Does Your Life Have a Theme?
Have you ever looked back on your life and seen a theme? I doubt that most of us have. But if you have, I’d love to hear about it.
Books, of course, usually do have a theme – even if it is only something broad like an American cowboy’s life on the ranch. But your life?
The books I have written definitely have themes. Here they are, in the order they were published:-
Hide in Time: Ever wished you could go back in time and put something right?
One Dark Night: We owe so much to those who hurt us.
Under a Dark Star: All that it takes for evil to flourish is for good men/women to do nothing.
One Dark Soul: Is it ever too late to change?
Immortality: This is Probably a Novel: The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
Title not yet revealed has the theme: Mistakes are not always a bad thing; we can learn a lot from them.
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If you are a reader, I’d love to know what theme you feel authors never tackle. Or, tell us your favourite theme in books or a single book. I’d also be interested to know which theme in my books would be your favourite?
If you are an author, please tell us how you arrived at the theme of one of the books you have written (no links please but do put the title).
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Stress Reliever: Plan ahead. Tough times coming? Keep a well-stocked ‘emergency shelf’ of essentials, whether that’s food, cash for if the Internet is hacked, or other things you know you’ll need if things get tough. Ideas for this shelf are welcome in the comments below too.
Books, of course, usually do have a theme – even if it is only something broad like an American cowboy’s life on the ranch. But your life?
The books I have written definitely have themes. Here they are, in the order they were published:-
Hide in Time: Ever wished you could go back in time and put something right?
One Dark Night: We owe so much to those who hurt us.
Under a Dark Star: All that it takes for evil to flourish is for good men/women to do nothing.
One Dark Soul: Is it ever too late to change?
Immortality: This is Probably a Novel: The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
Title not yet revealed has the theme: Mistakes are not always a bad thing; we can learn a lot from them.
~
If you are a reader, I’d love to know what theme you feel authors never tackle. Or, tell us your favourite theme in books or a single book. I’d also be interested to know which theme in my books would be your favourite?
If you are an author, please tell us how you arrived at the theme of one of the books you have written (no links please but do put the title).
~
Stress Reliever: Plan ahead. Tough times coming? Keep a well-stocked ‘emergency shelf’ of essentials, whether that’s food, cash for if the Internet is hacked, or other things you know you’ll need if things get tough. Ideas for this shelf are welcome in the comments below too.
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We all write differently, it seems. Your themes are not only interesting, Alex, but also enlightening.Characters, Carole! They can sometimes develop in a surprising (to me!) way. My themes take shape as the characters drive the story along.
I haven't yet finished my wip (not long, not too long...) and the next book is taking shape but I've no idea what the theme might be. Yet! The next book after that is also taking shape. There's not much room in my head at the moment and I need to get them out! Does anyone have a spare head I could borrow? And no, I don't write horror.
What a great question, Anna! For both readers and authors. My mind immediately went to a theme for my own life, and it made me think. Best I can come up with is...crazy, roller-coaster ride from start to well...not finished yet, haha:)
Oh yay, Gail. I remember a quotation about roller coasters and life - well, I nearly remembered it! I had to look it up and then I've found several saying much the same thing:Life is like a roller coaster with its ups and downs and you can either scream or hang on and enjoy the ride.
So true, eh?
I love, love, love your avatar.
Alex wrote: "Anna wrote: "You're too kind, Alex. I'm slow."It doesn't matter how fast or slow you work, any progress is good."
Something worth remembering, thank you, Alex.
I tend not to think about themes when writing. Sometimes they develop in the course of reading and revising what I've written. My second Howard County Mystery, True Death, has as its theme spiritual death (hence the title), although it may not be entirely obvious to the reader. The third in the series, Ice on the Bay has spiritual/emotional coldness (and warmth) as its theme, sort of. My forthcoming HCM title, A Day for Bones, may or may not have a theme. I'll let readers figure that one out. ;-)
Thanks, Dale. I know what you mean. I also don't necessarily set out to write to a theme. 'True Death' is a title that attracts and the theme is intriguing too. The only way three of my books' themes could be summed up was for me to use famous quotations. I hadn't expected that when I started but the quotations fitted too well for me to ignore them.
I expect you can spot the quotations. I hasten to add that I do give the author when I publish the books.
The question of themes is very interesting, Anna. Great ones for your books, I especially like 'Hide in Time' - wishing you could go back and put something right. If only you could unsay something! I find myself constantly having regretful thoughts, tell myself no point, forward! The theme for my short story collection 'A Recycled Marriage' is troubled lives: can you find courage and resilience at the worst point of your life? When I was sorting through my stories for the collection, this theme ran through so many of them, I went with it.
I think that as authors we rarely mention our themes. Instead we rely on blurbs to give information to readers searching for a suitable book.Your theme for 'A Recycled Marriage' flags up a worthwhile read.
I've edited my response to Dale. I've just reread it and I was surprised I had not already mentioned 'True Death'.
I'm blaming lack of time, the heat, the...
Heat? Oh yes, here in my part of the UK, we are enduring temps in the 30s, that's around 90f. We're not used to it and my usual rushing around has had to stop and I am learning to glide gracefully (ahem).
The theme of my trilogy is to portray a woman on her path of self-discovery and personal growth as she faces many challenges that are still relevant today.
Thank you, Lizet. The Cinnabar Medallion's theme will be useful for many readers, I suspect.
Yes, there's one theme going through my life for 38 years. When I was 15 years old in 1970 I read Grace Metalious' two novels on Peyton Place and found them much more compelling than Jacqueline Susann's "Valley of the Dolls" which I had read a few months prior.Growing up in Germany, "Peyton Place" was unfortunately not aired on German TV. Around 1972 I wrote to the 3 TV channels which existed at the time, but they told me that they are not interested, because the first 260+ episodes were filmed in black & white. So what?
I envied France, because I found out in the French movie and TV magazine Ciné Télé Revue that France aired PP.
Later I found out that PP was a huge success on British and Dutch TV, but the Germans didn't get to watch the color episodes before 1990.
In early March 1997 my first marriage ended and I booked an RV and drove on Route 101 South from Vancouver to Los Angeles for 4 weeks and then spent another week in a log cabin at Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains.
This was the Easter week in 1997 and AMC played Easter epics. In-between the old movies there was a commercial of the Romance Channel which was about to air the classic TV series "Peyton Place" (1964 - 1969).
I went to the manager of the Saddleback Inn to inquire if the Romance Channel was part of their cable package, but it was not.
So close and yet so far...
In 2002 I immigrated from Germany to the US and 6 years later I ordered "Sea Hunt" from amazon dot com. I noticed that there was a forum for fans of classic TV series which I joined.
A few months later one of the guys at the forum (which no longer exists) told me that I could order all 514 episodes from PP on 44 DVD's via ioffer. I just couldn't believe it!
That same year my future husband was working for his US employer in Uxbridge near London for 11 months and wanted me to join him. So I took the US citizenship test, received my US passport and joined André on 8/10/08 for 4,5 months in the UK. We had the time of our life. :)
When things calmed down a bit, we ordered "Peyton Place" from ioffer with all 514 episodes, both TV movies and both old movies (one with Lana Turner, the other one with Jeff Chandler).
On Christmas evening we returned to Massachusetts, the next day we went to see my husband's son & family and picked up our mail. The most precious item was the ioffer package.
During the following 2 months I watched all 44 DVD's...I was like in a fever. I had expected a lot from PP, but this was even better than I could imagine. And of course the black & white episodes (1964 - 1966) were a lot better than the color episodes (1966 - 1969).
After 38 yearss of searching and longing one of my biggest dreams finally got fulfilled. :)
Thank you, Christine. It's interesting for an author to see just how much some books can affect their readers. I'm glad your dream was fulfilled!
I bounce ideas with my kids, and somehow, all their insights find ways into my stories.