THEME. That elusive animal that many ignore, cannot describe, or don’t understand: until now. First, ask yourself: If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound. Or does it yell, “I am Groot!” and trash everything in sight? We know that within a story we have Characters and Plot. But there is a central element, a beacon in the night that is “Why” you are writing the story in the first place. That is THEME.
Most authors know that it’s critical to have a great Amazon book description and metadata, but most do not take the time to utilize their Amazon Author Page as a SALES TOOL. As you can see, your Amazon Author page allows you to add a lot of information about you, your site and your titles. Amazon allows you to add these types of items to your page: RSS feeds—such as those from your blog or Tumblr account Events, including speaking engagements…
Readers want backstory information on characters and events. Having the right amount of backstory is tough, especially when you have so much great material to choose from. So, how much backstory should you include AND how do you effectively add it to the story? Backstory helps create complexity in your characters. [Like an iceberg], ninety percent of any given character … lies beneath the surface. —Megan Burkhart First, Let’s Look at the Pros and Cons of Backstory.
In a previous post we talked about Dan Harmon’s Story Circle. Below is the “Circle” applied to the movie: Star Wars, A New Hope (1977) Star Wars Story Circle A Character’s Zone of Comfort or Familiarity. For Leia, that is the opening scene, which isn’t roses and sunshine. She’s already deeply entrenched in the Rebellion on a Mission to Alderaan. For Luke, he’s on Tatooine and not exactly happy with life on the desert planet being a “moisture farmer.”
A New Journey Begins — Everything follows a Story Circle: novels, movies and life. We want something. Sometimes it is easy to attain, others feel elusive or just out of our reach. The old year is coming to a close and a new bright year will dawn full of expectations. When writing, you must have a clear idea on how you plan to achieve your goal every day, from Jan 1 to Dec 31.