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@Overcomer yay glad we could help!
HC
@overcomer Huh, what’s the story goal?
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ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm …. I’m not sure if I should tell you that, @daeus . It’s kinda a secret.
@overcomer Well, top trumps, and top secret is pretty top.
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I think, @daeus, the story goal is for the hero to embrace his purpose. So, I suppose it’s a story of self-discovery.
I could go into more detail, but I’m not entirely positive of the exact moment when the story goal is reached yet. (I have lots of ideas floating around in my mind, but I haven’t written enough yet to be definite. I think it will come to me pretty soon) For the Lord of the Rings, it was destroying the One Ring, which is pretty obvious from the get-go. Do you think I should make sure the story goal is obvious to the reader? It’s supposed to be, isn’t it? Should I know exactly what it is before writing?
Darn. Now I realize that I really do need to do some MORE thinking about this. I keep doing that and then thinking I’m done and then doing it again …
Excuse me while I completely rethink everything about my story again. *sighs* I can do this.
@overcomer When I wrote “The Golden Conch” I didn’t know exactly what the whole plot was. I had a rough idea but I let the story take me to new and wonderful places. *Not always the best thing to do but…* I’m not sure how strong my plot is, but I didn’t display it straight away for my readers. I added hints and teasers and when I read it to my little sister she reacted the way I wanted. At the time I added a bigger hint at who the bad guy was, she said that she didn’t like the *—-* (Not going to tell you who in case you ever get a chance to read it). Anyway, so I don’t think you need to know it before you write but it might help. Don’t stress, just write. It’ll come. 🙂
I don’t know, @bluejay . Maybe my story is bothering me for a reason. That’s the hard part, trying to figure out whether my gut is trying to tell me something or if I’m just plain overthinking and nervous about the whole thing. Sometimes I think it’s awesome and other times I feel like I have two stories that I’m trying to stitch together like Peter Pan and his shadow, only the shadow belongs to a much bigger person and it won’t fit.
My original idea for the story (though half-baked) was simpler, so I’ve decided to write up an alternate outline with a slightly different story goal and less complicated everything. Just to see what it’s like and if I feel more confident about it. It can’t hurt to try. Most of what I’ve written would still work with it, it’ll just take a bit of a different direction after the inciting event than the other would, with less subterfuge and double motives and overall confusion.
If I use that instead I won’t completely abandon the other idea. It’s good, it just might not work with the characters and the story. I’ll have to see.
@overcomer. Think about your theme. In fact, I’ll say something really cheesy. Just follow your theme. If it’s theme right, it can’t be wrong. *rolls in laughter*
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I am thinking about my theme, @daeus , and the more I think about it, the more it changes and drives me crazy! 😉
Is this my theme or my story’s?
Theme as it is now: You can’t embrace and fulfill your destiny without facing your fears.
What do you think? 😉
Another possible theme I’m considering: What you think you want and what you really want aren’t always the same things.
*Gives up and sits on head* *gets up again*
I guess there are several themes in every story. The main thing is to find the overall theme, right? 🙂
I’ll be okay. I’ll stow my story for tonight and give it a fresh look in the morning. (Then I’ll be ready to tackle it in earnest) 🙂
@overcomer I suppose either one of those could be the theme, but I suspect it is the first because the second is somewhat of a theme in most novels. Your character starts out with a certain goal, then as the story progresses, he sees that there are other more important goals and either incorporates them into his original goal, morphos his original goal, or abandons his original goal for the higher goal.
That, thankfully, leads to an understanding of theme itself. Theme is all about what your protagonist learns through the story. In other words, the goal your character learns is the more important to him than any other. If your protag is a single parentless news reporter who has to leave his job to help his baby sister survive a deathly disease, then the protag’s learning about the importance of family. Depending on your story, your theme could also be what your protag teaches others by example or what your protag ultimately rejects, ending in tragedy.
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I’m sure your right about my story theme, (unless it changes in the writing, in which case it’s not your fault but I’ll blame it on you anyway 😉 ) and thanks for breaking it down for me, @daeus . 🙂 I’ve been reading up on what different story writing terms mean lately, since I realized my understanding of them was a little on the hazy side. (I mean is on the hazy side;) Your post helped me grasp the concept even better. Defining concepts like theme, plot, message, goals, etc., definitely makes story structure easier to understand.
@overcomer I don’t know if this would help at all, but I found an article here that would maybe help you with theme. I didn’t even know exactly what a theme was until I read that article. 🙂
@overcomer
Apologies for my late reply! I saw your post through email, but without my computer, I am useless on here… I have not written a novel-length anything as of yet… I am hoping that my current WIP will be novel length, but that is yet to be seen, and as I haven’t done much more than… probably four things that I would mention, of various short lengths, I don’t have much to say that hasn’t already been said. In other words, WOW THANK YOU FOR TAGGING ME WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT I AM NOT A REAL WRITER PERSON YET… However, I will throw this out there… Reading stuff about writing… will not necessarily make your writing better. Looking up ideas for your characters… will not necessarily make your writing better. All those beautiful writing things that say things to the end of “Suck it up and write” Yeah. They’re true… *bangs head on desk*, SO I’m not saying anything everyone else hasn’t said… *grins apologetically* But girl, You got this! *nods* And if all else fails just take a break and eat some chocolate, get some caffeine, and go back to it! Or just wallow in a pit of despair because of your writing. That works too… as long as it motivates you to come back and finish. XDThanks, @aella ! You write like you’re a fun person to talk to. 🙂
Quite frankly, I haven’t written much at all lately. Maybe I’ll try that wallowing idea. 😉
Really, I feel more motivated just reading your post. Maybe I’ll rediscover “Writer’s Corner” in the morning. 😀
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