Do you know what your story is about?

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gettingby

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This morning I reread the short story I am working on. This is the one where I couldn't pinpoint what is wrong and that I rewrote a bunch of times. Those are separate issues because this is true for all the drafts of this story. The problem is I don't know what the story is about. I mean I can't quickly and clearly say what it is about.

Last night, someone asked what I was working on, and I struggled to say what it was about. Instead I was like, "the story is about this and this and then this happens and also this is going on." I was all over the place, trying to explain my work. I have a feeling this is a bad sign. Am I right?

Plot and story structure are usually things I am good at. I don't usually feel like I have a problem when it comes to clarifying what I am writing about. But now I am. There is a story arc, I believe. And there are a lot of things working. I feel like I am proud of this one. Why don't I know what it is about? Why is it so hard to answer that question? And, I think most importantly, what does it say about a story if the author struggles to say what his or her story is about?
 

Myrealana

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The theme of any of my stories can easily be summed up in a single sentence. If it can't, then the story probably doesn't hold together very well and needs to be re-worked.
 

shadowwalker

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When asked what my stories are about, my answer depends on what I've been thinking about at the time they ask. Frankly, other than a very generalized this-could-fit-any-book-written, most stories contain a myriad of themes and ideas, interwoven into a hopefully interesting tale.

I wouldn't worry at this point about being able to describe what the story is about. Does it read well and hold the reader's interest? That's what counts, in the end. You'll know what it's about (and all the variations) when it's finished.
 
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Lhowling

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When someone asks me about what I'm writing, I try not to dive too deeply unless I'm looking for advice. Usually I just say I'm working on a novel or a short story, maybe talk about influences for the story. But usually I try to keep mum.

However, most of what I've written (fiction and nonfiction) involve the same themes: sexuality, womanhood and relationships, among other things. So I try to keep this in mind if I'm having a conversation about what readers might expect from reading my stories.
 

King Neptune

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I tend to agree with Myrealana. If the theme can't readily be stated, then the story probably doesn't hold together. A few of my stories also have secondary meanings that are illustrated by the story in some way, but I don't expect people to readily notice those.

There are people who think "If you’ve got a message, call Western Union.”* But more people are of the opinion that if you don't have anything to say, then why waste the words.

*http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php...ve_a_message_call_western_union_theatre_adage
 

Jamesaritchie

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I've never written a story that I thought was "about" anything, or one I where I could sum up what it was about in a single sentence. I certainly never, ever think about theme for a second, before, during, or after I write the story.
 

Jamesaritchie

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I

There are people who think "If you’ve got a message, call Western Union.”* But more people are of the opinion that if you don't have anything to say, then why waste the words.

*http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php...ve_a_message_call_western_union_theatre_adage


More people? Did you take a poll, or count them, or what? I suspect there are, unfortunately for readers, more "literary" writers who think this way, which is odd because no one wastes more words in the guise of writing "stories" than the average literary writer.

If you want to send a message, use Western Union. If you want to tell a good story that people actually want to read, don't try to send a message. I don't think I've ever known a reader who looked for a message in a story, or who cared what message the writer wanted to send.

Most readers, I think, understand that every story has something to say, and says it a heck of a lot better when the writer isn't the one trying to send a message.
 

Jamesaritchie

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This morning I reread the short story I am working on. This is the one where I couldn't pinpoint what is wrong and that I rewrote a bunch of times. Those are separate issues because this is true for all the drafts of this story. The problem is I don't know what the story is about. I mean I can't quickly and clearly say what it is about.

Last night, someone asked what I was working on, and I struggled to say what it was about. Instead I was like, "the story is about this and this and then this happens and also this is going on." I was all over the place, trying to explain my work. I have a feeling this is a bad sign. Am I right?

Plot and story structure are usually things I am good at. I don't usually feel like I have a problem when it comes to clarifying what I am writing about. But now I am. There is a story arc, I believe. And there are a lot of things working. I feel like I am proud of this one. Why don't I know what it is about? Why is it so hard to answer that question? And, I think most importantly, what does it say about a story if the author struggles to say what his or her story is about?

When you start worrying what your story is "about", when you get concerned with what the "theme" of the story is, you'll probably write mishmash that means nothing, and isn't really a story at all.

At heart, pretty much every good story has a person (Or persons) with a serious problem. The problem may be world-shattering, or it may be mundane, but it's serious to that person.

The story is about what that person attempts to do about the problem. When the story doesn't work, it's usually because the person has a problem that isn't serious enough, or the person isn't taking an active role in solving the probelm.

Or because the writer is trying to shove theme and message down the reader's throat when all the reader cares about is whether this poor soul will thrive, or perish, or continue to wallow in misery.

"Story" is not theme, it is not message, it is the light of a character. If you can't answer the question, "What is your story about" by saying, "It's a but a character who faces this problem or obstacle, and who does this or that to solve the problem", you don't have a story.

Leave theme and message to the critics. Don't worry, even if you write a one hundred word story about a mouse that accidentally has it's tail cut off, critics and learned professors will all find one theme, three messages, and perhaps even the answer to the theory of everything by reading your story backwards while drinking absinthe.

A story is about a character with a problem, and what that character tries to do to solve the problem. If it has this, it also has theme, meaning, and message, but that are automatically part of the story, built in, like they are in every good story, and not whatever the writer wants to send to poor readers who need him to send them a message like disciples waiting on the word of God.
 

shadowwalker

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Please don't take it the wrong way, but does your story have any meaning. or is it simply the narration of some events?

Every story is "simply" the narration of some events. And I have had readers explain the "meaning" of some of these stories in great detail - I was amazed at my "deepness".
 

King Neptune

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Every story is "simply" the narration of some events. And I have had readers explain the "meaning" of some of these stories in great detail - I was amazed at my "deepness".

I have read very few stories that were simply narrations of events, mainly because it is extremely dull to read something that has nothing to hold it together.

This thread reminds me of some of Umberto Eco's writing regarding literary interpretation.
 
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shadowwalker

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I have read very few stories that were simply narrations of events, mainly because it is extremely dull to read something that has nothing to hold it together.

How that narration is written determines whether or not it is dull to read. LotR is a narration of events.

Look, you write with a theme in mind. Many other writers - just as good, I'm sure - do not. Personally, most of the stories I've read with a deliberate message were boring as hell. As with most things in writing, there is no One Right Way.
 

Neegh

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Plot and structure is what happens in the story, and how you go about telling the story. Neither, is what the story is about: stories are always about some kind of interpersonal, or internal struggle, that the character(s) must over come, and how doing so changes that character (s).
 

gettingby

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Actually, I wash't even thinking about theme at all. I was thinking about plot. Some stories it is easy to say what they are about like a bank robbery committed by a soccer team or a dinner party where couples plan a vacation. Those are bad examples, but that's kind of what I was thinking. I am wondering if my story lacks focus if I can't really sum it up that way. Does that make sense?

I never think about theme. There are enough other things to think about.
 

kuwisdelu

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Actually, I wash't even thinking about theme at all. I was thinking about plot. Some stories it is easy to say what they are about like a bank robbery committed by a soccer team or a dinner party where couples plan a vacation. Those are bad examples, but that's kind of what I was thinking. I am wondering if my story lacks focus if I can't really sum it up that way. Does that make sense?

I never think about theme. There are enough other things to think about.

Ah. In that case, learning how to boil a story down to a hooky summary is a skill: one that must be practiced, and is very difficult to master. When you have a complex or subtle story, sometimes that means getting used to leaving out details you think are important.

If you can't do it, sometimes it indicates flaws with the story, and sometimes it just means you need more practice at it.

I would suggest swinging by Query Hell and reading through some queries and criticism of them.
 
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ML-Larson

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I know the characters I want to write about. I have no idea what they're doing, though.

Probably annoying someone.
 

ML-Larson

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Yeah, I haven't really had time to work on it too much yet. I've still been doing promos for the book before it. After the 1st, I'll actually have time to sit down and figure out where the next one is going.
 

gilesth

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..."the story is about this and this and then this happens and also this is going on." I was all over the place, trying to explain my work. I have a feeling this is a bad sign. Am I right?

I know how you feel. I've never been good at short stories (which is why I'm trying to write more of them these days), and figuring out how to get IDEAS for them has been the biggest struggle. I can boil down all of my novels to one sentence without an issue, but without five full acts (á la James N Frey of How to Write Damn Good Fiction), I suck at coming up with any kind of structure.
 
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