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About Give it Meaning
Advice on how to make your story matter, setting up or identifying themes in your story, and how to tell when it's too obvious or too subtle. Author:
Scott M. Sandridge
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Um, What's It About Again? You’ve finished writing your story, gone through the revisions. All the thematic elements you want are in there, crystal-clear and easy to find. You send it to your First Reader or your critique group. The replies come back. And the first thing you discover is that no one seems to know what the blasted thing’s about!
Appeared 2010-05-27 in
Allegory vs. ApplicabilityWhen it comes to writing thematic stories, there are essentially two methods to go about it: allegory or applicability. Which method you use will depend on how obvious you want your theme to be.
Appeared 2010-05-21 in
The Four CategoriesYou could break the meanings of stories down into more than just four categories, but the four I use encompasses the vast majority of stories with relevant themes: Personal, Philosophical, Political, and Religious/Spiritual. Most stories can be placed in more than one category, sometimes even overlap with all four. In my opinion, every story should at least be in two of the categories, and Personal should always be one of them. But since Personal was covered, this column will cover the other three.
Appeared 2010-03-26 in
Keep it RealWhen writing a work of fiction with meaning, especially one with a moral core, it is always important to keep it real.
Appeared 2010-01-23 in
Make it PersonalThe #1 reason that keeps you from sitting butt to chair and writing is simply that, for one reason or another, you just don’t care what you’re writing about. So, if you’re having trouble writing your story, i.e. Ye Olde “Writer’s Block,” then ask yourself if the story matters to you personally. If it doesn’t then find something in it that will make it matter.
Appeared 2008-05-30 in
Love StoriesEver noticed there are more love stories than any other kind of stories on Earth? If any other type of story was done half as often, they would get the “cliché” tag stuck on them.
Appeared 2008-02-13 in
The Power and Futility of HateSome say love is stronger than hate, but I think hate is equally as strong if not stronger, but – unlike love – is ultimately futile.
Appeared 2008-01-27 in TeenAge
Orwell & NewspeakThe parts of Orwell’s 1984 that people remember most is Big Brother and Room 101, but there is something else in Orwell’s dystopia that’s more subtle but equally as dangerous: Newspeak.
Appeared 2008-01-14 in
Themes That go Boo! - Facing Your Deepest FearsDelving into the dark side of human nature can be a scary undertaking, but what would the horror genre be like if authors didn’t have the courage to do so?
Appeared 2007-10-29 in
The Power and Futility of HateSome say love is stronger than hate, but I think hate is equally as strong if not stronger, but – unlike love – is ultimately futile.
Appeared 2007-03-24 in The Sword Review
Earlier Columns
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