The glue, the heart, the meat of any good story, I think lies within the theme. Characters, setting, dialogue, symbolism, all the tools at the writer’s hand can help convey the theme or themes of a story. It’s that underlying idea of or about the world you want to share. For HOST it was trust, friendship, surveillance, those were the big three. Each character is a conduit for each in their actions and behaviors. It took a few drafts to get there but I at least had those in mind early on. Once I chipped away at the story and plotting it started to become more clear. I think for future stories I’d want a little more of a grip on the themes, because they can act as a great guiding light or blueprint for how the story will unfold, or characters behavior. Tim and I chat about it more in the latest Writer Syndrome episode. Check it out.
Categories: Podcast
