tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post6668733241180304815..comments2023-11-03T05:49:10.841-04:00Comments on Storytelling Rules: Themes.Maureen McGowanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-80897693108558482612009-11-29T16:52:06.567-05:002009-11-29T16:52:06.567-05:00I can so see the redemption see in your work, Moll...I can so see the redemption see in your work, Molly! Nice call.Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09803986849921870941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-30237884574220063822009-11-29T15:20:07.501-05:002009-11-29T15:20:07.501-05:00hey just emerging from the pumpkin pie/turkey coma...hey just emerging from the pumpkin pie/turkey coma - I think theme is part of voice too. It's the story you're drawn too and the way you see characters. I like that Eileen knows hers - I would say mine might be redemption - you're never as bad as you think you are....Molly O'Keefehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15171236688541657736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-37750128215130374932009-11-27T21:03:38.265-05:002009-11-27T21:03:38.265-05:00I would be your healing girl. I didn't even no...I would be your healing girl. I didn't even notice it until my agent pointed it out. I seem to like to write about people AFTER something awful has happened to them and show how they get past that to get to a better place.Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09803986849921870941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-35746350249368535912009-11-27T13:21:08.637-05:002009-11-27T13:21:08.637-05:00I think in some ways recurring themes are part of ...I think in some ways recurring themes are part of our voice. But I don't think it needs to get redundant as long as there are other elements in each story that vary.Maureen McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-34147524319552241002009-11-27T13:11:41.852-05:002009-11-27T13:11:41.852-05:00I think we all have themes that thread through our...I think we all have themes that thread through our work. Each story has its own unique characters, of course, but we tend to be shaped by certain themes.<br />I try to keep my world open - that is, I try to hang with people of all ages. I find teenagers fascinating right now (I don't have one, which is why I'm allowed that indulgence!).I love to drop into their lives and watch them text while we're watching a movie, eating dinner, driving in the car (ugh!) I've been independent all my life (I was the only girl in a family of brothers, so I got my own big room upstairs and was pretty much allowed to stay private whenever I wanted), so it fascinates me how today's youth can't be alone with their thoughts EVER. I ask who their heroes are, what they think about boys/girls, what they'd like to do with their lives. They keep me honest and brain-expansive.<br /><br />My own themes change as my life does. I never know what will get me so excited on any given day, but thankfully I keep getting inspired. That's part of the mystery of writing that really turns me on.<br />We all have favorite writers and I think if we take the time to gather together several of their books, we'll see setting changes and on the surface, story changes, but when we really, really search below the surface, those little tics of familiarity emerge. As you follow the direction any character takes, you may also see new directions the writer is exploring. Try it .Get out a couple of books of a favorite writer.Scan the pages again, looking for themes. See what you find...Happy Post Turkey Day...Mary Kennedy Eastham, Author, The Shadow of a Dog I Can't Forget and the upcoming novel Night SurfingWord Actresshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04041865850513656748noreply@blogger.com