Faith Kindred

@hope Good choice! There definitely are a number of themes in LotR (the lust for power is another central one), and that theme is certainly one of them.

@hope Those are great possible answers to the focusing question; I really like how many of those answers are pretty sympathetic answers that many people would choose, and not just obviously wrong answers like fame or power. That has the potential to make your theme a lot more compelling as readers can see themselves drifting to those wrong…[Read more]

@hope Great analogy! I like it. And I definitely agree with you on how great it is to find books with great themes. Nothing hooks me to a story as much as a strong theme does.

@hope That’s great. Haha, I can definitely sympathize with the struggle of moving a theme from the concept-level into the actual story! Keep that goal in mind while working through the course and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the other end of the course on how much the course helped you with that goal.

@anne-swiftblade That’s great! We’ll be…[Read more]

@kate-flournoy Plays are great! And that sounds like a great example of catharsis. I haven’t read those plays before, but I’ll need to put those on my reading list now…

@northerner Ah, I guess I didn’t catch that. Well, I caught the part about heaven and earth and philosophies, but nothing else.

@northerner Hmm. What’s that a parody of?

The subject matter is really horrendous (I’m a metaphor fanatic), but I’m interested to know if there was anything particularly witty about it.

@northerner hm, yes. :/ Unfortunately the comedies have a lot of that. Quite honestly I stopped reading the comedies once I got a quarter of the way through The Merry Wives of Windsor. Not worth it. The Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado About Nothing were good. Otherwise, pretty much senseless.

@northerner No. What’s it about?

@Northerner *is consoled* His histories are definitely my favorites. Most of his other work I really don’t care for. A few exceptions— The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, and Macbeth if only for the villain 😛 but the histories are most certainly wonderful. Probably doesn’t help that it’s my favorite period of history too.…[Read more]

@emma-flournoy Here’s the original.

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That f…[Read more]

@Emma-Flournoy it’s a passage from Hamlet with the key words replaced. 😉

@DAEUS! *groans* You ruined it! *sobs* And Hamlet isn’t even my favorite either. *oceans of tears*
*goes to console herself by reading Henry V for the eighteenth time*

(Hilarious, by the way. 😀 )

@aratrea

Story: Lord of the Rings

Theme: Hope and Perseverance

Focusing Question: Is there ever a time one is justified in giving up?

Message: One must fight and persevere through every darkness, doing what one can whether there is hope or not.

I have a feeling there is probably more themes in LotR, but those are the main ones that I think…[Read more]

Theme: Finite ability of man

Focusing question: What constitutes success?

Possible answers:
a. Protection of loved ones
b. Personal power
c. Survival
d. Memorable acts
e. Relationship with God

Message: Success is not measured by if we win or lose earthly battles, but rather in our relationship with God.

@Aratrea
@Daeus

@aratrea Theme is exciting because it is the life of the story; the reason the story exists. It can be woven in so subtly and exploration of a theme can go in so many directions. I am always excited when I find books that are exciting and yet present a message or prompt thought-provoking questions without shoving the morals down your throat, and…[Read more]

A better understanding of how to create and fully develop themes. And to just understand themes in general. I’ll figure out a basic theme and message, but when it comes time to untangle all the fine points of the theme and work it into the story, it can become a confused mess.

Um… can I do plays??? XD Shakespeare’s Richard II coupled with Henry IV— don’t know if you’ve read them, but Henry IV is the continued story of Richard II. They’re directly linked.

Anyway.
The negative character arc for Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV) begins when he is charged with high treason and banished overseas by the inexperienced…[Read more]

@northerner Well, to start with, I haven’t made money doing it any way because I haven’t published, but there are a few clear facts. First of all, a lot of traditionally published authors don’t make money either. Second, with so much more of the profits you actually keep, it’s easier to make money self-publishing. Third, there are a lot of…[Read more]