This was something that helped me a lot last year and I'm using it again this year.
There are two types of "themes": Personal Themes and Novel Themes.
Personal themes span across novels--they are things that repeat themselves over and over in an author's writings.
For example, Brett Easton Ellis (American Psycho) clearly has issues with materialism. Carl Hiassen believes that everyone gets what's coming to them in the end (good or bad). I think if you look at any author you can identify over-arching themes.
Novel themes: this is specifically for the particular novel. What ideas did you want to explore? What points did you want to make?
Believe it or not, identifying these themes and keeping them in the back of your mind while you're writing in November can really help.
Here are my "Personal Themes": 1. Unexceptional people can do truly exceptional things (in all my urban fantasy, the Main Character has no supernatural powers) 2. Normalcy is overrated (I try to include as many strange people as I can) 3. Family is what you make it (many of my characters have "families" made up entirely of friends) 4. Diversity is the spice of life (I tend to include as many different ethnicities as I can in my novels).
Here are this year's novel themes:
1. How does loss change your perception of the world, of other people, and of morality and religion?
2. At what point is a person past redemption?
3. What if doing good doesn't result in good? How do you choose between two bad options?
4. Does the devil exist if you are an athiest? (I'm not a religious person but I thought this was an interesting idea).
Feel free to post themes or just work out ideas for themes here.
Meredith
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"I'm getting out of this business." "And go into what?" "Anything. Insurance underwriting, like Garland was supposed to be doing. Or I’ll emigrate. Yes" he nodded. "I’ll go to Mars." Rick Deckard, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Philip K. Dick).
30,734 / 50,000
Oct 18, 2008 - 19 32
Personal themes:
*Fear is the biggest single motivator in human psychology and behavior. Particularly in that it spawns a whole host of other conditions and desires, such as embracing the familiar, pursuing power/security as a safeguard,
*Loneliness is not necessarily a disadvantage. Done properly, it provides a mental space and dignity by which life can be learned.
*Freedom is messy and will always be less that the ultimate ideal.
*If a society restricts information it automatically becomes a caste system. The magnitude and rigidity of the caste divisions are determined by precisely what the pertinent information is, and how much it's being restricted.
*Human lives are fragile. Human identities, doubly so.
*The most useful opponents to an oppressive regime are generally somewhat deranged and dangerous in their own right.
Novel themes:
*It's usually more rational to worry about people closer to home than to fear the distant, alien, stranger. This is rarely done, however, since the unknown is a canvas that people and regimes easily paint with their worst fears. Related to this, the people you should most worry about will generally have a stake it increasing paranoia towards the more distant and/or unknown group.
*Science fiction would be revolutionized overnight if it ever came to be regarded as remotely accurate or descriptive.
*It's quite possible for anti-alien xenephobia to kill far more human beings than the aliens ever do.
*Gender is artificially constructed. Authoritarian regimes will tend to form and distribute gender divisions even more exploitative than exist in contemporary society.
*The level of miitarization in a society is inversely proportional to its civil liberties.
*If the U.S ever went to a thoroughly authoritarian political society it would be virtually compelled, by logistics and technology, to adopt totalitarian aspects whether it's leadership had the ideology or interest in doing so.
*Slavery can be even more arbitrary and purposeless than freedom.
*Almost nothing truly changes the entire world, events are generally more localized than commentators assumed. To assume global dystopia is as naive and ahistorical as assuming global utopia. In a related notion, America is not as linked to democratic freedoms as Americans generally assume. It is easily plausible that America could change into a restrictive political system and go on with the lives of (most of) its citizens intact. Likewise, this departure would not preclude other democracies from continuing to exist.
*Expansion does not necessarily imply progression.
Thanks for the topic. I do think that helped me clarify a few things.
6,228 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2008 - 14 39
Personal:
The people surrounding you can affect the most changes in who you are.
There's someone for everyone.
The boring and the mundane is the canvas for greatness. But you need some color, baby.
Novel:
Hiding in the corners of your soul will kill you slowly.
----------People make sacrifices for those they love, but the price is paid by the loved one.
What people find most irritating in others are the traits they most despise ... or love... in themselves.
Any idiot can write a book.
56,080 / 50,000
Oct 24, 2008 - 08 43
I don't think I have enough writing experience to know and identify my personal themes yet... but as for novel themes I think these are ones I'm working with:
1) People who go against stereotypes are often the most interesting people you will ever encounter
2) The pen is mightier than the sword (...or at least quick thinking and ingenuity will usually win out against brute force)
3) Friendship is at the heart of true love
4) Laugh and the world laughs with you... but there's also a pretty good chance that they're laughing AT you...
And there are probably others that I have yet to identify but that's a pretty good start.
51,360 / 50,000
Nov 4, 2008 - 02 35
This is a great thread, it's really interesting to see everyone's themes and I'm not sure how much new, I can bring to the discussion since a lot of my themes are modifications of what has already been said. Then again, there really only are a few themes out there that people can expand upon, right?
This is my first attempt at a novel, so I'm not sure how to different between the "novel" themes and my "personal" themes. I guess personal ares ones that are a bit deeper and I'd like to reflect upon in future works- so here they are:
Personal themes:
* The world is not black and white, things are more complicated than that
* The personal is political
* "Be excellent to each other" (quoth Bill and Ted) and the Golden Rule should be the highest systems of morality.
* Sexual freedom
* Where we're from is a big factor in making us who we are. Never forget your roots.
Novel themes:
Personal themes, plus a couple more:
* Alcohol is a drug and many illegal drugs are no more dangerous. But there is a fine line between recreational use and destructive addiction. Those who are able to find this balance without harming others should not be punished by the justice system or negative public opinion.
* DuPage County lives up to many stereotypes, but it's still worth taking a fresh look at it- it's neither as awful nor as great as everyone thinks.
*Discrimination is commonplace and can be unconscious. Diversity is the only way it can be overcome.
That's all I can think of for now.
56,005 / 50,000
Nov 4, 2008 - 07 46
Groovy thread!
Personal Themes:
-Parents leave more than their genetics on their children, they impact the thoughts, looks and beliefs more than they know
-The "down-and-out" can emerge victoriously
-Disturbing pasts and gritty surroundings aren't enough to push a character forward, belief is key
Novel Themes:
-Be true to yourself and your heart's desire
-Parents aren't always the best role models, so don't base your worth on how they perceive you
-You can find courage for your own issues by stepping in courageously on behalf of others.
This will probably change as I write more and the characters reveal themselves to me!
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