Focus, Focus…Theme!

When I wrote one of my stories, I didn’t know what the theme was while I wrote it. Or rewrote it. Or rewrote it again. It lacked focus and it was incredibly frustrating writing my query letter. What the heck was my story about anyway? I had all these great events, but where did they go and why were they there? What was I trying to illustrate? How come I could get it all to pull together?At some point I kind of figured out my theme, but then I had more rewriting to do to make sure I illustrated it. It was a loooong haul. And I had the wrong theme. Yeah, I know. The things we learn on the journey to writing a cohesive story, right?

And then, bang. I got it. I had been looking at each scene in a new way and how they related to each other and suddenly I knew what my theme was. Everything instantly became clearer. I could focus. I could see where things were flawed, not holding up their part of the bargain, where they were right on. And was my query letter ever easier to write after that!

So, if you are looking for a way to focus a manuscript you are editing, or working on a new story, don’t underestimate the power of knowing your theme to pull everything into focus.

The First Five Pages: Focus Part 2

I think I have mentioned this here and there, but here it is all in one spot.

I find writing by the seat of my pants exciting. There is nothing more exciting. And you are hearing this from the girl who loved the free fall (80 feet) ride at the Calgary Stampede. (They take you up 120 feet and drop you into a net 40 feet from the ground. THAT was fun.) Anyway, I love being a pantster writer.

But I have seen the light.

I find writing with the plot in front of me to be a bit boring. And you are hearing this from the girl who loved writing essays in university. I loved having everything researched and just laying it all out on the paper. Everything fitting so nicely together. Ahhhh…

But as I said, I have seen the light. That means I may have to give up pantster writing.

<Sob>

The works I wrote pantster style have needed SO much editing. The one I wrote plotster style has needed surprisingly little. I didn’t really realise it until well, editing it. But honestly, I didn’t really SEE it until I reached the ‘focus’ chapter in Lukeman’s book. I then proceeded to pull my hair out of my head when looking at my one story. Everything has to be focused? But I don’t know what the purpose is! I don’t know where I was going! It was FUN! That’s all and I think I got a pretty decent story out of it. Then I looked at my other story. The Plotster story. It was heaven to edit. It all had a purpose. I knew where everything was going. Everything added up and propelled the story. And sure, there were some surprises as I wrote, even though it was mostly plotted out. For example, one of the characters wanted her own point of view. It wasn’t tantalising to write and it doesn’t thrill me in the same way as my plotster story. But then again, that could come down to characters. I have some nuts in the one story. In the other, people that I would know. Not so nutty. More real, average everyday. It is less humourous and light.

So, my lesson is this: I need to plot more. It helps in the long run. But I also need to leave room for pantster action. Ooo. That sounds dirty! I need to know my characters and their motivations and where they are going before I start writing. Or at least once I am a few thousand words in. Then I will have focus. Then my work will have focus. And then I will become famous. I will bore myself, but I will be famous.

Ha, ha.

The First Five Pages: Focus