Thursday, January 4, 2018

Random Writing Tips – A deeper meaning



One of the books I had to read in high school was Lord of the Flies.  I did not care for it.  In college I was talking to one of my friends and he said that he loved the book.  I started talking about how I didn’t like it for the, was it Simon as Jesus bit, and my friend was like, “What are you talking about?” Turns out the interpretation of the book my English teacher had wasn’t the only one. 

A few years later, I read The Metamorphosis which I found … different.  Anyway, the copy I had had at the end these essays about the story.  One went into great detail about this one scene – which I had likely forgotten – where the poor guy’s dad throws a couple of apples at him.  The author of the essay went on and on what the apples – being from the Garden of Eden – represented and how there were two of them, which naturally meant testicles and symbolic castration and whatnot.

Every now and then I’ll see something on Twitter or Facebook where it has, “What the author wrote: The curtains were blue.” And then it has a paragraph each on what Groups X, Y, and Z interpret that to mean.  And then it ends with, “What the author actually meant: The curtains were blue.”

I was thinking about all this recently because of The Last Jedi.  I’ve read and watched some reviews of people who loved the movie, and some who hated the movie.  One thing I noticed about both is that often the reasons for why they loved or hated the movie usually stemmed from a sort of reading between the lines.  It wasn’t because of a specific scene in the movie, but the person’s interpretation of that scene.  For example, the scene where Holdo doesn’t tell her plan to Poe.  Some see it as why should an admiral have to answer to this hothead, but others see it as since she is being secretive that justifies Poe’s actions.  It’s like one time in college – back before the prequels – where a friend wrote a paper on the philosophy in Star Wars.  I jokingly told him that he should write another paper arguing for the opposite of what he had in the first paper, but still use examples from Star Wars.  He thought for a moment, then said, “I could probably do that.”

So what does all this mean for writers?  No matter what deeper meaning you write into your stories, people will find others.  I’m not saying that you shouldn’t write deeper meanings into your stories, just realize that no matter how much time and effort you put into your work, someone will see something you never thought of. 

I’m working on a fantasy story.  When I started it, it was just a fun exploration of this world.  But as I figured out the ending, I realized that the way I was going it was about nuclear terrorism.  (Basically, there’s a magic “spell” that any competent mage could use to destroy a city.  They just need a few materials and knowledge of this spell, which is known only by dragons.)  Figuring out that connection to our world isn’t required to enjoy the story, it’s more of an Easter egg.  That is my opinion as the author. 

When I started writing this post, as an exercise I tried to think of what someone else could read into my story.  What I came up with was the Prometheus legend.  Our hero – knowing only that the dragons have a secret – sets out to discover it and share it with humanity.  Eventually she learns the secret – and vows never to share it – but she is also “punished” for her search.  It’s not a perfect fit, but it’s what I came up with after five minutes of thought.  The Prometheus legend was in the back of my head, but it was never a conscious part of the story. 

So if you’re writing a story with a deeper meaning, or message of some sort, take the time to think of some other messages people could read into your story.  And try not to be too angry when your haunting tale of the dangers of addiction will be seen by some – pounding a square peg into a round hole – as an authoritarian manifesto.

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