Themes, Tropes, and Undercurrents: Compelling Writing

Fiction writers build their stories around themes [nonfiction has themes too, actually!] and use tropes to give the reader a familiar touchstone in the story, something that can be understood and related to easily. Tropes give a sense of familiarity – then it’s up to the writer to turn them on their head or make them their own. A theme [or multiple themes] is the glue that runs under the story, holding everything together. 

Themes are usually discovered in the course of reading, and may become obvious after a certain point. My favorite kind of theme is one that sneaks up on you – where you’re deeply lost in the story and then BAM it hits you, this story is about something much deeper than the surface details of the story.

Themes and Tropes in my stories

In Sleep You Know at the bare bones is a story about an aimless guy who finds purpose after making a rash decision. The aftermath of that night changes his worldview and ultimately makes him a better person. 

The biggest theme in the story, and the series in general, is “we are strongest when we stand together” – it weaves itself through the narrative in so many ways. Before Merrick finds the Eleriannan he’s drifting; they give him purpose. When some of the Gwyliannan are angry and alone, they become vulnerable to Camlin and the Grimshaw’s influence. Until Vali meets Sousa, she has no idea that she has magic abilities, and with the care he gives her, she blossoms and thrives. I can draft a long list of these instances; each one reinforces that overarching theme.

I play a lot with tropes and references in ISYK, too, and have fun with them. The story opens with one of the classics of faery tales and ballads: someone blunders into a meeting with the Fae and is swept off their feet by an unnaturally beautiful and mysterious woman. Will she be La Belle Dame Sans Merci? The Faerie Queene? Merrick pledges himself to seven years of belonging to the Fae in return for gifts, a nod to both Tam Lin and Thomas the Rhymer. 

There’s found family, an enchanted forest, trees that attack, a magical house – honestly, a parade of faerie tropes. Loner in a big house, creepy beings who you’re grateful are on your side, and did I mention a training scene or two, a big ending battle, and betrayal?

My plan was to be referential to some of the stories that shaped me while turning my story into something a little different, and hopefully one that felt fresh and modern. Playing around with references to classic stories and Child ballads added to that.

What about undercurrents? What is that?

I mentioned undercurrents in writing and what I mean by that is the ongoing themes that aren’t the “main” theme but are still important – and not as obvious to pick out. Power and who should wield it is something that I address in both In Sleep You Know and Cast a Shadow of Doubt, and it’s in A Third Kind of Madness, too. Camlin has power and it destroys his life. Lucee gets power and struggles with how to use it, thanks to her self-doubt. The Ladies also struggle with power, both externally and amongst themselves. Fallon’s insistence on making decisions without consulting others is an abuse of her power that almost undoes House Mirabilis. 

Threading these three important parts of your story throughout the text in many different ways makes it stronger and much more compelling for the reader. But how best to do it? 

Some stories are meant to be taken at face value, and that can be quite appealing. Stories that concentrate on what’s happening in the tale’s world and to the characters, like action or adventure genres for example, absolutely have their place. Generally, I think a lot of readers in those genres aren’t looking for subtlety in those types of books – they’re there for excitement and suspense. Valid! And some amazing books are written this way. Expect themes and tropes to be more obvious and enjoy the ride.

Others are more character focused, and that’s the perfect place to think about adding undercurrents and more subtle use of tropes and themes. I mentioned previously how the concept of Power and who should wield it is an undercurrent in my first two books, and it comes more to the front in A Third Kind of Madness. That’s something I’ve slowly pulled to the forefront through the timeline of the books/series. 

My theory about building up these complex and intertwined themes and knowing when to pull them forward or push them further back is that it has a lot to do with creating complex characters with a lot of work put into motivations and back story. Understanding both why your character would make the choices they do and how that shapes their personal stories is integral to writing meaningful prose. It’s also important to understand how each character’s choices affect the other characters and their choices. Saying that seems obvious, but it’s the difference between moving puppets around that depend on a storyline to make decisions and watching believable but imaginary beings interact and create the plot.

Believable characters create your story.

I’m sure you’ve heard writers say “I didn’t have any control over that scene, the characters were in charge.” That’s exactly what I mean. 

When you’ve got characters that are complex enough, they will start to direct where your stories should be going. Those undercurrents? They start to happen naturally, as personalities interact and fight or fall in love or pass each other in the street. It’s a natural process, just like life! 

So here’s how I do it.

First, I look at the basic plot I’ve got in mind. For me, it’s usually a situation that I come up with: what happens when a slacker musician crashes a Fae party and they decide to recruit him? What possibilities arise when the guy who tried to kill you shows up at your door begging for help? The girl you’ve been crushing on turns out to be your Muse, how do you react – and what are you going to do about all the other people who want to possess her?

Once I’ve got that “story spark” I sit down and think about the characters I have in mind. I write out full character sheets or backstories for them, including their relationships with other characters and some of the things that will shape who they are. I often will look for images that give me an aesthetic or better, a full visual for each character, so they become even more “real” in my mind. It’s important that I begin to think like they would when I’m writing them, or at least deeply understand their motivations and potential reactions.

Then I just begin writing. Believe it or not, I don’t think much beyond these things about tropes or themes; I let it develop along with the story. Once I have a few chapters I’ll stop and re-read, and begin to think about how I can see the plot forming. That is when I start to build up the potential for the deeper aspects of the storyline. 

At this point I’ll make a very loose outline. In it will be potential plot points, themes, and details I’d like to see happen as I write, and I may or may not stick to that outline. Chances are pretty good that once I get to about the halfway point things will start to go in quite unexpected directions!

This is the magic part of the process: let the story happen the way the characters are leading it.

Trust the process. Let the work you did in the beginning inform how the tale develops and grows. Believe that threads are forming and will come forward and retreat as you write, overt and discreet themes that weave the story into a beautiful tapestry. 

You probably won’t see it in the first draft. That’s all about getting the story down on the page, and that’s what you should concentrate on the most. The magic reveals itself when you go through and start tightening up the text, adding details and re-reading for cohesion and flow. Suddenly you’ll start to see the subtle bits that your characters added when you weren’t paying attention, and the connections that you definitely didn’t consciously make. 

This is when I sit down and take notes on all the character development that happened, and how it affects the story premise – and I check to make sure that each character has their own arc, no matter how small, and that each one makes sense and has some kind of resolution. I swear to you that often these arcs aren’t planned but will end up being perfect for each character if you allow that character to lead their development. They will surprise you! And later you’ll realize that the choices that they seemingly made without input from you are deep, moving, and real – and will add so much unexpected depth to your stories. 

Is developing and writing compelling characters and stories with depth something that you’d like me to talk more about? This is probably my greatest strength as a writer and I’d love to share or even do a workshop with y’all. Let me know in the comments!

This was originally posted to my Ko-fi subscribers. It’s shared here in a slightly modified form. If you’d like to read my thoughts about the craft and business of writing before anyone else, you can join here: https://ko-fi.com/threeravenspress