Common Writing Themes
Our lives contain many patterns. For example, I like ‘80s music. This admission should not come as a surprise, and it also should not be a surprise that my writing has common themes. I thought it would interest my four blog readers to discuss the ones I am aware of.
Immortality and age reduction are prominent. My characters find themselves younger, healthier, and living abnormally long lives. The concept I developed to explain long life is to eliminate parasites (bacteria) within our bodies. This concept allows our bodies to repair themselves quickly and remain young. I like this plot device because I certainly wish to be younger and live longer than average. Why? There is less pressure to succeed, I would have more energy, my body would not be in pain, and my future would be bright. Oh. The big reason. I would not die, and I am envious of my characters.
I often end a chapter by having my characters go to sleep and begin the next chapter with them waking up. This plot separation device makes perfect sense because falling asleep is like hitting the reset button. Every morning, I wake up with a fresh perspective. Last night's problems “feel” less important. This intuitive change is a natural stopping point for readers because they can safely put down the book knowing nothing will happen during the night.
I like secret government operations. What goes on at Area 51? Any secret government story could be true, and it is nearly impossible to perform a fact check because those subjects are classified. As a writer, this is an exciting space to explore. Any somewhat realistic secret government plot “could be true.” It is fun to write on the edge of reality. It is also a little frightening. What would happen if I wrote a true fictional story?
I like having solid female characters. It angers me to encounter stories/movies with mistreated, objectified, or weak female characters. Such stories do not read/view realistic because every woman I meet in real life does not behave like the flawed female characters I or watch. With this in mind, I keep my female characters realistic and a large part of the plot.
Alcohol is one of my favorite character weaknesses. In my own life, I have experienced being drunk and the resulting hangover. I have met many severe alcoholics, people who get raging drunk, people who are in complete denial of their drinking problem, and observed the destructive aftermath.
Why are there so few massage scenes in movies or books? I enjoy both giving and receiving this intimate activity. I dislike reading/viewing stories where the character jumps from hello into a lusty scene. In real life, people have apprehension and awaked moments in their relationships. A nice massage bridges the trust gap. This transition is accomplished in a friendly yet personal way. Also, spicy massage scenes are fun to create.
My stories are always linear. I dislike multiple storylines, hard-to-follow interaction, out-of-order action, unexplained events, side tangents, crazy surprises, or unexplained activities. Books should be enjoyable and not a challenge. “A horse ran past James.” What the heck? Where did the horse come from? We were talking about linear stories! Outlines, plot development, and editing are complex enough without jumping around. And a confused reader will always leave a critical review.
When I write, I concentrate the most on writing (grammar) errors rather than plot or character development. This is because I have known my English skills are not the best, and I work hard to uncover flaws. However, this focus on the technical aspects of writing leads to problems. For example, if a sentence is not easily correctable from a technical standpoint, I delete it. As a result, many details are missing from my descriptions, and my writing is action-focused.
I dislike leaving my characters in a happy state. Without conflict, drama, or challenge, there is no plot. As a result, something bad always happens after the character’s life returns to normal. This pattern is probably too clear, and I need to stop using it.
What can we conclude from all my common themes? I have obvious patterns, which are probably the result of my logical nature. This conclusion is not all bad. My analytical nature also provides the ability to write about them.
PS, my computer is back up and happy. More on this mind-bending experience in a later blog.
You’re the best -Bill
June 30, 2021
Immortality and age reduction are prominent. My characters find themselves younger, healthier, and living abnormally long lives. The concept I developed to explain long life is to eliminate parasites (bacteria) within our bodies. This concept allows our bodies to repair themselves quickly and remain young. I like this plot device because I certainly wish to be younger and live longer than average. Why? There is less pressure to succeed, I would have more energy, my body would not be in pain, and my future would be bright. Oh. The big reason. I would not die, and I am envious of my characters.
I often end a chapter by having my characters go to sleep and begin the next chapter with them waking up. This plot separation device makes perfect sense because falling asleep is like hitting the reset button. Every morning, I wake up with a fresh perspective. Last night's problems “feel” less important. This intuitive change is a natural stopping point for readers because they can safely put down the book knowing nothing will happen during the night.
I like secret government operations. What goes on at Area 51? Any secret government story could be true, and it is nearly impossible to perform a fact check because those subjects are classified. As a writer, this is an exciting space to explore. Any somewhat realistic secret government plot “could be true.” It is fun to write on the edge of reality. It is also a little frightening. What would happen if I wrote a true fictional story?
I like having solid female characters. It angers me to encounter stories/movies with mistreated, objectified, or weak female characters. Such stories do not read/view realistic because every woman I meet in real life does not behave like the flawed female characters I or watch. With this in mind, I keep my female characters realistic and a large part of the plot.
Alcohol is one of my favorite character weaknesses. In my own life, I have experienced being drunk and the resulting hangover. I have met many severe alcoholics, people who get raging drunk, people who are in complete denial of their drinking problem, and observed the destructive aftermath.
Why are there so few massage scenes in movies or books? I enjoy both giving and receiving this intimate activity. I dislike reading/viewing stories where the character jumps from hello into a lusty scene. In real life, people have apprehension and awaked moments in their relationships. A nice massage bridges the trust gap. This transition is accomplished in a friendly yet personal way. Also, spicy massage scenes are fun to create.
My stories are always linear. I dislike multiple storylines, hard-to-follow interaction, out-of-order action, unexplained events, side tangents, crazy surprises, or unexplained activities. Books should be enjoyable and not a challenge. “A horse ran past James.” What the heck? Where did the horse come from? We were talking about linear stories! Outlines, plot development, and editing are complex enough without jumping around. And a confused reader will always leave a critical review.
When I write, I concentrate the most on writing (grammar) errors rather than plot or character development. This is because I have known my English skills are not the best, and I work hard to uncover flaws. However, this focus on the technical aspects of writing leads to problems. For example, if a sentence is not easily correctable from a technical standpoint, I delete it. As a result, many details are missing from my descriptions, and my writing is action-focused.
I dislike leaving my characters in a happy state. Without conflict, drama, or challenge, there is no plot. As a result, something bad always happens after the character’s life returns to normal. This pattern is probably too clear, and I need to stop using it.
What can we conclude from all my common themes? I have obvious patterns, which are probably the result of my logical nature. This conclusion is not all bad. My analytical nature also provides the ability to write about them.
PS, my computer is back up and happy. More on this mind-bending experience in a later blog.
You’re the best -Bill
June 30, 2021
