Skip to main content

Pixar's Blog Challenge #3

I know. I'm late today. But smile now, because #3 is here! What does it say? See the original list here:

Story Sketches

#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.

Theme. Do you always start a story with a theme? I must admit my goal has always been: What message do I want to portray in my story?

Now, I'll admit the hard hitting truth. My theme usually changes, evolves or CHANGES as I write. Why? Because when I first start on a story, I don't know my characters very well. As I write, I learn more about why they do the things they do and as I grow closer to them, I learn secret things about them.

These things often change my theme because when I thought "he" was a forgiving person, my theme was forgiveness. I soon discovered "he" held grudges and found it impossible to forgive, so my theme changed from forgiveness to redemption.

My point? I agree 100% with point #3 because by the time you finish a story, everything changes, from plot, to characters, to theme. Now that you know what your story is about, it's time to revise and fix that theme!

Don't forget to visit:

Kate

Mary

Regina

Alex

It's a short post today, beautiful guys and dolls, but it's been one of them days...

Comments

  1. Deanie Humphrys-DunneMarch 28, 2013 at 6:08 PM

    It's my first time visiting your blog. It was interesting and informative. Thanks for sharing. If you want to find out more about mine, please visit:www.dhdunne.blogspot.com. You'll meet Charlene the Star and her friends and you'll find out what Charlene does when someone tightens the girth. She's a very clever girl!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Regina CastilloMarch 29, 2013 at 5:28 PM

    Thanks for the great post!
    'Now rewrite'...It is amazing how everything can evolve and change through the editing process.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Operation Agent Ink

UPDATE: PLEASE FILL OUT THIS QUESTIONNAIRE AFTER YOU SIGN UP. Have you ever wondered what agents were dying to find in their inbox/slush pile? There have been many times I entered a contest and not even received a comment, not even from one of the agents. Or maybe the agent was kind enough to leave a comment that simply said, "Sorry, this just isn't what I'm looking for, but I love the premise and your voice." I always walk away feeling unsatisfied. If I had known exactly what the agent wanted beyond, "YA" or "Fantasy" I might not have even entered a contest I knew I wouldn't win! Even more, I wasted a very busy agents time! Well, your time of guessing is up! OPERATION AGENT INK to the rescue! That's right! This workshop will help aspiring authors get on the list of an agent's WISH LIST! When the workshop is over, your manuscript will be ready to view by a group of AMAZING agents who are dying to see what you've wri...
111 comments
Read more

Workshop 10

Today, let's get readers hooked from the very first sentence. If you do, you are off to a great start and hopefully a great first chapter. We are going to focus on the first and second sentence and how you can draw readers in while introducing two major items about your book: 1. Your MC 2. The main conflict. How? Is it really possible to do this in only TWO sentences? YES! Example: My name is Snow, like the white powder that falls during winter, though I don't know what my mom was thinking because it was ninety degrees the day I was born. I turned twelve the year I married a man I hated and thirteen when my first baby was born. This sentence tells us a lot. It shows us a little about Snow's personality, it hints toward a shortened childhood and could possibly point to a different time era. I also can definitely see the conflict. Can you? You only have a few minutes to make a good, first impression. Make sure you wow your reader enough they'll actually t...
115 comments
Read more

EVER Blog Hop!!!!!

I joined a blog hop flash writing contest with/for Jessa Russo. It's in honor of her first EVER book release. I met Jessa during the Curiosity Quills Blog hop. I have never read a ghost story, but after reading Jessa's query and first few pages and then learning more about her ghost Frankie, I was so inspired, I fell in love -with Frankie. I was so inspired, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and write a story I had never written before and never thought I would write. Or even want to write. But I did, and I did. My piece for the contest is a small part of my bigger manuscript I wrote. I had to modify and change a few things so the story would make sense, but I think it works. At least, I hope it does:) How to vote: Comment at the end of the end of this post. You must have the word "VOTE" in your comment for it to be considered valid. VOTING IS OPEN UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30TH!!!! Ready? Well, lets go! --> The Man With the Black Hood knocked ...
98 comments
Read more