JEFFREY GRANT BARR
from Central OR is reading Nothing but fucking Shakespeare, for the rest of my lifeMay 30, 2012 - 1:21pm
Have you tried Scrivener? Maybe it's just me, but the more I outline, the more I write. Scrivener is pretty awesome for outlining and keeping those notes/snippets in your face so you don;t forget about them.
GaryP
from Denver is reading a bit of this and thatMay 30, 2012 - 2:48pm
I have the trial version of Scrivener, and it seems really cool. The problem for me is that I don't know where I'll be writing, so I use Google Documents. That way I can write from any computer anywhere (that has an Internet connection). But after trying Scrivener, it gave me the idea to use the comments in Google Documents as a note-taking and brainstorming thing. Not nearly as robust as Scrivener, of course. A web-version of Scrivener would be awesome ... and maybe it exists. I guess I should actually look.
JEFFREY GRANT BARR
from Central OR is reading Nothing but fucking Shakespeare, for the rest of my lifeMay 30, 2012 - 3:36pm
I'm almost sure that scrivener has a plugin/extension to integrate evernote with it. Lazy me, I haven't tried to find out for sure, but for note taking, I love Evernote. For a long time I was writing in gdocs, but I had trouble with the formatting, so I switched to Word/Scrivener.
And everyone else can suck it, The Tommyknockers was King's best book by far.
Jack Campbell Jr.
from Lawrence, KS is reading American Rust by Phillipp MeyerMay 30, 2012 - 6:06pm
You can get Celtx for free. It's similar to Scrivner. It's primarily known as screenwriting software, but they also have a novel writing module. You can also save your work to the Celtx cloud and then work on it anywhere. I've only used it for screenwriting. I write first fiction first drafts on an Alphasmart NEO and then send them to a word document.
GaryP
from Denver is reading a bit of this and thatMay 30, 2012 - 6:42pm
@Jack. Cool, I'll take a look at Celtx.
And the rest of all y'all, I'm old-school King. I read Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Shining, The Stand, up through Christine, then just kinda lost interest. Looking forward to Atlantis.
GaryP
from Denver is reading a bit of this and thatJune 11, 2012 - 12:43pm
Somewhat related to theme. This is a link to John Scalzi's blog. That man blogs. He's a machine (an AI ... a fucking robot).
One part of his blog is publishing other writers' words on the big idea of a novel of theirs. It's fascinating text about how the writer came up with the idea for their book. A cool insight. This link is to those big ideas, but (obviously) if you click at the top of the blog, you'll get Scalzi's full blog.
Alan H Jordan
from Reno, Nevada is reading Devotion by Dani Shaprio nd Now I Know Why the Caged Bird SingsDecember 30, 2013 - 4:55pm
I'm in the process of rewriting some material now, and I think it is definitely time for me to define the theme in a single sentence to help me.
Yesterday, I was speaking to a novice writer and she was describing an issue to me. I asked her this question, and I believe it is a good way to find the theme of a story:
What is the ah-ha takeaway that you'd like the reader to discover?
Allow me to expound using a children's book that I wrote, The Monster on Top of the Bed, as an example.
I wanted children to discover that friendship conquers fear and that the key to making friends is the Golden Rule. Now, discover is a key word. If I told children "friendship conquers fear," they would yawn. If they take ownership of a discovery, they internalize the belief.
So, I believe that the ah-ha moment is the theme, the moral value of the story.
However, when I sat down to write a 36-page illustrated children's book, my focus was clearly set. When I sit down to rewrite a novel, I have to really think about the most important ah-ha moment. If I can't come to a conclusion, I think that I might actually have to split the property into more than one story, or at least have a theme (ah-ha moment) for each section. Those are my current thoughts.
Your thoughts?
L.W. Flouisa
from Tennessee is reading More MurakamiDecember 30, 2013 - 8:51pm
I prefer to let my characters teach me about life, not teach my characters about life. I have no opinions before I write. Its simply not part of my plotting process.
I examine how characters find their own meaning in life, but that meaning may not be what I expect.
Though in rereading I have found a recurring, "Life is meaningless, except what you make of it -- on your own terms" message.
Class Facilitator
ReneeAPickup
from Southern California is reading Wanderers by Chuck WendigJanuary 2, 2014 - 3:55am
I never write with theme in mind, but I write in a very character driven way, so when the story's done I can see theme and polish it in the rewrite. With longer works, I have an idea of the theme and "what am I trying to say?" but sometimes that changes in the process. For me, focusing too much on theme in the writing process makes it harder for me to write a good story.
The overarching theme in all of my work, though, is the idea that small moments/interactions with people have immense power to change us, for better or worse. That's something I play with a lot and I'm always really pleased with myself when I notice myself really nailing it.
Jack Campbell Jr.
from Lawrence, KS is reading American Rust by Phillipp MeyerJanuary 2, 2014 - 10:45am
Trust me, if you don't write in a theme, people will find one anyway. I've made a grad school career out of arguing themes that there is very little chance the author actually considered. Personally, I just write a story. If a theme seems to be appearing, I might play it up a bit. Overall, though, I think theme is about the least important aspect of writing. If your characters are relatable, people will read it. If the story is good, people will read it. If you have solid mechanics, you can at least get people to give it a shot. There aren't really that many people who read books for the theme. A good theme is hotsauce. If you don't have anything to put it on, it's sort of disgusting.
Thuggish
from Vegas is reading Day of the JackalJanuary 2, 2014 - 11:59am
Ooo- Alan has a good point. Key word: discover. When you teach something, lectures rarely get through, but having kids find it out on their own, they nearly always remember, and truly know it forever more. Kids and adults aren't so different, so the point holds.
So here's a thought. Maybe it's me, but it seems like so many think theme needs to be such a deep important thing. Does it have to be? Last I checked, good guy(s) vs. bad guys was a perfectly usable theme for entertainment purposes, but it's not deep.
TheScrivener
from Seattle is reading short stories January 2, 2014 - 2:34pm
Themes don't have to be deep. And I don't think they have to be full sentences. And they certainly don't need to be a lesson or a moral. Amy Hempel writes a lot about dogs. And a lot of astute observations about people can be made in stories about nonhuman animals. Animals and dogs are a recurring theme in her work. So is death. People are drawn to certain subjects---like Tom Perrotta and the suburbs. And it is from these places that keep being revisited that one's themes emerge. Or so it would appear in the work that I like reading. But then I stopped reading la Fontaine's fables in a long time ago---not really my cup of tea anymore. When I read the Berlin Stories, I don't think I had one single A-Ha moment, but I could not put the book down, and even years after reading it I still get images from the stories coming to mind. Something about the mood and the images stuck with me. All types of stories for all types of readers...
Also re: good guys vs bad guys---i think a theme can be simple, but the treatment of it can be what gives it depth.
Have you tried Scrivener? Maybe it's just me, but the more I outline, the more I write. Scrivener is pretty awesome for outlining and keeping those notes/snippets in your face so you don;t forget about them.
I have the trial version of Scrivener, and it seems really cool. The problem for me is that I don't know where I'll be writing, so I use Google Documents. That way I can write from any computer anywhere (that has an Internet connection). But after trying Scrivener, it gave me the idea to use the comments in Google Documents as a note-taking and brainstorming thing. Not nearly as robust as Scrivener, of course. A web-version of Scrivener would be awesome ... and maybe it exists. I guess I should actually look.
I'm almost sure that scrivener has a plugin/extension to integrate evernote with it. Lazy me, I haven't tried to find out for sure, but for note taking, I love Evernote. For a long time I was writing in gdocs, but I had trouble with the formatting, so I switched to Word/Scrivener.
And everyone else can suck it, The Tommyknockers was King's best book by far.
You can get Celtx for free. It's similar to Scrivner. It's primarily known as screenwriting software, but they also have a novel writing module. You can also save your work to the Celtx cloud and then work on it anywhere. I've only used it for screenwriting. I write first fiction first drafts on an Alphasmart NEO and then send them to a word document.
@Jack. Cool, I'll take a look at Celtx.
And the rest of all y'all, I'm old-school King. I read Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Shining, The Stand, up through Christine, then just kinda lost interest. Looking forward to Atlantis.
Somewhat related to theme. This is a link to John Scalzi's blog. That man blogs. He's a machine (an AI ... a fucking robot).
One part of his blog is publishing other writers' words on the big idea of a novel of theirs. It's fascinating text about how the writer came up with the idea for their book. A cool insight. This link is to those big ideas, but (obviously) if you click at the top of the blog, you'll get Scalzi's full blog.
http://whatever.scalzi.com/?s=%22big+idea%22
I'm in the process of rewriting some material now, and I think it is definitely time for me to define the theme in a single sentence to help me.
Yesterday, I was speaking to a novice writer and she was describing an issue to me. I asked her this question, and I believe it is a good way to find the theme of a story:
Allow me to expound using a children's book that I wrote, The Monster on Top of the Bed, as an example.
I wanted children to discover that friendship conquers fear and that the key to making friends is the Golden Rule. Now, discover is a key word. If I told children "friendship conquers fear," they would yawn. If they take ownership of a discovery, they internalize the belief.
So, I believe that the ah-ha moment is the theme, the moral value of the story.
However, when I sat down to write a 36-page illustrated children's book, my focus was clearly set. When I sit down to rewrite a novel, I have to really think about the most important ah-ha moment. If I can't come to a conclusion, I think that I might actually have to split the property into more than one story, or at least have a theme (ah-ha moment) for each section. Those are my current thoughts.
Your thoughts?
I prefer to let my characters teach me about life, not teach my characters about life. I have no opinions before I write. Its simply not part of my plotting process.
I examine how characters find their own meaning in life, but that meaning may not be what I expect.
Though in rereading I have found a recurring, "Life is meaningless, except what you make of it -- on your own terms" message.
I never write with theme in mind, but I write in a very character driven way, so when the story's done I can see theme and polish it in the rewrite. With longer works, I have an idea of the theme and "what am I trying to say?" but sometimes that changes in the process. For me, focusing too much on theme in the writing process makes it harder for me to write a good story.
The overarching theme in all of my work, though, is the idea that small moments/interactions with people have immense power to change us, for better or worse. That's something I play with a lot and I'm always really pleased with myself when I notice myself really nailing it.
Trust me, if you don't write in a theme, people will find one anyway. I've made a grad school career out of arguing themes that there is very little chance the author actually considered. Personally, I just write a story. If a theme seems to be appearing, I might play it up a bit. Overall, though, I think theme is about the least important aspect of writing. If your characters are relatable, people will read it. If the story is good, people will read it. If you have solid mechanics, you can at least get people to give it a shot. There aren't really that many people who read books for the theme. A good theme is hotsauce. If you don't have anything to put it on, it's sort of disgusting.
Ooo- Alan has a good point. Key word: discover. When you teach something, lectures rarely get through, but having kids find it out on their own, they nearly always remember, and truly know it forever more. Kids and adults aren't so different, so the point holds.
So here's a thought. Maybe it's me, but it seems like so many think theme needs to be such a deep important thing. Does it have to be? Last I checked, good guy(s) vs. bad guys was a perfectly usable theme for entertainment purposes, but it's not deep.
Themes don't have to be deep. And I don't think they have to be full sentences. And they certainly don't need to be a lesson or a moral. Amy Hempel writes a lot about dogs. And a lot of astute observations about people can be made in stories about nonhuman animals. Animals and dogs are a recurring theme in her work. So is death. People are drawn to certain subjects---like Tom Perrotta and the suburbs. And it is from these places that keep being revisited that one's themes emerge. Or so it would appear in the work that I like reading. But then I stopped reading la Fontaine's fables in a long time ago---not really my cup of tea anymore. When I read the Berlin Stories, I don't think I had one single A-Ha moment, but I could not put the book down, and even years after reading it I still get images from the stories coming to mind. Something about the mood and the images stuck with me. All types of stories for all types of readers...
Also re: good guys vs bad guys---i think a theme can be simple, but the treatment of it can be what gives it depth.