Let’s first take a moment to understand what a literary theme is and why it is important. 

Literary themes are the main idea you want to explore through your story. It can be a message you want to deliver through your work or the exploration of a certain part of human society. Recall some of the best novels, movies, or TV shows you have ever watched. They must have had a literary theme or a message they conveyed.

Doing this is important because you want your novel to be relatable. We, as human beings, tend to look for things that resonate with us. Literary themes and the characters exploring it can make your readers feel closer to your story. It also makes just a random bunch of events into something heartwarming. But have you ever wondered which of the multiple themes you see out there can work best with speculative fiction and how? Read on to find out!

Good Versus Evil

The quintessential fight between good versus evil has captured readers’ attention for a long time. Whether you first came across it in some religious scripture or found it in a novel, like the Harry Potter series, this theme speaks to the masses. And for a good reason. The theme is about the protagonist going against an antagonist. This antagonist can be an individual, a society, or even a supernatural force. A good versus evil theme lends itself well for speculative fiction by creating tension in a unique world setting, and can even help unravel mysteries about the world, characters, or their species. This theme can also help bring the protagonist’s internal conflict to the forefront without overshadowing your unique world building.

Love and Friendship

Often a powerful theme, and the most universally understood. After all, everyone, at one point in their life, has craved for an epic love or a beautiful friendship. Maybe even both. The theme works well because it has so much potential, from exploring toxic relationships to describing heart-wrenching sacrifices. For speculative fiction, this theme can work as an extra layer to your already extraordinary ‘what if’ question. If the stakes are high in your novel, you can sprinkle in the chosen flavor of your love and friendship theme: forbidden love, unrequited love, familial love, betrayal, or friendship. If your protagonist is going on a journey to an unexplored world, but has someone to return to, or finds someone along the way, it makes the story more impactful.

Revenge and Redemption

The tension is always high when revenge comes into play. Often, you find revenge themes in the classic superhero stories. How you play it out will determine how the story is perceived by the readers. I, personally, enjoy writing the revenge theme. The first novel-length story, House of Cards, I put out into the world without a pen name, was centered on it. It explored the cost of human life and how much you can stretch morality without tipping over to the darkside. Doesn’t that sound fun? Redemption is a whole other story (no pun intended). It is hope. Finding the error of your ways. Speculative fiction can do wonders with a redemption theme. Rather than turning the mood all gloomy, your novel can be the sunshine of hope.

Courage and Perseverance

This is not just something seen in literature, but also in real life. When faced with adversity, people fight against it and come out the other side as victors. The odds might not be in their favor, but that is what makes the story nail-biting good! Protagonists in speculative fiction often have to show courage and perseverance to reach their goals. After all, the unique world is often just as new to them as it is to the readers. Even if it is not, the ‘what if’ question can test them to their limits. This might, after all, be a good match to your novel. 

Remember, you can always mix and match your themes. As long as the central idea resonates with your readers, they will remember what they read for a long time.

Which theme are you going to pick next? I can’t wait to read in the comments. Until next time!

Disha Walia is a lifelong storyteller and an enthusiastic writer and editor in love with the idea of exploring the creative world of words. While making her space in the world of non-fiction and fiction alike, Disha loves to spend even her free time daydreaming about what next to write. Connect with her on www.quillinary.com. You can also follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

The post How Literary Themes Can Make Your Novels Better appeared first on DIY MFA.

The catch, of course? Developing that list of questions can be HARD. Even if you’ve worked on your book for years and know it inside out, you may wonder which ideas or questions will prompt deep and insightful conversation among readers . . . or where to even start with making your list.

But here’s the good news. You already have an excellent place to start: your book’s literary themes.

Yes, knowing your book’s big ideas is key to creating a fantastic list of thought-provoking questions. Don’t worry if you haven’t thought about the themes before, though. In this post, we’ll offer suggestions on which storytelling elements (a.k.a. sources) to review and what questions you can ask yourself so you can identify the themes and figure out what, in your opinion, is most important for your audience to talk about.

Review Your Book’s Plot or Structure

With fiction books and some memoirs, the plot can be a treasure trove of discussion question possibilities. The big events that move the story forward are often the juiciest ones to analyze, especially if the protagonist’s choices or actions cause those events to happen. But sometimes, other plot points that seem less significant are just as noteworthy because of the themes they unearth. Chances are those themes will be the same ones that are explored in the more major events.

How you tackle your review of the plot for discussion question ideas is up to you. You can start with the main plot points, such as the inciting incident, the end of Act I, or the dark night of the soul. Or you can focus on your favorite moments of the story, including game-changing revelations or meaningful exchanges of dialogue or interactions between characters. However you approach this process, use the suggestions below to brainstorm potential discussion questions based on the plot (thought don’t feel obligated to create a question for each of these):

• How is this event significant or meaningful to the overall story? What theme(s) is demonstrated in this event?
• What do the protagonist, the antagonist (if one exists), and supporting characters do during this event? How does this tie into the theme(s) explored?
• What scene(s) may draw conflicting opinions from readers? Could readers have different thoughts on the theme(s) emerging from this event?
• What events may shock or surprise the reader? If so, how and why? How does this impact the way in which any theme(s) is explored?
• How might the reader be able to relate to certain plot events based on their own experiences with the theme(s) explored?
• What else is interesting or important for the reader to consider regarding this event?

Now, what if you’re writing nonfiction that has a clear structure but no plot, so to speak? (A great example of this is Susan Cain’s Quiet.) Instead of looking for plot events, choose the most salient moments in the book—arguments you make, examples or anecdotes you share, notable facts or quotes from other sources—and see what themes emerge. Then determine which of the above questions you can reframe for your purposes. At the same time, remember that your discussion questions aren’t meant to quiz your audience about the details of your book. Rather, invite them to consider how the information you share impacts them and the world at large, as well as why it’s worth discussing in the first place.

Revisit Your Characters

If there’s one storytelling element that readers LOVE talking about most, it’s the characters they “meet.” We can’t help but gush about who our favorite characters are and why, or share memorable snippets of that character’s dialogue. So why not encourage your readership to talk about your characters by means of your discussion questions?

Just as the plot’s events illustrate your book’s themes, your characters—especially the protagonist—will be moving, breathing examples of those big ideas. Each character’s actions, decisions, motivations, thoughts and speech, and lessons learned don’t just reveal the themes. They influence those overarching concepts from the very beginning. So as you look to your characters for possible discussion questions, ask yourself—or maybe the even the characters themselves—any of the following:

• What is the protagonist’s motivation or goal? What theme(s) does it demonstrate?
• What kind of journey does this character take (externally and internally) during the book? How does the character change between Page One and The End? What theme(s) emerge from this arc?
• How do the protagonist’s relationships with other characters (e.g., love interest, mentors, family members, friends, the antagonist) influence the book’s themes? What about these relationships or interactions is critical for your readers to talk about?
• What attributes, actions, or choices from the protagonist or other major characters could draw conflicting opinions from readers? How could this create an in-depth group discussion, regardless of whether it reflects a specific theme?
• What character revelations may shock or surprise readers? If so, how and why? Do they reflect any of the story’s themes? Regardless, how could this foster an interesting discussion between readers?
• What are the most important pieces of dialogue from the book? Why is each quote significant? What theme(s) does each quote reflect?

Other Storytelling Elements

Plot and characters aren’t the only sources of theme in your book. Nor are they the only seeds that can inspire discussion questions. Other crucial elements can reflect the themes and lead to engaging discussions among your readers. So as you review your book for possible questions, consider what else influences your story’s themes besides the first two elements we covered. Here are a few suggestions:

• Setting: How does the book’s setting (location, time period, etc.) influence the themes? What events, characters, etc. are featured specifically because of the setting? (If you’re writing fiction or nonfiction that’s historical in nature, setting-related questions are a must for your questionnaire.)
• Worldbuilding: If you’re working on speculative fiction, what aspects of the story world (e.g., government/power structures, religion, magic system, culture) influence the story’s themes? How do these aspects play a pivotal role in the story? What will readers remember most about this world when they finish reading your book?
• Symbolism: What objects act as symbols? What theme(s) does each one represent?
• Title: Why did you choose your book’s title? Does it hint at any of the themes?
• Other Repeating Elements: What ideas or elements appear repeatedly throughout the book? Why are they important? Which theme(s) do they influence?

Here’s a great example of repeating elements: When I was editing Julie Jacky’s memoir On the Other Side, one aspect of the book that moved me was how Julie’s journey of healing and forgiveness after childhood sexual abuse was full of mentors, from mindset coaches and therapists to spiritual mediums and even her chiropractor. Sometimes Julie had sought out their help and guidance. Other times, she had serendipitously received what she needed at the time. So when Julie later asked me to develop book club questions for On the Other Side, I included a question about mentors, asking readers to talk about the impact Julie’s mentors had on her and to consider the mentors in their own lives.

Meaningful Questions Lead to Meaningful Discussions

Obviously there’s more to consider than the book’s themes when creating discussion questions. For example, how should you phrase your questions? And how many should you include? No matter what, it’s a good idea to check the books you own (especially ones in the same genre as yours or that explore similar topics and themes) to see how the author or publisher handled their questionnaires. This can help you gauge how long you’d like your list to be and how to write your questions in a way that sparks the reader’s curiosity.

Above all, remember that your goal with discussion questions is to get your audience thinking about your book in deeper ways than a simple reading would. So how many questions you ask and how you word them isn’t as crucial as what you ask your readers to think about. Using the book’s themes to help you craft your questions will help you ensure that they touch on topics or ideas that are meaningful to you and your characters. And by doing this, you’ll increase the chances of nurturing equally meaningful conversations among your readers.

Have you created discussion questions for your book(s)? If you have, how did you develop those questions? If you haven’t, what plot point(s), character(s), etc. would you ask your readers to talk or think about? What themes would they discuss as a result? 

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 Creating Discussion Questions Using Your Book’s Themes 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.

As a result, I’ve read a lot of stories that cover this theme—and I’m always on the lookout for more. Maybe you are too. If that’s the case, you’ll find a number of these books in our previous Theme: A Story’s Soul post on why the theme of man and the natural world is important. But as you can tell from the title of this post, I saved some of those recommendations for today. (*wink*)

Here are five of my favorite stories that involve this literary theme.

The Distance Between Lost and Found by Kathryn Holmes (YA Fiction)

In this thoughtful debut novel by YA author Kathryn Holmes, Hallelujah (a.k.a. Hallie) Calhoun refuses to speak about a traumatic night with the local preacher’s son. Even when she attends a youth group retreat in the Smoky Mountains months later, she endures the taunting and bullying from her peers in silence. During a hike, the humiliation pushes Hallie to her breaking point, and she and two other teens become separated from the rest of the group. Thus, The Distance Between Lost and Found is as much a story of survival in the wilderness as it is a tale of a girl finding the courage to speak up.

The setting is partly what makes Distance’s delving into this theme so rich. Through Hallie’s perspective, the reader experiences some of the dangers of the Smoky Mountains, from the unease of sleeping outdoors without a tent to the terror of a bear encounter. They also witness the beauty Hallie finds in a forest sunrise and the tiny joy she feels when eating dandelions and freshwater fish.

The theme also surfaces outside of Hallie’s time lost in the woods. In the opening scene, Hallie tries to distract herself from her tormentors (who, oddly enough, are throwing twigs at her) by focusing on the campfire and on spiderwebs and a bird’s nest in the gazebo where she’s sitting. And toward the end, when she sees the preacher’s son in the hospital, she imagines she’s “facing that bear all over again” and confronts him about their past. In this way, she finds comfort and strength in her experience with the natural world.

(Learn more about The Distance Between Lost and Found as well as the author’s tips on bringing your story’s setting to life in this episode of the DIY MFA Podcast.)

The Martian by Andy Weir (Science Fiction)

How about an “out of this world” spin on man and the natural world? Andy Weir’s The Martian is a perfect sci-fi choice for this theme. It begins when the Ares 3 mission to Mars is aborted during a dust storm and the crew leaves behind botanist / engineer / astronaut Mark Watney, fearing him dead. Mark, however, is very much alive—but how will he survive with limited food supplies and damaged technology on a planet with a much harsher environment than Earth? That third and final challenge is partly what makes The Martian such a gripping read and an excellent addition to this list of “nature stories.”

During his extended time on Mars, Mark encounters one environmental danger after another. Dust storms, frigid cold, craters, lack of water—and that’s just for starters. But being the resourceful (and wise-cracking) botanist that he is, Mark draws on his knowledge of biology, plant life, and other sciences to improve his chances of survival while he waits to be rescued. For example, he figures out how to grow potatoes inside the Ares 3 habitat using a blend of earth and Martian soil, frozen potatoes, a water-producing system he builds himself, and (ahem) human waste. Yet Mark also knows he can’t hunker down inside the habitat forever. He ensures that each of his trips into the great Martian outdoors has a purpose, and each one reminds him of the planet’s unique beauty and perils. It goes to show that the natural world of any planet, not just Earth, can challenge a story’s characters.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Children’s Fiction)

No list of books about man and nature would be complete without this classic tale featuring one of literature’s most beloved gardens. But The Secret Garden isn’t just a story about children bringing a neglected garden back to life. It’s also about the children themselves: ten-year-old Mary Lennox, who comes to England to live with her often-absent uncle after her parents die of cholera in colonial India; and her cousin Colin, who rarely sees his father (the aforementioned uncle) and has been told he’s too sick to walk. As the cousins learn how their lives have both been marked by isolation and a lack of parental love, Mary wonders if she should tell Colin about the walled garden she’s been tending at the manor where they live—and her decision produces miracles for everyone involved.

The theme of man and the natural world blossoms early in The Secret Garden. Twice in the first two chapters, Mary plays with a pretend garden, pushing cut hibiscus blossoms into the ground. Not only does this foreshadow her later interest in the garden at Misselthwaite Manor, but it also symbolizes Mary at that time in her life. Without water or nutrients, the pretend garden won’t survive, just as Mary isn’t able to thrive in India without love and nurturing from others.

Once Mary arrives at Misselthwaite Manor and learns about the garden, the theme continues to flourish. Mary befriends Dickon Sowerby, who frequents the local moors and rescues animals, and Ben Weatherstaff, the manor’s gardener. She also meets Dickon’s pets, Captain the fox and Soot the crow, and finds companionship with a robin who helps her find the key to the garden door. Most importantly, as Mary takes care of the secret garden, she develops healthier relationships with the people around her and learns the value of kindness and compassion. In a way, her relationship with nature allows her to grow into a happier, more confident person and to heal from her past. The same can be said for Colin, who becomes increasingly optimistic about his health—and eventually learns to walk—as he engages with the garden.

Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Story of an Owl and His Girl by Stacey O’Brien (Memoir)

Let’s be honest: That adorable cover makes you want to read the book, right? Fuzzy cuteness aside, Wesley the Owl is a fantastic example of the human-and-animal “love story” approach to this literary theme. It begins on a fateful day in 1985 when the author, biologist Stacey O’Brien, meets a four-day-old barn owl with nerve damage in one of his wings. One of O’Brien’s colleagues at Caltech’s owl laboratory offers her the chance to raise the owl, since the injury compromised the owl’s ability to fly and survive in the wild. O’Brien says yes, of course—and her decision changes her life forever.

O’Brien spends a fair amount of Wesley the Owl teaching the reader about owls. Their diet, types of calls, hunting and mating habits—you name it, O’Brien covers it as she recalls various experiences from her and Wesley’s twenty years together. She also points out some of his behaviors that we humans can relate to on an emotional level. For example, when Wesley hisses and refuses to look at O’Brien after a failed attempt at flying, O’Brien realizes it’s because she was laughing at him and thus made him feel embarrassed.

So why is Wesley the Owl a memoir and not a reference book? Probably because the reader learns how the natural world has been an integral part of the author’s life. O’Brien recounts childhood memories of her dog Luddie, her trips with her father and her sister to the ocean and Angeles Crest National Park, and examining the tiniest of creatures under her microscope. With Wesley in particular, she shares evidence of how the owl viewed her as his mother (and, as he reached sexual maturity, how he sometimes viewed her as his mate). She also recalls how Wesley influenced her life, from scaring off the men she dated to giving her a reason to live despite a debilitating illness. In this way, Wesley the Owl reminds us of what happens when we allow the natural world to fascinate us and open our hearts to even a single baby bird.

The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky (Historical Fantasy)

The Wolf in the Whale imagines what may have happened when the Inuit and the Vikings first encountered one another in North America over 1,000 years ago—with a fantastical twist. Omat, a girl raised as a boy, is being groomed as a shaman who can commune with nature and animal spirits to protect her people. But soon the spirits stop listening, and her family is on the verge of starvation. When Omat is forced to become the wife of a second Inuit clan’s leader, it sets off a chain of events that leads Omat into the path of Norse explorers led by the ruthless Freydis Eiríksdóttir, sister of Leif Eiríksson—and to a mythic clash between gods and spirits that could spell the end of all Omat holds dear.

Like with other books on this list, the setting is integral to The Wolf in the Whale’s examination of the theme of man and the natural world. The climate and landscapes of the Canadian arctic impact the lives of the characters who live there; and the animals who also call it home—wolves, whales, and caribou, just to name a few—provide meat for nourishment, hides for clothing and shelter, and much more. In addition, nature is ingrained in the Inuit’s way of life. The spirits they pray to are tied to the moon, the sun, weather, and different animal species. (The same goes for select gods and goddesses from Norse mythology.) Omat also draws upon wildlife and the setting when using metaphors or making comparisons. These and other aspects of the story illustrate the Inuit’s deep respect for the natural world and their acceptance of the wonders and perils that are part of it. 

Need more suggestions for books about man and the natural world? Check out these book lists from BookBub, Early Bird Books, The Globe and Mail, and Goodreads.

What other stories featuring the theme of man and the natural world would you recommend?

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 Additional Reading on the Theme of Man and the Natural World appeared first on DIY MFA.

If you think about it, our relationship with the natural world is as ripe with conflict as the relationship between two characters. Maybe that’s why so many writers have explored it as a literary theme in their work. But why exactly is this theme important? Let’s explore five of those reasons in today’s edition of Theme: A Story’s Soul.

1) The Natural World is One of the Reasons Why We’re Alive

Nature isn’t simply part of the world we live in. It provides us with food, water for drinking and bathing, and air we can breathe. It nurtures our crops and gardens with rain and sun, offers shade on hot days, and abounds with herbs and botanicals that have medicinal properties. Essentially, the natural world enables us to survive.

Books such as Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins, and C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe remind us to accept and be grateful for the sustenance and protection that nature offers us. Calling this theme “man versus nature” would be unfair and inaccurate for this reason and others we’ll discuss shortly. The point is, since we live in and are alive because of nature, it’s important for us to appreciate nature for all its beauty, nourishment, and lifesaving relief.

2) It Compels Us to Reflect on Our Relationship with Living Things

If you’ve read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or watched its film or TV adaptations, you might remember that several of its characters – Aslan the lion, the Beavers, even Mr. Tumnus the Faun – are animals or mythological creatures with animal-like features. Now, what other stories have you read where animals are part of the cast of characters? I can think of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, Stacey O’Brien’s Wesley the Owl, Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty – and that’s just for starters.

Indeed, our relationships with other living things are highlighted in stories where man and the natural world is a central theme. With animals in particular, we often see them portrayed as characters with human-like traits and qualities that we can relate to or see in ourselves. Sometimes, these characters are treated with love and respect. Other times, they’re neglected or mistreated in violent and heartbreaking ways. Both approaches underscore how humans and animals (and the natural world at large) depend on one another, for better or worse, in order to survive—and, more importantly, how the love between us and an animal can be one of the most nurturing and life-changing bonds we’ll ever have.

3) It Teaches Us to Reconnect with Ourselves on a Spiritual Level

Why else would Mary Oliver have compared death to “the hungry bear in autumn” in her poem “When Death Comes”? Or Robert Frost have used the famous “[t]wo roads diverged in a yellow wood” to symbolize choice in “The Road Not Taken”? Whether we realize it or not, our connection with the natural world goes deeper than survival. In fact, it takes us to the deepest parts of ourselves that find joy or solace in the calm that nature offers.

Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha is an excellent example of the spiritual side of this theme. As Siddhartha embarks on his quest for enlightenment, he experiences both the beauty and brutality of the natural world, and his feelings toward it seesaw between scorn and admiration until he learns to see nature as a source of healing and reconnecting with himself. He also meets Vasudeva, a ferryman who views the river he paddles across as a source of contemplation and mysticism. Thus, stories like Siddhartha that delve into this theme help us remember our place in the natural order of the planet. If fictional characters can remember who they are by spending time in the stillness of nature, so can we.

4) It Demonstrates the Power that Nature Holds Over Us

Of course, nature isn’t always calm and quiet. We see this in N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy, where select people have the power to control the earth’s energy and prevent earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions—or cause them. We also see this in Rae Carson’s Walk on Earth a Stranger, where young Lee must endure drought, extreme heat, buffalo stampedes, and the Rocky Mountains before she can join the California gold rush. And let’s not forget how the crew of the fishing boat Andrea Gail was lost at sea during a massive nor’easter in Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm.

In other words, we (and living things in general) are often as nature’s mercy. The challenges that the natural world can present through its weather, landscapes, and geological phenomena can threaten our ability to travel, our means of electricity, our homes, and even our survival. So when a story demonstrates how nature can be an obstacle to a character’s goal—or, in some instances, can serve as part of the main conflict—it illuminates how nature can be violent, unpredictable, and deadly. And when it is, we should respect its power just as we respect its gifts.

5) It Reminds Us to Take Better Care of the Natural World

It’s true that mankind’s impact on the natural world is one of many hot-button political issues right now. But it’s equally true that, just as nature affects our lives, we affect nature in return—and usually not to nature’s benefit. Look long enough, and you’ll also find plenty of stories that show characters tipping that balance in their favor and the natural world suffering as a result.

Take Jay Kristoff’s Stormdancer, for example. After an industrial revolution, the story’s fictional setting has become so polluted that its people are sick or dying, and so much of the land has been deforested that many plant and animal species—including the arashitora, one of the country’s mythical creatures—have become or are believed to be extinct. The planet Athshe in Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Word for World is Forest faces a similar crisis. Colonists from Earth enslave the Athsheans and begin clearing the mostly forested land for timber, which has become scarce on Earth. In each story, the destruction of its setting plays a major role in the plot and compels the characters to interact with nature—and to consider the beauty of what’s been lost and how to save what’s left. So when we read about this take on the theme of man and the natural world, we can’t help but think about our own planet’s environmental issues and how we can take better care of the place we all call home.

In your opinion, why is man and the natural world an important theme? What other reasons would you add to this list? Which stories have you read that are compelling examples of this theme?

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 Why Is the Theme of Man and the Natural World Important? appeared first on DIY MFA.

Writers often confuse the terms “topic” and “theme” and, as a result, use them interchangeably.

The truth is, topic and theme are not the same. Each has a distinct role and function in the craft of writing – and one of them, oddly enough, is a means of infusing the other into our work. So today we’ll learn how to distinguish the differences between theme and topic and what we should keep in mind about both terms when we’re writing.

What Is a Theme? And What Is a Topic?

In our first Theme: A Story’s Soul post, we offered this working definition for “theme”:

An idea, concept, or lesson that appears repeatedly throughout a story, reflects the character’s internal journey through the external plot, and resonates with the reader.

In other words, a story’s themes are part of the story’s central message. Themes allow readers to look at the main conflict from a broader perspective. They reveal the universals that help readers connect with the characters. They raise questions and evoke emotions that cause us to laugh, cry, or say to ourselves, “I know exactly what this character is going through.”

So what, then, are a story’s topics? And how do they differ from themes?

In our recent post on identifying themes in the poetry we write, we introduced topic as the facts that explain what a poem – or a piece of writing in general – is about. It’s another word for “subject matter”; and it tends to be specific and concrete, while theme is more conceptual. As a result, a story’s topics are clearly stated and can be identified more easily than its themes.

Think about the difference between topic and theme in terms of the five Ws and one H (who, what, where, when, why, and how). We’ve already established that a story’s topics answer the question, “What is this story about?” Theme, on the other hand, explores a story’s big picture and universal ideas, which reveal why these struggles matter to the characters and why they might matter to the readers as well. As a result, theme answers the question, “Why is this story important?”

The most important difference between topic and theme, however, might surprise you: Topic is a vehicle for illustrating theme. When you demonstrate the facts of the story in action through the main conflict and character interactions, you don’t simply state those facts. Instead, you infuse deeper meaning into those facts by showing the challenges that your characters face during the story and their reactions and emotions along the way. In this way, the story’s “what” makes the “why” possible. The writer just needs to give it the right amount of attention and nurture throughout the process.

Questions to Ask When Identifying a Story’s Topics

Even though it’s easy to spot a story’s topics, it’s good to know what questions you should ask to help you identify them. So before getting started, here are some questions to keep in mind:

• Who is the story about?
• What is the main character’s story goal?
• What happens to the main character(s) during the story?
• What kinds of struggles, conflicts, or challenges are suggested by the title or jacket copy?
• What does the main character(s) do that’s important to the story’s outcome?
• How does the main character’s ethnicity, geographic location, passions, hardships, and other distinctive aspects influence what the story is about?
•  What words or phrases repeatedly come up in the jacket copy or the story’s text?

Notice anything about these questions? Several of them require information about the characters and the setting, since some of the story’s facts will answer the three remaining Ws: who, where, and when. In this way, these Ws provide additional context for the story’s topics that the “what” can’t always provide on its own.

Distinguishing Topic from Theme Using a Book’s Jacket Copy

Believe it or not, you can identify most (if not all) of a book’s topics by reading a book’s jacket copy. The trick, of course, is knowing what to look for – but that’s where the above list of questions comes in handy. (*wink*) So let’s try it using the jacket copy of this edition of Ruta Sepetys’s Between Shades of Gray:

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they’ve known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin’s orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously–and at great risk–documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father’s prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.

Concise as this example may be, it reveals these four topics of Between Shades of Gray:

• The Soviet Union’s genocide of the Baltic peoples of Eastern Europe during World War II, as implied by the year, location, and references to Joseph Stalin, the Soviets, and labor camps
• The separation of families during times of war, which is one of the challenges Lina will endure based on the jacket copy’s contents
• The hardships of life in labor / prison camps, another of the challenges that Lina will face as implied above
•  Art as a means of communication, thanks to Lina using drawings to deliver messages to her father

More topics will emerge as you read Between Shades of Gray. But once boiled down to their essences, these four facts hint at several of the book’s themes: war, morality and integrity, family, the power of art, and survival. They don’t hint at all of the themes (love and sacrifice are also major themes in this story), but that’s to be expected. What is expected is that these topics tell the reader what the story is about – and they do, accurately and effectively.

What to Keep in Mind About Topic and Theme as You Write

The main thing to remember about topic is that it pertains to the story’s “what.” It’s driven by facts and specifics, whereas theme deals with the big picture and overall meaning that reveal why the story matters. So as you determine the topics and themes in your own work, ask yourself the questions that we posed earlier. What are the facts of your story? Who is it about? What kinds of conflicts does the protagonist face? How do the setting, time period, and other defining characteristics influence what happens?

Chances are you’ll identify your story’s topics just by reviewing your pitch, synopsis, or other summary that explains what your story is about. And once you do, you’ll find it easier to dig into the meat of your story – the characters, dialogue, plot points, and so on – and recognize the themes you’ve been cultivating all along.

How do you distinguish the difference between topic and theme? What are the topics of your current story? How do these topics usher in the story’s themes? And, of course, what are your story’s themes?

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 The Difference Between Topic and Theme 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.

Your beta-readers, however, don’t feel the same way. In fact, a couple of them describe the story as “preachy.” And so your first thoughts are, “What does that mean? And how can I revise the story to fix it?”

If you’re already venturing a guess–yes, a story’s preachiness is linked to how the story’s themes are expressed. And yes, it can be fixed through careful revisions. But first, it’s crucial to understand what it means for a story to preach its themes. Then you’ll have a better idea of what mistakes to look for in your manuscript and how to revise those sections so that your themes come across in a more subtle yet powerful way.

What Does It Mean When a Story Is Preachy?

When it comes to literature, “preachy” means that an author’s delivery of a theme is too heavy-handed. This doesn’t mean that the story and its themes are religious (though the word “preachy” does originate from “preach,” and religion can be a theme). Rather, the theme is presented in a forceful or pretentious manner, as if you’re using the plot, characters, and so on as your proverbial soapbox. This approach might feel gratifying as you write. But for readers, it can be enough of a turn-off that they might quit the story.

Of course, not everyone agrees on whether a story preaches its themes. Paolo Coelho’s The Alchemist, Kristin Cashore’s Graceling, C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia–these and other novels are adored by many readers but have been criticized by others for advocating certain themes too strongly. But when a story polarizes its audience to this degree, it’s an indication that the author may have been too enthusiastic or aggressive in sharing their ideas.

The key to approaching theme is that it should express the story’s messages with subtle impact. If it’s gently and skillfully woven in, it will become a natural part of the story, just like the plot’s events, the setting, and the characters. It will also resonate longer and more deeply with readers than if it’s hammered over their heads. So, being aware of the pitfalls can work to your benefit. You won’t be able to write stories that everybody will love (and no writer can, really), but you can control how you integrate your themes into your work.

Three Mistakes That Lead to Preachy Themes, and How to Revise Them

So, what can you look for to determine whether your story is preaching its themes? Here are the three most common mistakes, as well as solutions for bringing more subtlety to those themes.

Mistake #1: The Theme Is Presented as a One-Sided Argument

A story can be preachy if there isn’t enough external conflict to explore both sides of a theme. It’s fantastic if the protagonist spends the story becoming the master of her own fate. But what if no one stands in her way, or any characters who do are portrayed as evil? This lack of opposition doesn’t just make your exploration of the theme one-sided. It also strips the story of conflict and demonizes the other character’s perspective–a perspective some readers might actually share. Presenting only your viewpoint on the theme can therefore be a one-two punch: It can result in some readers losing interest in the story and others feeling alienated.

Solution: Show Both Sides of the Theme Through Opposition and Conflict

We experience conflict with others on a daily basis. So, if stories are meant to reflect real life, then they should contain a healthy amount of external conflict. This means that, as the author, you must be open to playing devil’s advocate with your themes.

Ruta Sepetys does this masterfully in her World War II YA novel Salt to the Sea by using Alfred Frick, a young German soldier, as one of her viewpoint characters. Alfred is egocentric, bigoted, and difficult (though not impossible) to sympathize with. However, his chapters reveal crucial information about the circumstances of the ship Wilhelm Gustloff as well as a unique perspective on the themes of fear, family, and compassion. By giving the opposition a voice and creating natural and necessary conflict between Alfred and the other characters, Sepetys adds layers to her story’s themes that make them richer and more poignant.

Not sure how to use conflict and opposition to explore theme? Maybe these questions can help:

• What motivations, beliefs, or morals does the antagonist have that clash with the protagonist’s? How does this fuel their conflict during the story?
• What disagreements take place between the protagonist and any supporting characters, or two viewpoint characters? How do these conflicts illuminate the story’s themes?
• What other kinds of opposition occur in the story? Which themes do they touch on, and how?

Mistake #2: The Story Lacks an Inner Thematic Struggle (a.k.a. Internal Conflict)

Like plot and character arcs, theme sheds light on the protagonist’s internal conflict. This can be portrayed in various ways, from a struggle to save a cherished ideal (e.g., their family, their home, a friend) to a wobbling between conflicting morals. But what happens when this struggle doesn’t happen? If the protagonist gets what she wants too easily or never feels torn or fearful, then…well, the story might not make readers feel invested in the outcome. In other words, they might find it boring–and preachy.

How does a lack of internal conflict force a theme on the audience? It often frames the theme as a clear-cut statement, with no room for ambiguity or questions. This creates a problem similar to Mistake #1, in that only one perspective of a theme is presented. And if the challenges or gray areas of a theme aren’t adequately addressed, then that perspective might also be inaccurate and unrealistic.

Solution: Develop the Internal Conflict, Then Use It as a Source of Theme

The first step is to create a war within the protagonist. Her goals, desires, and fears should be impacted by the plot’s events and her interactions with other characters in ways that send her emotions reeling and prompt her to question her decisions. Once the inner struggle is present, you’ll discover which themes you can draw upon, since the themes will tie in with that struggle.

In her best-selling novel The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah delves into the theme of courage through the experiences of two sisters who endure Germany’s invasion of France during World War II. Isabelle embraces her rebellious side and joins the French Resistance, risking her life to run an escape route for downed Allied pilots into neutral Spain. Vianne, on the other hand, constantly belittles herself for her lack of bravery, yet her maternal instincts drive her to save her family and nearly two dozen Jewish children. By giving Vianne and Isabelle related yet unique struggles to overcome, Hannah creates a true exploration of the theme, presenting the many faces of courage in a realistic, nuanced way while making her heroines vulnerable and relatable.

If you’re looking to mine themes out of the protagonist’s internal conflict, consider these questions:

• What are the protagonist’s goals and dreams? Beliefs and desires? Fears great and small? If your story has multiple viewpoints, determine these and other motivations for all of those characters.
• As the protagonist(s) journeys through the story, how do the plot’s events or her interactions with other characters affect her motivations? What conflict(s) does this create within her? What themes arise as a result?

Mistake #3: The Theme Is “Told” and Not “Shown”

Yes, the “show don’t tell” advice applies to theme. In such cases, writers “tell” a theme by relying on dialogue and exposition over plot and action. Characters might repeatedly discuss, give advice on, or tell stories (including internal monologues) that underscore a particular theme, but the story’s events do little to demonstrate it. The problem here doesn’t lie in the use of dialogue and exposition, though. Many of literature’s most memorable and beloved quotes are rooted in theme. Rather, the problem is the overuse of dialogue and exposition.

Think back on the last book you read where the characters talked or thought about a theme at length, but the plot didn’t illustrate that theme very well. Did you become annoyed or lose interest because it seemed like the author was telling you what to think? This is what happens when a story preaches its themes through “telling.” It tries to persuade the reader to accept the presented theme without showing much evidence in support–and most of the time, it frustrates readers instead.

Solution: Illustrate the Theme in Action, with Related Dialogue Interspersed

Showing themes allows you to offer the supporting evidence that’s missing when telling themes. It requires careful crafting of plot events, character actions, and symbolism so that the underlying ideas are communicated subtly. You can still use dialogue to convey theme as well. The key is to balance dialogue with concrete examples to avoid forcing themes on your readers. It might also help to think of a reader not as a listener, but as a witness looking over the protagonist’s shoulder, experiencing the story firsthand as it unfolds.

Suzanne Collins uses this technique throughout her YA blockbuster The Hunger Games, particularly with the theme of power. As readers follow Katniss, they witness how the Capitol maintains control over Panem’s citizens not just through the violent, live-televised Games, but also through enslaving traitors and hoarding wealth that results in food rations, lack of resources, and starvation in the districts. They also learn how the people of Panem resist the Capitol, from the symbolic three-fingered salute that characters give one another to Katniss wreathing the body of a fallen Games ally with flowers. In this way, Collins doesn’t simply tell how a government abuses its power and how the people in its grip band together and rebel. She truly brings the theme to life by letting readers experience it, which allows the theme to sink in slowly and resonate more deeply.

So, how can you show your story’s themes instead of only telling them? Start with these questions:

• How could the inciting incident, the climax, and other plot points illustrate the theme? What does the protagonist observe during these scenes that contribute to this?
• What actions and behaviors, either by the protagonist or other characters, illustrate the theme in action? How?
• What symbol(s) are used in the story? At what point in the story is it introduced? When and how frequently does it reappear? How does this symbol reflect one of the story’s themes?

Have you read any novels that, in your opinion, were preaching their themes? Did you ever revise one of your own stories to make your delivery of a particular theme more subtle? What other thoughts or tips would you like to share?

Sara Letourneau is a speculative fiction writer and poet in Massachusetts who devours good books, loves all kinds of music, and drinks copious amounts of tea. In addition to writing for DIY MFA, she is a Resident Writing Coach at Writers Helping Writers and is currently brainstorming / world-building two very different story stories. She also freelanced as a tea reviewer and music journalist in the past. Her poetry is forthcoming in Canary; and has previously appeared in The Curry Arts Journal, Soul-Lit, The Eunoia Review, Underground Voices, and two print anthologies. Visit Sara at her personal blog, Twitter, and Goodreads.

The post Three Ways of Revising (or Avoiding) Preachy Themes in Your Story appeared first on DIY MFA.