Theme and Symbolism Thesaurus: Add Depth and Meaning to Your Story
Theme and Symbolism Thesaurus: Add Depth and Meaning to Your Story
Themes give a story a deeper meaning, and symbolism is the language that helps us convey it. This thesaurus explores iconic symbols tied to common literary themes—such as the passage…
Read more…Use Your Story’s Takeaway (Theme) to Trim Extraneous Content
Use Your Story’s Takeaway (Theme) to Trim Extraneous Content
Writing an entire book is an immensely complex undertaking. Even if you’ve outlined meticulously, you’ll need more ideas than you can possibly imagine to fill the pages of an entire…
Read more…Story vs. Plot vs. Theme: Know Your 5Ws and H
Story vs. Plot vs. Theme: Know Your 5Ws and H
Journalism writing often uses the 5W1H structure. The first few paragraphs of a news article should answer 6 basic questions (which start with 5 Ws and an H): Who, What,…
Read more…Themes and Symbols Go Together Like Peas and Carrots
Themes and Symbols Go Together Like Peas and Carrots
So…symbolism. We’re pretty familiar with this storytelling element, and I’m guessing most of us have experimented with the use of symbols in our writing. In a nutshell, you take an…
Read more…Use a Character’s Career to Support Your Story’s Theme
Use a Character’s Career to Support Your Story’s Theme
Successful stories are often ones whose elements are employed subtly. You may not be able to say exactly why they work, and as a reader, you probably don’t care; you…
Read more…How Premise Plays into Theme
How Premise Plays into Theme
For many writers, theme is an afterthought–something they may try to figure out once the book is mostly written. But in reality, for a lot of stories, the premise actually…
Read more…How Do You Lead Readers to Your Theme?
How Do You Lead Readers to Your Theme?
Theme & Symbolism Database A good book, once finished, often leaves you with that feeling of something more. I like to think of it as the book’s essence. It kind…
Read more…Use Theme to Determine Subplots, Supporting Characters, and Tension
Use Theme to Determine Subplots, Supporting Characters, and Tension
I recently spoke at the Storymakers conference in Utah, and while I was there, I attended a class on theme. Theme is kind of an ethereal topic, difficult to grasp…
Read more…Deepening Our Story: Theme It Like You Mean It
Deepening Our Story: Theme It Like You Mean It
Our story’s themes—our messages to readers of what to value or believe—can add depth and meaning to our writing, but to avoid being too on-the-nose, our themes are usually developed…
Read more…Theme: The Marrow of Your Story
Theme: The Marrow of Your Story
If structure is the bones of story, theme is the marrow. Plainly defined, theme is what our stories mean, and it is revealed through other literary elements such as character,…
Read more…Understanding Character Wounds: A List Of Common Themes
Understanding Character Wounds: A List Of Common Themes
Characters are the heart of a novel, and within that heart is the Hero’s Inner Journey. The protagonist’s path is much like yours or mine–one that will (hopefully) bring him…
Read more…The Power of Theme
The Power of Theme
John Yeoman dives into a difficult area for many of us–the importance of THEME and how it adds richness and meaning to a story. Strong stories have great themes. They…
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