pre-writing for a successful NaNoWriMo | Life in the Realm of Fantasy

We’re closing in on November 1^st. We’ve done some pre-writing, looking at our characters and the world they inhabit. We may even have jotted down a loose outline of plot points to write to. Today, we’re going a little deeper into what our book may be about.

WritingCraft_NaNoPrep_101 When someone asks me what a book I wrote is about, my mind grinds to a halt as I try to decide what to say. I could give them the rundown of the plot, which is the arc of events the characters experience.

Or, I can try to interest them in the characters and the struggles they overcome.

I have discovered that neither of those answers sells books.

I have only just recently discovered that what a prospective reader really wants to know is, “What themes are explored in this book?” People buy books that delve into subjects that resonate with their own lives. They want to read novels that shed light on the human condition, regardless of genre or the setting.

Readers read for the adventure, but the themes explored in that novel stay with them. Strong themes are as memorable as the characters we grow to love.

plot is the frame upon which the themes of a story are supported The story writes itself when I begin with a strong theme and solid characters. A 19^th-century writer many have heard of but never read, Henry James has a great deal to tell us about using a story’s themes to create memorable characters. You may be familiar with some of his works, such as The Turn of the Screw and The Golden Bowl. His novels are still being made into movies and adapted as plays.

His novels feature one common theme—lust. Lust for sex. Lust for money. Lust for control.

Lust for power.

The Golden Bowl is a story featuring the themes of deception, manipulation, lust for money, and lust for control. Many of James’s novels are contemporary to his world, featuring characters going through their lives the way they did in his era.

When James sat down to write The Golden Bowl, published in 1904, he knew that the theme, the subject, and the core of the story he intended to write was the overwhelming desire for something unobtainable. Henry James played upon the reader’s secret craving for those same things by taking his characters down to their fundamental emotional components.

His work shocked his contemporary society because he peeled back the veneer of civilization and exposed their motives for the world to see. He created novels pertinent to today’s world by writing the kind of characters he knew in real life and setting them in stories that featured themes everyone could recognize and relate to in either a good or bad way.

So now, let’s look at the themes in a novel that has become a foundation book of modern fantasy. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, was published in 1937 as a children’s book. (Apparently, children were better educated in those days.) Courage in the face of failure and personal redemption are unifying themes of the Lord of the Rings series, along with loyalty and honor.

the hobbit When Bilbo Baggins fights the giant spiders, he also faces his own cowardice and is amazed that he could do such a thing. This is only the first step in his personal arc. As the story progresses, he discovers that he has courage, which has nothing to do with the invisibility conferred on him by the ring he found earlier. Bilbo has courage, and yes, he is afraid. But he is not afraid to be courageous.

In the “Two Towers” Boromir must also have the courage to face his dishonor, move beyond his attempted theft of the ring, and find the courage to admit his shame. He then fights to protect Merry and Pippin. This is his personal redemption.

So, we know that theme illustrates a story’s central ideas. But maybe we don’t have a clue as to what theme might unify the events of our story arc.

Romantic love is a defining feature of the genre of Romance. But what different aspects of love can be found in every genre, from fantasy to sci-fi, horror, or crime fiction?

Brother/Sisterly love
Dangerous Attraction
Friendship
Love gained
Love lost
Parental love
Passion
Selfish love
Tragic love

Love is only one theme, yet it has so many facets. Other themes abound, large central concepts that build tension within the narrative.

Here is a brief list, just a small jumping-off point for your creative mind. Some are significant themes that entire genres have been built around, and others are good supporting themes:

Abuse
Alienation/loneliness
Ambition
Coming of age
Conspiracy
Crime and Justice
Fall from Grace
Good vs. Evil
Grief
Humanity in jeopardy
Midlife crisis
Nostalgia for the good old days
Plagues
Rebellion and revolution
Redemption
Religious intolerance
Separation and reunion
The fall of civilization
The hero’s journey
War

Sometimes, we can visualize a complex theme but can’t explain it. If we can’t explain it, how do we show it? Consider the theme of “grief.” It is a common theme that can play out against any backdrop, whether sci-fi or reality based, where humans interact on an emotional level.

A plan is not always required because, in some stories, the flash of inspiration we start with is a strong theme. The theme develops as you write, and immediately, you see what it is. In my case, I need a plan fifty percent of the time.

Whatever the case, once I have identified the main theme, the story begins to take shape in my head. I can show it through

Actions
Symbolic settings/places
Allegorical objects in the setting
Conversations

On the surface level, each literary genre looks widely different. But when we go deeper, we find that all literary genres have commonalities: protagonists and side characters who must deal with and react to the book’s underlying themes.

Next up: creating societies, science, magic, and the paranormal.

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