Repeating Themes and Motifs

[Glisterspeck]

We just had a repeating words thread, which got me thinking about repeating themes/motifs across WIPs.

For instance, my stuff usually has strong absurdist themes, and often uses a motif of -- and this is a bit of a spoiler -- light representing the bad guys. It started out as a subverted trope for me, a bit of antagonist misdirection, but now, basically, all my books have these glowing or shining villains.

Any one else find their stuff is constantly hitting on the same themes? If so, what? Do you use the same motifs across WIPs? And what motifs do you use? (Myself, I love motifs that lie dormant until some reveal gives them meaning.)

 

[Kylara]

I tend to have hidden dragons, (or totally blatant dragons) around the place, either in names or decoration or sudden glimpses and then "no, surely not a dragon!" but that is just me loving dragons

I also seem to have a recurring theme of "trapped" by pretty much anything - there are "walls" in one WiP which hold spirits of some sort that cannot escape the wall, but why or who trapped them isn't really explained much till the end (which isn't written yet ) also other things getting trapped - in minds, bodies, trapped as being attached to someone that sort of thing, is something I love (probably from gothic literature and all that weird mental oddness) also some buildings are trapped...it gets a little odd but that is in an odd short that needs fixing to be actually readable...interesting question though Glitterspeck

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Fratricidal older sisters appear a lot lol - not sure if my younger brother should be concerned.

Handkerchiefs tend to form motifs in stories a lot.

 

[Mouse]

Redemption (x3). Good guy who's done a terrible thing (x3). Characters being hit by cars (x2). Starting stories with men in bathrooms (x3).

 

[Jo Zebedee]

People who are a little unbalanced (I probably have about 8 of them across a couple of books, some managing better than others), angst, I do a lot of angst, implausible science, I am good at. I also tend, annoyingly, to end up with books that want to be YA and yet are adult. Or possibly want to be adult, but are YA.

 

[Kylara]

Men in bathrooms eh Mouse, sounds fun

 

[allmywires]

My MCs always have bad relationships with one parent. I have no idea why -- I love my own. I like to write sibling relationships, as well as friendships. I'm not sure about themes, but I always seem to end up writing at least one gay character into all of my books. I think what I like about that is the scope for drama and secrecy it involves. I don't write happy gays...

 

[Mouse]

People who are a little unbalanced.

All my characters are unbalanced, that's why I didn't mention it! Who wants to read about sane people anyway?

--

Too right, Kylara!

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Oh unconventional family arrangements. Foster family, gay parents, lesbian parents, single fathers etc

It is very rare there is a normal mother, father and 2.5 kids.

There is something in the water in my books with the number of gay, disabled, mixed race people.

 

[Kylara]

Cats, they seem to appear everywhere, and trees. My goodness I have a lot of trees. Not just as description but as full on characters (not that they do anything though they are just there) quite a few have their own poems, and one even has a 12 verse ballad with refrain I do love my trees; though trees tend to occur more often in my poetry they do wrangle their way into shorts quite a bit, oh and into that WiP, he's called Geoff, he doesn't talk much, but he's brilliant at standing around...

 

[Glisterspeck]

Redemption (x3). Good guy who's done a terrible thing (x3) ... Starting stories with men in bathrooms (x3).

So, is each story about the redemption of a good guy who's done a terrible thing, maybe in a bathroom, or are those two themes from more than three manuscripts and one of the three good guys goes unredeemed?

With the good guy... theme, do you explore whether they are still "good guys" after they've done this thing?

 

[Mouse]

So, is each story about the redemption of a good guy who's done a terrible thing, maybe in a bathroom, or are those two themes from more than three manuscripts and one of the three good guys goes unredeemed?

Ok, let me think... One is a short story that did quite well in the Writers of the Future thing. I open with the MC in the bathroom pondering shaving his beard off. He's a good guy - no terrible secrets.

One is a collab with amw. It starts with my MC puking in the toilet after having just murdered someone. He's not a bad guy, he's just done a bad thing. (He will be redeeming himself).

One is a collab I did with some other guys - it didn't start in a bathroom, but the MC had raped someone, though ended up redeeming himself.

And one is my recently completed novel - the MC has a terrible secret, redeems himself, and the story starts with him having a bath.

With the good guy... theme, do you explore whether they are still "good guys" after they've done this thing?

Yep, they're still essentially good people.

 

[Glisterspeck]

People who are a little unbalanced (I probably have about 8 of them across a couple of books, some managing better than others)...

I like unbalanced, because in close third or first, it almost always means an unreliable narrator, and I love unreliable narrators because they shift the meaning of everything as the story builds. Active reading FTW!

 

[Drakai]

Mysterious characters and bar scenes.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I like unbalanced, because in close third or first, it almost always means an unreliable narrator, and I love unreliable narrators because they shift the meaning of everything as the story builds. Active reading FTW!

I must introduce you to the lovely Ealyn Varnon... Completely unreliable, naively guileless, with a risk taking edge.... Seriously, though, I love walking that thin line that, frankly, so many of us do, of holding it together whilst knowing it is all a. Either a knife edge away or b. totally subjective. I think all of us hang on by our fingertips, it's just some grip a little harder... And we're all too blinking scared to admit it...

 

[Reivax26]

The group in my story is on a mission to find a powerful artifact before it falls into the hands of a very powerful bad sorcerer.

I guess that is pretty cliche now that I think about it.

I am going to great lengths to avoid Necromancers though. I have one in the backstory and absolutely no desire to add any others.

 

[jastius]

what would happen if you wrote the story with the bathroom bits, and then went back after and took those out? i mean if you use them for a starting point because you are used to using them for a starting point, ( your own personal version of -once upon a time-) and you just can't get your story to start without it. But what if you then wrote the story and went back later and took that part out. would it read faster and tighter? is there any significant plot or atmosphere points actually introduced with your device or could you sort of write beyond that?
i gues what i am trying to say is that sometimes in rewrites we redeem ourselves

 

[Hex]

Interesting post, jastius!

I like the bathrooms, though. They do work.

And, ahhhhh... Ealyn Varnon. Feel free to introduce me again, springs.

 

[Mouse]

what would happen if you wrote the story with the bathroom bits, and then went back after and took those out? i mean if you use them for a starting point because you are used to using them for a starting point, ( your own personal version of -once upon a time-) and you just can't get your story to start without it. But what if you then wrote the story and went back later and took that part out. would it read faster and tighter? is there any significant plot or atmosphere points actually introduced with your device or could you sort of write beyond that?
i gues what i am trying to say is that sometimes in rewrites we redeem ourselves

I don't start with a bathroom scene because I 'can't start the story without it.' They don't appear there accidentally, I've purposely used the three scenes in the three stories they appear because they have a reason. If I took them out, particularly in the two novels, it would change the whole story.

Hard to believe, I know, but I do know what I'm doing.

 

[Glisterspeck]

Ealyn Varnon does sound intriguing, Springs. Look forward to the introductions. ;-)

For me, theme is the only element of storytelling that the act of writing the story reveals. A lot of folks say their stories just reveal themselves to them: setting and characters, plot and conflict, theme, but for me I don't write a story where the first four aren't already known and/or outlined. Sure, I edit as I go to enforce emerging traits, but I'd never say a character tells me how the plot must proceed.

Theme, on the other hand, I'm not really aware of, or if I am, tends to take on much wider changes than the rest. Once the themes reveal themselves, I then go back and edit to enforce them, in part by cutting as much prose that doesn't directly underscore the theme from the writing as I can. But those original themes, I don't consciously put them there. Which is why, I think, I like that they repeat so often, because it means at least my subconscious has a pretty well-formulated worldview, even if I find my concious thoughts muddled on most points, most of the time. ;-)

Anyone else write themes directly? Figure them all out beforehand and whatnot? If so, how?