you think about the macro (country, state, town / city) and micro (neighborhoods, buildings, landmarks) elements of the location.
2. Time: When does the story take place? Consider the time period, season, and (for certain scenes) the time of day. Whether it’s daytime or nighttime can significantly impact how a scene plays out.
3. Natural Elements: What are some of the unique natural elements (e.g., topography, climate, bodies of water, weather conditions, wildlife) of this location at this time?
4. Goals: What is the character’s goal in this story? What conflict is he trying to resolve?
5. Connection: How does the character’s story goal or main conflict connect with the setting? In other words, how do the setting and its unique natural elements make the story possible?
6. Impact: How do the natural elements of the setting affect or influence the character’s ability to achieve his story goal or resolve the main conflict?

If you’re unsure of how to answer the final question, stay tuned for more insights and a related exercise in the next section.

Exercise #1

Choose a setting with natural elements that could play a big role in a story, and write down your answers to the six questions listed above. (This setting can be one you’ve written about before or one that’s brand new.) Then write a scene or short story in which the character’s story-goal pursuit or the main conflict relies on this setting and its natural elements. 

How does the natural world make the character’s struggles or the scene’s events possible? How would the scene / story change—or be rendered impossible—if it occurred in a setting with different natural elements?

Also, check out the writing exercises in our post on using setting to illustrate literary themes.

“Characterize” Nature as Your Character’s Friend or Foe

No story ever goes smoothly for the protagonist. Between the beginning and the end, she’ll run into complications and setbacks as she struggles to reach her goal or resolve the main conflict. And in stories where man and the natural world is a central theme, these complications include natural obstacles that hinder the character’s progress or threaten the safety of herself and others. In this way, nature acts as one of the story’s antagonists. It may not be a human character whose motives and actions oppose the protagonist’s, but the power it holds over the protagonist through changing weather, expected seasonal conditions, and natural disasters can just as easily throw her off course. 

It’s also important to consider how the natural world can help the protagonist. Sometimes it’s more like a friend or ally and assists the character through shelter, sources of food or water, and signals of danger. Elements like these can give the protagonist a sense of hope, relief, joy, and other positive emotions that can, among other things, rekindle their commitment to their story goal. They must also be carefully chosen based on what occurs or is available in the story’s setting.

If you need some examples on how nature can antagonist or assist your character, here are two excellent ones:

• Rae Carson’s Walk on Earth a Stranger: Leah Westfall rides in a covered wagon across the American plains and Rocky Mountains to reach the gold mines of California. Along the way, she braves whitewater rapids, a buffalo stampede, oppressive heat, and other natural elements that act as obstacles to her journey and overall safety. She also witnesses the beauty of natural landmarks and acknowledges her gratitude for off-road hiding spots and other ways that nature protects her.
• Andy Weir’s The Martian: After being left behind on the planet Mars, astronaut Mark Watney must find a way to survive until a rescue mission arrives. The planet’s harsh environment—marked by dust storms, frigid temperatures, dangerous terrain, and lack of oxygen—makes this the biggest challenge of his life. But thanks to his engineering ingenuity, Mark figures out how to grow a crop of potatoes inside his laboratory using technology, Martian soil, and (*ahem*) human waste, which stretches his food supply and increases his odds of living long enough to come home.

Exercise #2A

Create a two-column table on paper or in a word processing document. Label the columns “Antagonize” and “Assist.” Then, in each column, list the ways in which the story’s setting and its natural elements either antagonize or assist the protagonist as she works toward achieving her goal or resolving the main conflict. Don’t worry if you fill one column with more ideas than the other, but make sure you consider how the natural world can both hinder and help the protagonist in her efforts.

Exercise #2B

Return to the scene or short story you wrote for Exercise #1, and write two new scenes: one where the setting and its natural elements antagonize the protagonist, and one where they assist her. Or, if you’re up for a challenge, write a single scene where the natural world does both for the character. How does your character react to these events? How do they complicate or aid her progress? How does it all make her feel? Is it even possible for nature to be both friend and foe in your story? If so, what does the protagonist think about this duality?

Infuse Your Descriptions of Nature with the Character’s Mood

Stories about man and the natural world never skim the setting’s surface. The natural elements must be carefully considered and described appropriately. This doesn’t mean you need to write about every leaf, insect, or drop of water. Rather, focus first on the elements that the character would notice and that best serve the scene, and then phrase those descriptions based on how the character thinks, feels, or reacts at that moment.

Put yourself in your character’s shoes and imagine he’s in a natural setting. What kind of environment is he in? What time of day is it? What’s the weather like? What kinds of wildlife (flora, fauna, etc.) does the character notice? What other unique elements of that setting does he make note of? Then consider the character’s circumstances and emotions at that moment. What just happened or is currently happening in the story? What thoughts or emotions is the character experiencing as a result? How do the setting’s natural elements and current conditions exacerbate his situation and feelings? Or how do they make things more bearable for him?

Remember that the key here is to illustrate the character’s relationship with nature. This is why it’s crucial to frame the description according to his observations, circumstances, and attitude at that moment. Depending on what’s happening, the character might not pay much attention to the dry grass or the chirping of crickets, but he may be exhausted enough to notice the heat and lack of shade. Or maybe he’ll be so distracted by the beauty of the moon that he doesn’t realize how much the temperatures have dropped. By inhabiting your character fully in each scene, you’ll ensure your descriptions of nature are accurate, imaginative, and meaningful.

Exercise #3

Review the last scene you wrote for your story, and notice your character’s state of mind at the end. Then, imagine your character going outside immediately after this scene ends and into the closest natural environment. What is that environment like? How does that environment affect the character’s mood? Or how does the character’s mood influence what he notices about the natural setting? List various scenarios such as daytime versus nighttime, heat versus cold, rain versus sunshine, etc. and determine how the character’s reaction changes in each one. If the story’s next scene were to occur outdoors, which scenario would be most impactful? Why?

Use the Story’s Events to Demonstrate Humanity’s Impact on Nature

We’ve likely read stories where trees are cut down, animals are forced to leave their homes, and pollution dirties the water and air. These and other moments are meant to remind readers of the havoc humanity can wreak on the natural world and the potential consequences if no one takes action to stop it. This also creates the reverse scenario of Exercises #2A and #2B above. Instead of nature acting as an antagonist to a human character, this time the character is antagonizing nature.

When taking this approach to the theme, first consider why the destruction is happening. For example, if characters are razing a forest, what are their reasons for doing so? Do they want the land for farming or development for homes and businesses? Do they need wood and other natural resources for their use or consumption? Are they driving out inhabitants such as birds, animals, and people—or using them to further their goals?

Next, ponder the consequences of this devastation. How would the natural elements of this setting change forever if the antagonist’s plans are carried out to completion? Think about how the terrain, wildlife, climate, and other aspects of nature would be impacted. How would these changes affect the characters living and working there? (Food and water supply, weather conditions, options for shade or cover, and nature’s aesthetic qualities are just some of the things to consider here.) Maybe even the worst-case scenario has already become reality. Jay Kristoff’s Stormdancer is a harrowing example of characters living—and dying—in a country where deforestation and pollution due to industrialization have led to climate change, famine, and disease, among other problems. 

This angle on the theme doesn’t have to be all “gloom and doom,” though. In most cases, one of the characters—your protagonist, for instance—may be determined to fight back or counter the damage that’s been done. If so, then ask yourself why this character cares so much about the world she lives in. What is she willing to do to save what’s left of it? Most importantly, what steps will she take (perhaps with help) to achieve her goal? Once you’ve brainstormed this as well as the reasons for and consequences of the destruction of the natural setting, you’ll have in place the first puzzle pieces for an exciting and emotionally charged story.

Exercise #4

Brainstorm the ways in which the natural world of your story’s setting could be impacted by your characters. If it helps, create a table that lists different “man-made” scenarios, possible reasons for each one occurring, and its impacts on the environment and the characters. Where does your protagonist fit into the picture on any of these scenarios? Would she be assisting with the destruction? Or fighting to stop it? Make note of her motivations for engaging in either side, then write a scene or short story in which the character witnesses or participates in the devastation. What does she or other characters try to do to save the story’s setting?

How have you explored man and the natural world in your own stories? What other writing prompts or exercises would you recommend to nurture this theme?

Sara Letourneau is a freelance editor and writing coach who lives in Massachusetts. She’s also a poet whose work has appeared in Mass Poetry’s Poem of the Moment, The Aurorean, The Avocet, The Bookends Review, Golden Walkman Magazine, Soul-Lit, and other journals and anthologies. She can often be found performing her poems at local open mic nights, reading good books, roaming the shores of Cape Cod, and enjoying a cup of tea. Learn more about how Sara can help you with your writing at Heart of the Story Editorial & Coaching Services. You can also connect with her at her writer website, Twitter, Goodreads, or Instagram.

The post Writing Exercises for Exploring the Theme of Man and the Natural World appeared first on DIY MFA.

Maybe this has happened to you, too. The funny thing is, this ties in directly with today’s Theme: A Story’s Soul post. These individuals, perhaps without knowing it, were asking me about the literary themes I explore in my poetry.

So let’s dive deep in your poetry and see what themes we can find there. Before we get started, though, make sure you check out our previous Theme: A Story’s Soul post on identifying literary themes in the poetry we read.

Three Questions to Ask When Identifying Themes in Your Poems

Sometimes you might be aware of the themes you bring into your poetry. Other times you might be so absorbed in the act of creation that theme (or, rather, the less obvious themes) is an afterthought, at least until you’ve had a chance to process what you’ve written. Regardless, it’s good to know not just what your poems are about, but what they’re really about. This means starting with these three sets of questions, which start at a poem’s surface level and then mine deeper:

1.  What?: What is the poem about? What explicit themes does this piece touch on?
2. How?: What is the poem’s overall tone? How did the feelings you were experiencing while writing this piece influence its themes?
3. Why?: Why did you write the poem? What implicit (or less obvious) themes do these reasons, as well as the tone, usher into the poem?

Do these questions sound familiar? If you read our post on themes in the poetry we read, then you’re correct. This list is a variation on the previous one. This time, we’ve reframed the questions so they’re better suited for writing instead of reading. (The only difference is we eliminated the question about mood, or the feelings a reader experiences during a poem.)

On the Surface: What Are Your Poems About?

When we explain what a poem is about or what inspired it, we’re also revealing that poem’s explicit themes. These are the most obvious themes that readers will find the first time they read the poem. To identify your poem’s explicit themes, start with its topics – the facts that answer the “What” question – and look them from a broader perspective. If it helps, think of topic as a means for illustrating those larger concepts we recognize as themes. Or you can ask the question, “What ideas do my poem’s topics represent?”

Not sure how you’d do this with your poems? Let me share the “what” of three of my own and those themes to get you started:

• “Elegy”: This poem, which I wrote after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, is a tribute to the Back Bay / Copley Square neighborhood of Boston, where the bombings took place. It’s also a response to the terrorist attack, alluding to the injuries and trauma that people suffered that day as well as the horror and heartsickness I felt in response. Thus, the poem’s explicit themes are place, violence, and sadness.
• “Gifts”: This single-stanza meditation is centered around my almost stepping on a turkey feather and then, rather than taking it home with me, “giving it back” to the ground. It’s also framed by the idea of the possessions we keep and the gifts we’re meant to have for only a short time. So in this case, the explicit themes are man and the natural world and selfishness versus selflessness.
• “Origin Story”: Another place-themed poem, “Origin Story” is a brief history in verse of how the iconic geography of Cape Cod, Massachusetts was formed by glaciers thousands of years ago. In this way, man and the natural world is also one of its themes, in an unexpected way: The poem describes the peninsula’s formation as if it’s a human being born.

Going Deeper: Why Did You Write Each Poem? How Did You Feel?

Once you’ve identified your poem’s explicit themes, it’s time to delve into the implicit themes. This is where the “why” and “how” of the poem’s crafting come into play, and for good reason: Your reasons for writing a poem, as well as the approach you take when writing it, will allow other themes to emerge. The words and images you use to convey your thoughts and emotions – which, in turn, will influence the poem’s tone – will offer subtle hints of these other concepts that might not otherwise be captured when you share the poem’s topics.

Here are the “why” and “how” for each of my sample poems, as well as how they helped to introduce additional themes:

• “Elegy”: As I mentioned earlier, part of what inspired me to write “Elegy” was my reaction to the Boston Marathon bombings. I wasn’t there that day; nor did I know anyone who was. But as someone who’s sensitive to other people’s emotions, I imagined myself there at the site of the bombings and became quite emotional. As a result, many of my word choices in “Elegy” reflect the idea of empathy, or the act to experiencing someone else’s feelings or pain as your own.
• “Gifts”: Why did I write “Gifts”? Partly because I had surprised myself by returning the feather to the ground instead of taking it home, and partly because I was thankful for the experience it “gifted” to me. So as I wrote the poem, I ensured my word choices reflected gratitude and, to a degree, spirituality. Sometimes we find small blessings in unexpected places, just as I did with the turkey feather.
•  “Origin Story”: Because the poem talks about Cape Cod’s geological “birth,” I carefully selected my words in “Origin Story” to highlight the personification of the Cape and the concepts of birth and new beginnings. (One of my friends told me this poem reminds him of superhero origin stories.) Thus, life and existence, with a focus on creation, emerges as a theme. So does time, with its references to patience, the future, and the amount of time it takes for landscapes to be created. And, thanks to the expectant and celebratory tone, so does hope. 

Why Is It Important to Know Themes in Your Poetry?

As you identify the themes in your poems, you might find that several themes repeat across your work. This is normal – in fact, every poet should have recurring themes they explore. When I review my current repertoire, I notice several recurring themes, like man and the natural world, spirituality, wonder and amazement, and exploration, among others. I also notice other themes that appear less often, thanks to each poem’s distinct tone or topics. But I don’t see the recurring themes as a weakness. Rather, I see them as part of my identity as a poet.

The same goes for all poets. You’ll revisit certain themes in your work, most likely because those themes matter to you. They’ll stem from your passions, hobbies, research subjects, ideals and values, personal experiences, and other sources of inspiration. In that regard, your poems are aesthetic extensions of you – and all writers, not just poets, have every right to embrace their identities and write about what’s important to them.

Which leads to one last question: “Why is it important for us to know our poetry’s themes?”

Well, knowing your themes allows you to target appropriate journals, poetry publishers, or themed anthologies that might be a good fit for your work. It also helps you find the right open mic nights, poetry readings, and other venues where you can perform your poems and thus promote your writing to a wider audience. Finally, this knowledge can guide you as you build your own poetry manuscript and determine which poems belong thematically speaking.

In short, knowing your poetry’s themes can help you craft your identity as a poet and find the right audience for your work. It explains why critics and readers alike view Mary Oliver as one of the beloved nature poets of her time, Dorianne Laux as “a compassionate witness to the everyday” with a focus on working-class America, and Natasha Trethewey as a much-needed storyteller who intertwines the historical and the personal. Each poet’s identity is unmistakable, partly because of the unique web of themes each poet addresses – and clearly feels passionate about – in their work.

Remember this as you write new poems and review the themes you explore in them. And don’t ever worry that revisiting the same themes makes your poetry repetitive or boring. After all, they’re part of who you are, as a poet and as a person – and no matter what your web of themes looks like, it will resonate with readers who need to read what you have to say.

What are some of the themes you address in your poetry? Do you intentionally write poems on these subjects? Or do you typically discover the themes after you write? Feel free to share examples of what some of your poems are about and why you wrote them.

Sara Letourneau is a freelance editor and writing coach based in Massachusetts. She’s currently taking clients with manuscripts in speculative fiction, literary fiction, or YA, though she’s open to other genres as well. She’s also a poet whose work has appeared in Amethyst Review, Canary, Muddy River Poetry Review, Soul-Lit, and elsewhere. A Massachusetts resident, she can often be found performing her poems at local open mic nights, reading good books, and enjoying a cup of tea. Learn more about how Sara can help you with your writing at Heart of the Story Editorial & Coaching Services. You can also connect with her at her writer website, Twitter, Goodreads, or Instagram.

The post Identifying Themes in Our Poems appeared first on DIY MFA.

Oh, the throes and woes of adolescent love. The fact that it’s such a relatable experience is one of the reasons why teen romance is one most popular fiction categories in the book industry. On March 22, I listened to five New York Times bestselling YA authors speak at a NYC Teen Author Festival panel about the importance of authenticity and “stripping away layers” – as panelist Lauren Myracle put it – when writing about teenagers in love.

Conveying Emotions

Author Stephen Chbosky said he was 26 years old when he started writing his first book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower – young enough to not have any sort of plan or specific approach to writing it. The book is set in the early 1990s and follows an adolescent boy, Charlie, who grapples with how to express and make sense of his feelings for his first real crush, a girl named Sam.

“It took a few months [of writing] for me to go back to that place in my heart,” said Chbosky, who is almost done with his second novel. “A crush is not this cute thing. It’s beautiful, obsessive.”

Fangirland Eleanor & Park author Rainbow Rowell said she thinks the experience of a first love is especially unique, and that studies have shown that first love has similar effects as drugs, unlike adult relationships.

“If you marry someone, you fall in and out of love three or four times,” Rowell said. “To sustain a relationship, you constantly die off and are reborn. There’s drama in that as well.”

However, David Levithan, the panel facilitator and author of Boy Meets Boy, added that short-term love can also have similar fluctuations in emotional connectivity.

Very few of his characters were in relationships before the books. While writing about the process of falling in love is exciting, Levithan said he’d like to explore more with having two characters maintain a relationship.

Developing Well-Rounded Characters

It’s easy to pick out novels that feature the typical Mary Sues and/or Gary Stus, characters who fit inside perfectly cut-out boxes and seem to magically find each other by chance before developing feelings based on very few meaningful interactions (e.g. Edward and Bella).

So, how does one avoid clichés? Levithan asked.

Rowell said there is no way to avoid them, but that’s not necessarily a disadvantage. Certain clichés very well may be what makes reading about relationships so satisfying.

“We all fall in love, but we do it in our own way,” Rowell said. “The things in a love story are in every love story.”

For Gayle Forman, author of the Just One Day series, a writer doesn’t have to spell everything out for the audience to feel the characters’ emotions and understand what they’re going through. An effective love story isn’t rushed, but brings readers along for the ride.

“In my next book, the guy’s transformation is so clear in my head,” Forman said. “I don’t want to make it a real ‘he-said, she-said.’ It’s more interesting to make things left unsaid or in silence. [There’s an] untold story – if I’ve done my job right, you’ll pick up on it.”

Both Rowell and Forman said they don’t sit down with the intent of writing a teen romance. Rather, it’s how the characters interact with each other and are shaped by their emotions that ultimately drives their stories.

Levithan also asked the panelists how they create characters that are well-rounded and stories that show both sides of the relationship.

“The way I do it is by falling in love with all of them [the characters],” Rowell said. “I just really invest and invest and invest in those feelings. My husband gets jealous all the time. Levi in Fangirl – he was so sick of hearing about him. I just try to get inside of them and love them.”

Chbosky said a successful love story maintains balance between a strong point of view and an appreciation for all the characters.

For her book The Infinite Moment of Us, author Lauren Myracle said she asked her guy friends to share their insight in order to figure out what the experience of her male character, Charlie, should be like.

“We always hear that guys are more visual than girls,” said Myracle, who celebrated the 10^th anniversary of her YA novel, Ttyl, in April. “I had to make sure not to have Charlie use words like ‘fabulous’ or ‘lovely.’”

The “S” Word

When I was in eighth grade, several kids in my class teased me at lunch because I didn’t know the difference between “condo” and “condom.” According to the panelists, YA love stories need to show that sex is that awkward – especially when you’re a teenager – and it’s imperative for teen romance stories to capture that reality.

“My characters don’t have sex, but they think about sex and they’re lustful and they want each other,” Rowell said. “When I was a teen, I didn’t know anything about sex or how my body worked. [I’d wonder,] ‘Is this thing that’s happening to me only happening to me?’”

Stigmatizing messages lead many people to believe that sex is scary and wrong. But if two characters end up having a positive sex experience, Rowell said, then that’s how it should be.

Forman agreed, adding that sex shouldn’t always be portrayed as a taboo experience that leads to a negative consequence such as pregnancy.

Teen love isn’t just about the quickened vital signs and starry eyes. There’s a lot of angst and confusion and the potential pain of losing something that once seemed so sacred. The panelists said it’s necessary to provide some emotional context to sex.

“It’s important to talk about real sexuality,” Chbosky said. “The very dark secrets kids keep and haunt them and continue to haunt them. I don’t know if there is a line. There’s only the truth. We’re trying to write as honestly as we can. A little conversation goes a long way.”

Chbosky shed some positive light on the direction that YA romance novels are going in the future, saying that how writers are portraying teen love these days is powerful.

He said, addressing Levithan, “I love that the love story has gone from Patrick and Charlie [from The Perks of Being a Wallflower to your book [Will Grayson, Will Grayson].”

…..

 Wendy Lu is the print co-editor for The Durham VOICE and the managing editor of UNC’s Blue & White Magazine. She is also a former publishing intern at Sleepy Hollow Books and a NaNoWriMo 2008 winner. Her work has appeared in The Daily Tar Heel, Raleigh Public Record and Chapel Hill Magazine’s The WEEKLY. Learn more about Wendy’s work at https://wendyluwrites.com.

The post Redefining Teen Romance: On Writing Sex, Love and Emotions appeared first on DIY MFA.