Confused? Let’s sort that out.
This may be one of the most confusing elements within stories and narratives. Certainly, writers often come to Florence with an idea for a great story. They understand their plot, know where they want their story to go, but have not grasped the nuance of their themes.
To put it simply, plot is the main sequence of events and theme is the message. Plot is the story; theme is the insight expressed through the writing.
When readers describe Death in the Mountains they might say, ‘this is the true story of a murder set in rural Tuscany in 1914.’ But they would go on to say, ‘it’s really about poverty, loss, love and survival in Italian country life.’ The latter are the themes that came out of the story as I wrote.
Often theme becomes apparent as you write. Delving more deeply into characters, into their responses and reactions to events and conflicts, helps your theme become clear. Frequently themes are a joy. To discover that your story is not actually about murder but rather betrayal or revenge or forgiveness or redemption, is fabulous fun.
Some examples of themes are:
Heroism
Weakness
Opportunity
Bravery
Honesty
Courage
Failure
Pride
Change
Service
It helps to think of the challenges being faced by our characters, especially the protagonist:
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What are they struggling with?
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What do the characters say and do about their problems or other people's problems?
These are the strongest indicators of theme, and they link theme closely to the plot: both plot and theme develop over the course of the story, and are, in a way, resolved.
More on themes next week in Part 2 when we interview one of our published Art of Writing writers about her attitudes to theme.
Sending you my best writing theme vibes from Florence. Let me know how you go! And if you want to, need to, or would like to explore your plot and themes in more detail and depth, join me in Florence this year.
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If you’d like to share any comments or thoughts, I’d be happy to hear from you. Email me directly at lisacliffordwriter@gmail.com