Thematic Significance of Stories

First, he writes a rough draft of what sounds like an exciting middle grade novel filled with external dramatic action, likable characters, rich historical events and meaning.

Next, he's slogs through a re"vision" process that includes re-plotting his story after attending a plot workshop with me, reading The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master and The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories and, before pulling the entire story together in one massive rewrite, he signs up for a plot consultation.

He sends me his first stab at a thematic significance statement for his story. I recommend he pin the statement on the wall where he'll see it, write it on the bathroom mirror, whatever. Every time he works on his rewrite, he'll consider the statement and revise as he sees fit. By the end of the entire rewrite, the exact thematic significance statement will have emerged.

As he rewrites and evaluates his statement, I encourage him to ask himself if the general themes are reflected throughout the story. For instance: if the need for telling the truth is needed for the protagonist to prevail at the end and included in his thematic significance statement, ask himself if that is spot on. Is it telling the truth or is it something else, deeper perhaps that she must learn?

Look throughout the story for instances or references to the themes you mention in the overall thematic significance statement. Your story isn't so much about digging deep so perhaps that isn't a true fit. Your story doesn't reflect the idea of digging deep as much as letting go, taking the plunge?

Keep exploring themes in a similar way. What other themes do you find in your story. Do any of those belong in your statement? What about forgiveness? Whatever you add or subtract to the statement needs to be reflected throughout the story.

I don't want him to perfect his themes now. Rather, I want him to organize his notes and then rewrite the story from beginning to end. He's more than ready. He knows his story and characters and setting and plot. As he writes, themes will emerge and he'll acknowledge and further incorporate them. I encourage him to challenge himself to complete the rewrite on a specific date. Then work backwards to determine how many pages he intend to write daily to accomplish his goal / challenge.

*****

Knowing what to write where in a story with a plot allows for a more loving relationship with your writing. Whether writing a first draft or revising, if you falter wondering what comes next in a story with a plot, follow the prompts inThe Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing

Today, I write.

To familiarize yourself with the basic plot terms used here and in the PW Book of Prompts:

1) Watch the plot playlists on the Plot Whisperer Youtube channel.
2) Read The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
3) Fill out the exercises inThe Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories
4) Visit:
Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook
Plot Whisperer on Twitter

The Universal Story

Thanks to the plot consultations I do with writers from all over the world, the plot workshops and retreats I’ve taught and the novels, memoirs and screenplays I've analyzed, I have come to believe that every scene in every book is part of a Universal Story that flows throughout our lives, both in our imaginations and in the reality that surrounds us.

Every story ever told participates in this universal pattern as words grow and expand into sentences, paragraphs, and chapters. What is left after the end of the story has the potential to transform not only the writer but all those who read the story as well.

I teach the Universal Story to writers through plot. Though difficult to accomplish successfully, plot is critical to stories. As I continue to teach and write and consult, I gain new insights into plot . . . and into writers’ lives.

You bring to your writing, your art, and your stories a piece of yourself. In return, the act of creating gives you the possibility of something even greater: true transformation.

The better your understanding of how to integrate the energy of the Universal Story into your story, you come to understand yourself better. You begin to see your writing in a different light. The ways you interact with your writing and with the world around you shifts.

Be forewarned, though. Writing a story can expand your everyday life; it can also destroy the person you are now. Commit to your own journey as your protagonist embarks on hers. Explore your true essence. Whether you emerge from the experience better or worse is your choice. But I believe the act of writing offers you the possibility of transformation.

Your imagination allows you to see worlds invisible to others. Imagine the Universal Story into reality and reclaim a miraculous and mysterious way of being.

More about the Universal Story is coming in The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of the Universal Story Structure Any Writer Can Master in October and is now available for pre-order. 

In the meantime, for tips about the Universal Story and writing a novel, memoir or screenplay, visit Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? on YouTube. A directory of all the steps to the series is to the right of this post. Enjoy!

Behind the Veil

Personal themes pulse from the belly of the novel, memoir, screenplay you're writing.

One of my own I wrote in the thematic significance section of the up-coming Plot Whisperer book:

Speaking up and speaking out come at a price worth paying.

Now, with the book nearly finished, I find the gem promised in stories waiting there in real life for me.

Speaking up and speaking are not punishable. Silence is.

Speaking out and speaking up are living one's truth, a truth from behind the veil.

Write down a theme of your own and perhaps you'll spot from behind the veil a personal wound you have come here to heal...

Click on green highlighted plot concepts for further explanations via video. Each time a concept is referenced you are directed to new information.