Braden Russell

@moriahs Oh, nice. I read Bond’s Crown and Covenant Trilogy, Betrayal, and a couple others when I was still in high school and remember enjoying each of them. Great historical fiction there.

@jenali That’s awesome to hear that the lesson was able to help you get over that fear! I do think that explicitly-Christian fiction can be harder than writing non-explicitly Christian fiction (because you now have a second element of what it means to live as a Christian), but I think it’s definitely a challenge that can be conquered with…[Read more]

@jenali Good combo. Acceptance is a unique theme to have. What would you say the focusing question is for that theme?
The story actually sounds a bit more like Method #2 to me, since the major and minor themes are providing part of the answer to the primary theme of leadership. Unless I’m misunderstanding what you’re saying?

@jenali That sounds great! Doing foils with a theme of friendship can be especially interesting because then the two characters’ foil relationship with each other becomes an aspect of the actual theme (friendship), and the reader can see how both characters treat the same friendship differently. Good choice.

@jenali Good. I would generally agree with you that writers who struggle with theme don’t often have more than one theme. I like the way that your two examples parallel each other (one being the third method done well; one the third method done poorly). Contrasting similar situations of stories that work and stories that don’t work can be a great…[Read more]

@ethryndal Liriel’s guilt in the reaction to scene #1 is unclear to me. If she didn’t care about his life in battle, why after battle does she begin to care? Are there any events that happen between those that send her on that path? Or is it the realization that he could be dead that makes her re-think her decision?

Scene #2 looks good to me.…[Read more]

@ethrynal Haha, got it. As long as you’re clear on what those events are, that should be good. 🙂

Welcome to the site, @moriahs! Glad you found us. Who are your favorite authors?

Welcome to the site, @morahs! Glad you found us. What do you like to write?

Hey all,

Just a reminder that this is happening today from 3-4 PM EST. To access the Q&A, go to https://kingdompen.org/theme-mastery-qa/ Looking forward to interacting with you there!

LOL, all. Glad to see I am surrounded by other E Js. 😀 @winter-rose To answer your question (in a delayed manner because college and also work) hmmmmm… well, I mean, it would depend on what our end game goal was for world domination. Like, if taking over the world would mean forcing everyone to be nicer and having a streamlined way to fix our…[Read more]

Welcome to the site, @f5a8c3e92! I can very much sympathize with school getting in the way of writing. xD The story of my life anymore is how much college work I can push off/ignore in order to find time to write. Great author list there as well. I espy many of my favorites on that list, particularly Austen. Do you have a favorite Austen work?

@winter-rose *says E really fast followed by a much slower NFJ*

How have I missed this thread for so long? xD There’s an insurrection brewing, and I didn’t even notice. xD *applauds* This honestly is the best.

@anna-brie Got it. Sounds good then!

@ethryndal Ha–yep, haven’t heard of it, but it sounds like a good example!

@jenali Looks like a good set of minor characters there! I like the fact that you have a foil situation with Teren’s house and the country as a whole. Those kinds of comparisons can make for effective theme development.

@jenali I would generally agree with that as an overall principle. I will mention, though, that with short stories you also have less space, so sometimes I think leaving minor characters undeveloped can make more sense in a short story given how little space you have to work with.

I haven’t read that book, but it sounds like a good example!…[Read more]

@jenali Got it. Sounds like a good arc for her then. With that piece in place, all of that looks good!

@anna-brie

Yeah, when you make the plot goals secretly dependent on the thematic goals (which it looks like you’re doing here), the plot doesn’t always align as clearly with the character arc moments as it would otherwise. Sometimes you’ll want to look to a minor theme to keep the rest of the plot relevant, as it looks like you’re doing with…[Read more]