We Meant to do That

Theme is not something we talk about a whole lot, either in the writing cave or here on the blog. We just don’t get the urge to write a novel “about” Man’s Inhumanity to Man, or whatever. I’m sure that for some writers starting with Theme feels natural and is a tremendous inspiration, but to us it feels at best backwards, at worst pretentious. We’d rather come up with a plot and characters that excite us and write about those.

English majors and high school students shouldn’t worry though. We aren’t trying to put them out of business. Theme does tend to arise naturally while we’re writing. We’ll notice certain symbols that arise and tie various plot threads together, which will prompt us to look for more events that can be tied in, until the whole plot hangs together on a thematic spiderweb. Those moments of discovery are delicious and addictive, and they convince us that our subconscious minds are freakin’ brilliant.

“Oh, you like how all those little details support our theme? Of course you do! We meant to do that!”

Almost a year ago Jen had a dream about some of the characters from our trilogy. The scenario was quite amusing (to us anyway) but didn’t fit with those novels, so we put it aside. As we were fleshing out the characters for Novel #6, Jen suggested it as a quirky attribute for one of the females. Kent agreed, and now it’s taken on a life of its own and has, against all odds, become the theme for Novel #6.

We did not set out to write a novel about “when the thing you rely on becomes the thing that harms you,” but that’s what we’ve ended up with. The heroes and villains each find themselves dealing with just such a scenario. Because we’re great and we meant to do that!

It keeps spreading, too. Last night we discovered another little detail in the background/supporting documentation that has been in place for a few months, and now, when looked at through the Theme Filter™, takes on new meaning.

Working with a writing partner increases the opportunity for such delicious discoveries. You have two brains approaching the topic, each from its own unique perspective. You’re each going to include different ideas that echo your theme, and you’re each going to spot different details that can be punched up to reinforce it even more.