Setting and Theme

(Third lesson in my writing class, discussing Setting and Theme.  I've gone over Setting more in depth Here but I didn't discuss the Theme's relevance to the Setting.)

Every good story means something.  If it doesn’t, it won’t be remembered.  What’s the meaning of a story?  It’s theme.  But what’s theme?  Theme is the idea that goes just under the skin of the storyline.

Every good story impacts you in some way.  The story could be advocating against abortion, or maybe promoting a ban on smoking.

The theme is the message of the story.  Do you want to warn the world of animal abuse?  Then your plot and story have to flow with the message - that’s theme.

Creating a theme is probably one of the more difficult parts of writing anything - even a short story.  The reason for this is because you don’t want to be preachy and just stuff the story with the message, and you don’t want it to seem contrived either.  The theme has to be something you really feel like you need to write, because if it isn’t, then it won’t impact the reader.  So what makes your blood burn?  That’s what you need for your story theme.

Probably the most important thing about making a theme is that you can’t outright tell the reader “Abortion is evil” or, “there’s lots and lots of mistreated animals out there.”  No, instead, you have to hint at it.  Subtle hints.  For instance, maybe your character sees a poster advocating some company which keeps animals in confined cages all day - the character scowls at it, but nothing more.  He or she doesn’t outright tell the reader what the message is, or that will get preachy.

Trust me, the reader will see what the theme is even if you don’t tell them outright anywhere in your story.  In fact, they’ll probably realize the theme even clearer, because they’ll understand it if you hint and it gently.

Throughout your story, you need to think up dozens of ways to hint at the theme, but not tell the theme.

Another very good way to hint at the theme is through the setting.  If the theme is a darker one, the setting should be a gloomier setting as well.  This doesn’t necessarily  mean dark purple clouds on the horizon, or fog enclosing all around, this means that the weight of the story is heavier.  This is a very advanced technique because it too involves only hinting, not telling.

Hint at the darkness in your character’s world, raise the stakes by endangering something the main character of the story cares about - a family member?  A freedom he dearly values?

Then again, maybe your theme is more lighthearted, in which case you don’t want to lower the stakes, but show that, unlike in a gloomier setting, there is a hope shining in the distance.

One of the main differences between a darker setting and a lighter setting is that the darker one seems like all hope is lost, whereas the with the lighter setting, there is hope, but it’s far off and the character must struggle for it.

The theme is the message - what kind of a message do you want to tell?

~R.A.H.Thacker

That Wonderful Setting...

Recently I have come aware that many writers often abuse the setting of their world for what it really could be.  A setting shouldn't just be what a character sees when he looks around, all those useless, irrelevant facts - even the interesting irrelevant facts.  But they're all useless - they add absolutely nothing to the story.


Why?



I hope you aren't wanting a short answer, because I'm just getting started.
Take, for example, this short scene.

"The City of Fardell, standing high upon a jag of rock, overlooks

the Hill of Caldune and the endless, mesmerizing forest, seemingly

only a mossy floor from a peak so high.

Darian cast his gaze elsewhere, unsettled at the sight of a heavy fog

stretching its snaking fingers across the earth.  Above him, close enough

that he felt a simple raise of a hand would touch with the aether, were gloomy,

inky clouds, billowing and rumbling as they careened across the skies.

Small dragons, spiked on wings, back, head, limbs and covered in a thick

black hide sped across the darkening sky.  Scree dragons by name, a small but

vicious and poison brood.  They flocked over the city of Fardell, screeching

a high pitched wail.

What had brought so many as of late to Fardell was beyond anyone's guess,

nevertheless, there they were, and trouble like none before was brewing.

Brewing in the depths of the earth and reaches of the aether.

And then, the city heard them.  The Aetherbrood."

What do we know about Fardell now?  We know the names of surrounding locations, a bit about a species of dragons, and then, of course, we were left at a dead drop as to what these "Aetherbrood" are.  But honestly, aside from the dragons and these strange other creatures, what does this world do to effect Darian, our main character?  It doesn't change him - nor does it even look as though he could be possibly forced to change solely because of the setting.  The key thing to this is that even if the "Aetherbrood" and these "Scree Dragons" are unique and special to Fardell, could this scene not take place in any other world, setting, or place?  Maybe a few things would need to be changed - say, in a futuristic world the dragons would be some sort of a high-tech plain or drop ship, but what does it matter?  This scene could easily, with only a few minor changes, be transported into a new - entirely different, even opposite - world.

The setting does not matter in something which could be swapped so easily.  There is an exorbitant amount of simply useless and meaningless settings.  Why?  Because they don't effect the plot, they don't enhance the character, and they don't set a definite theme and mood to the story.

Sure, from that short paragraph, you could tell that something evil was encroaching on Fardell, and even if we did care about this world, those exact same words could be transported into another world or dimension and mean the same thing - and this makes them stereotypical and dull.

The key is that in any setting, be it Si-Fi, High Fantasy, Dystopian, Steampunk, even Historical-Fiction - the key is the setting and the character have to mesh.  They have to compliment each other, and they have to click.

The setting and the character must give each other trouble.  More specifically, the setting must create problems for the character, even if your not writing a Nature-vs-Man style plot.  Some kind of conflict between character and setting, and a change in character because of the setting, must occur for the setting to be worth something.  Otherwise, I don't care if I live on Pluto 9, where the grass is orange and people walk on their heads.

For example, from one of my historical-fiction novellas, my main character, Drustan, wants one thing he could never have, and no, there is never an exception, and yes, he always pursues the dream but can just never quite get there.

And that is because of the setting.  Gaelic Ireland and Drustan mesh - even if they simultaneously clash.  Or rather, they mesh because they clash.  The setting matters to the story - it matters to Drustan.  I couldn't just move him to an entirely new world with the snap of my fingers.  Why?  Because he's engraved in the setting, just as the setting is engraved in him.

That's what we want in a setting.  We don't care if you've created two complete languages for the story, mapped out the world down to ever detail, we don't care, not if it doesn't matter to the plot and to the character, anyway.  And the setting has to change the character, form him, and force him to grow.

So many stories simply ignore the setting.  This needs to change.

~R. A. H. Thacker