Part 3 The Importance of Story's Central Theme
1064 Words
With the development of the Internet, the book market has been greatly altered in recent years. There is a growing generation of influential and innovative writers who prefer to share their stories through social media, in blogs and various other writing platforms. This marks a break from traditional patterns in the industry for how novels are published. The widespread use of these new mediums demonstrates that there is a large demand for authorship, as well as a desire to read stories.
There is no doubt that online writing platforms help make the relationship between readers and writers closer than ever before. For authors, being able to see reader’s comments under the story offers direct, objective feedback while they write. For readers, where in the past it might have been difficult to find books in a certain genre, now there are whole online communities where people can chat and get book recommendations from other readers.
Moreover, increasing numbers of online novels have been made in other forms, including TV, theatre, film, video game and audiobook adaptations, as well as the creation of other derivative products. This can really encourage readers to engage in the book, increasing their enjoyment of the material and bringing more traffic to the online content.
Consequently, online writing has become an overwhelming trend within the publishing arena. In this environment, conveying to readers the central theme of a story is very important.
There have been huge numbers of romantic stories on our platform and although many of their themes are quite similar, some still stand out. Why? We hope this article can offer you some helpful suggestions to make your story gain more "likes".
The central theme can be defined as the belief or insight that a writer tries to convey to the reader. When writing a story, you should be clear about the core idea you would like to express and below are two of the main patterns used:
A. Relationship
Relationships are often the basic core of a story. Sometimes the theme is about “love and redemption”; sometimes it is about one’s experience and growth as a person.
No matter whether the relationships are between lovers, family, friends or enemies, the reader can at least relate to one kind of relationship from a story. If you’re good at portraying these relationships your story has a great chance to be welcomed because it will resonate with the reader.
For instance, in “Twilight”, Edward's actions are motivated by his initial view of Bella being his prey. In the end though, he falls in love with her. Their love is forbidden but no one can separate them. So it could be argued that true love is one of the main themes of this story, an idea that often arouses strong feelings in the reader.
B. Relationship + World View
As we all know, a theme can be repeated in many different stories but the setting, characters and plot are uniquely created by each writer. All of this is connected to creating a worldview, which is a recognizable point that helps your story stand out from other stories.
A worldview can include natural philosophy, fundamental, existential, and normative postulates, to name a few. Usually it involves a degree of strength or power. For example, the TV show “Game of Thrones (adapted from A Song of Ice and Fire)”; focuses on the theme of “pursuit of power”. It boldly depicts a particular world that subverts the genres’ dominant theological view and became one of the most popular shows in recent years. Not only this but the relationships between the main characters is also a huge source of intrigue and interest for the audience.
If you possess a great imagination and enthusiasm for building a virtual world with a specific worldview, the loyal followers of your story may also be made into a passionate fan group. As the readership increases, so the group increases in size as well.
It is said that one story usually has multiple themes. In fact, there may be a central argument that is the most critical part, which is fundamental throughout the story. Stories that include a powerful theme can have effects in real life. If you want your novel to touch readers long after they’ve turned the final page, it needs a deeper layer of meaning that only a central theme can provide.
For example, in “The Hunger Games”, the main theme is survival, while the background is set in a dystopian America run by a totalitarian government. Although the elements of power, class and honor are the key points, the message conveyed in this series is strongly related to the current problems in modern society. The cruelty of the game leaves the audience with a deep impression and gives them reason to consider the future development of capitalist economies.
As mentioned previously, romance is the biggest genre on our platform. Therefore the issue of how to portray the relationships between the main characters in a vivid way is extremely important. It is also a common struggle that many new writers face. So here we would like to offer some tips:
a. Craft your characters with a rich personality
Characters are the basis of each relationship, so you have to think of them as real people that you want to get to know; think about how they look, what they like or dislike, what happened in their past etc. Taking time to really flesh out the characters will help you describe them within their relationship in greater detail.
b. Make some conflicts in their relationship
Misunderstanding leading to conflict is a regular plotline used in romantic stories to get the reader hooked.
However, be careful to ensure that the events are coherent and make sense based on what came before, or your story will appear disjointed and unrealistic.
c. Build intimacy
To build the relationship between two characters it is helpful to put them together as often as possible so that the reader sees their connection building. The reader should be excited to see how they get together and want it to happen. Sometimes, intimate scenes can be the chemistry needed to push the relationship between two main characters to the next level.
BY Cherise
- Writer
