Creative Writing Question

>>9774764
Best advice I've ever got is from my wife who has a BA in creative writing (so yes I'm the breadwinner) she said: first you write the bones, then the muscles, then the skin. So basically do the second one. Give attention to composition. Watch videos of painters painting, the principle is the same. Good luck :)

>>9774775
Thanks, I'll probably need all the luck I can get. I'll try to find some inspiration to get me started.

>>9774764
How would you portray a theme OP? It's a serious question, it doesn't seem that simple to me.

Just be creative...

>>9774764
>>9774775
Anon's wife is totally on point with this. I spent years impotently trying to pull something out of my mind fully formed until I learned to start simply.
It'll be shitty and half-baked at first - like a sketch - but gradually you'll flesh it out until it's an actual piece.
Plague of Gripes on youtube has great advice in his Let's Gripe series and in his 'how to draw' video if you've got time to kill.

Best of luck m8. Hope it goes well!

>>9774787
I mean theme, as I understand it, is the central idea behind the plot. The "message" the author is trying to convey beyond the plot. So I guess theme is probably the bedrock upon which to build the story's world.

>>9774793
Thanks! I'll check out that channel!

>>9774803
I don't think so, I think theme is supposed to emerge from the story itself, not just the plot but the characters and context as well. Starting with theme is what makes something sound pretentious.

>>9774775 can be done backwards as well and is how I learned.
you start with describing a one inch frame, and you let your unconscious do the work, and den u bust out.
and after a while you've got a character. and then you make the character do things.
and den u bust out.

>>9774829
Hmm... I'll try toying around with a bare bones plot/setting, but honestly I'm not sure how to flesh things out without a central purpose behind the story... What would the point of telling a story be if not to convey an idea or message?

OP here, I'll lurk for a bit, but my phone's about to die. Thanks for the advice so far!

>>9774855
I think what anon's trying to get across is the fact that you can't 100% know your story's theme *until* it's written. You can start in a general direction (human nature, social division, nature of God, relation between man and theoretical magic, etc.) but the specifics don't work in the abstract.
If you decide to absolutely stick with a theme from start to finish, you run the risk of jury rigging your entire narrative in order to keep it lined up with a theme it's not actually suited for.

It's generally not a good idea to contort your story in service to things like theme (or even memes like 'diversity') if they wouldn't otherwise fit. Comes off as inorganic at best and hackneyed/pretentious at worst.

>>9774886
Ok, that makes way more sense.

>>9774886
Yes thank you, that is what I was trying to say.