Thoughts on Themes from WSD
I’m still querying WSD, so I haven’t written much here regarding what the actual story itself is about. But I recently watched a writing training on theme, and I realized that this is something I can discuss, even if I can’t share much about the characters and plot just yet. I’ll start by broadly defining what a theme is for those who may not be totally sure. Then, I’ll discuss the central themes to WSD and end with some final personal thoughts.
THE DEFINITION OF THEME
Theme refers to the central idea or message that an author seeks to convey through the story. Most people think of it as an overarching concept or topic that explores universal truths about life, society, human nature, or the human condition. They serve as the underlying foundation that ties together the plot, characters, and settings, providing deeper meaning and resonance to a given narrative.
Themes can vary widely and may include topics such as love, friendship, betrayal, redemption, power, justice, identity, survival, freedom, or the conflict between good and evil. They are often expressed implicitly through the actions, dialogue, and experiences of the characters, as well as through the events and conflicts that unfold throughout the story. We (writers) use themes to explore complex ideas, provoke thought and reflection in readers, and evoke emotional responses. Themes can offer insights into the human experience and prompt us to consider the broader implications of the story's events.
Personally, when I’m picking out the themes of a story (whether as part of the writing process or as I’m reading with theme in mind), I think in questions. Instead of approaching it as a broad idea like “identity,” it helps when I ask a specific question and use the story to explore more. I’ll expand on this, using my own manuscript as the example.
WSD SYNOPSIS FOR CONTEXT
I don’t want to give the whole plot away, but I’m comfortable sharing the blurb I’ve included in my query letter. It gives more than enough of an idea.
Forty-two-year-old Beatrice Carter learns she is the owner of a bookshop & bakery in her small upstate NY city, but the problem is, she doesn’t remember that… or anything else, for that matter. Having recently suffered a mysterious neurological event, Bea is left struggling to understand this strange amnesia, but what’s even more bizarre is that the woman who is supposedly her own mother doesn’t remember her, either. While trying to uncover who she is and why she’s forgotten it all, a skeptical Bea befriends the enigmatic local art gallery owner, Vivian. Bea and Vivian share a magical gift for manipulating thoughts and memories, but as the gallery owner’s attention turns obsessive (and dangerous), Bea's memories begin to resurface, linking them both to the death of a beloved local man. If she can't unravel the mystery and accept what’s happened, someone she loves will become the next victim.
We join Bea on a journey of reconnection, with herself and with the people in her life. She struggles with understanding who she is now that she has no memories, and as her old life surfaces, she must reconcile what that means for who she’s become. We see how early experiences in her life shaped her… The close relationship with her great-grandmother, the long-lasting effects of her Gigi’s death, and unhealthy coping and relational sabotage all seem to be impacting her current life still, despite having no conscious memory of any of it. From her strained relationship with her mother to the new romance with Taylor, it isn’t just Vivian turning her life upside down in the present as she works to create something meaningful on the blank canvas she’s been given.
WSD THEMES
There were actually several themes I considered while writing WSD, but I’ll list what I see as the 3 primary themes of this story:
How much of who we are is wrapped up in memories of who we’ve been? (How is identity impacted by memory?)
Where do we draw the line between using all of our gifts to our advantage? (Morally, legally, ethically, do we have a responsibility to manage our gifts in a particular way?)
How responsible are we for decisions we make while under undue influence? (When our decisions are impacted by strong influences around us, are we morally, ethically, and legally responsible for our actions?)
Many people would likely say that WSD has themes of identity, grief/healing, belonging, and justice. And they’d be accurate in stating as much. I just personally prefer to understand theme as the discussion of a question, where the story seeks to explore possible answers. It feels more active to me, so that’s how I approach it whether I’m analyzing someone else’s work (with a reader’s mindset) or drafting/revising my own work (with a writer’s mindset).
INTENTIONAL, OR NO?
Sometimes I go into a project with a clear idea of thematic questions I hope to explore as I draft, and other times I write the first draft and themes emerge naturally on their own throughout that drafting process. As I edit and revise, I seek to clarify and expand upon those central ideas. There’s plenty of advice and support for both approaches, and as much as I’d like to say I always know what themes I’m tackling before I even outline, that’s simply untrue. It’s not always, and it may not even be most of the time.
For WSD, I did have themes in mind early on, so they were pretty clear even in the earliest drafts, but that is not always the case. I do wonder if that played a part in how quickly and cleanly this story came together, the first draft taking shape in less than 2 months. While I did make some changes in revision, the structural ones were minor, and it really was more on the line level. My beta readers identified similar themes, which is always validating as the writer, because it means what I intended to communicate made it onto the page in a way that readers can pick it up.
FINAL PERSONAL THOUGHTS
I’m already nearly finished with the first draft of another project, and it’s one where I didn’t identify themes going into it. I was simply transcribing a story to get it out of my head. That said, there are several clear themes I can identify now, and when I start revisions I’ll be able to easily write towards those discussions. Even with the lack of thematic forethought, I’ve managed to draft this manuscript in about 2 months (just like WSD) and clear themes have surfaced on their own, so perhaps it isn’t a factor? I’m not sure. Maybe when an idea is so persistent and clear, it just comes out more easily in general, rendering the planning/plotting part of my process less significant? Still, I’m not the kind of writer who can just straight up write by the seat of my pants. I need a bare bones outline, at the very least.
You’d think after 7 completed manuscripts and a dozen more in save files on my hard drive, I’d have some sort of concrete process established, but you’d be wrong. I wonder if that’s something I’ll ever truly pin down, or if my process is the chaos of something new every single time, but so far each project has told me what it’s needed. I’m doing my best to listen.
I’m both nervous and excited by the idea that others will read my work one day and have discussions of their own. I’m curious to hear what conversations are had, and I can only hope that it resonates with as many people as possible.
