Sara Dailey week #003: Knockout idea–Use a theme!

    What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

                                    Ecclesiastes 1:9

Now you know that if this idea is stated in the Bible, a book that’s a few thousand years old, then it’s not exactly a new idea that writers struggle with today. In fact, trying to be completely, 100% original, can lead to that greatest writer enemy of all. . .

WRITER’S BLOCK!

          Now think about this:

          How many works of fiction do you know that contain the theme Appearances may be deceiving? How about ALL of them? Where there’s conflict, there’s someone who’s not getting what he or she wants. And as we all know, conflict drives plot.

          So take the pressure off yourself, and once you do that, let’s move on and get back to our focus this week: Sara Dailey’s article, “The Memory Train.” In it, she outright states one of her themes directly:

It has led me to wonder whether we are defined by our gaps, the places within where nothing breathes or where something leaps but is not caught. Whether we are only the products of our woundings, defined by the scope of our losses.

Try this:

          Think of a character who is dealing with lack or loss. He or she feels as though something is missing, or that person has experienced some type of loss; something that was precious is now gone. Write that scene, using detailed description!

Coming tomorrow: Hard and soft similes, Sara style!