blogs_blog_1558

Well IMO, it all depends on the type of story you want to write. THeres been plenty of great storys with no real message or morale to them, such as the LotR series, or the Halo novels 8D

I dont see any reason why you wouldnt get a story published if it didnt have much of a meaning:if what this person had said is true, over half the books out there shouldnt exist.

certainly adding a message of some type could make a story even better to some, but looking at the bigger picture; its the storys that people enjoy overall that sell the most, although adding more of a morale n' such simply tweaks the story into being a little more good.

 

 

EDIT:o by the way, I couldnt help but notice to the left of this page consisting of "the toa seneca and their wares", the link to me comics is out of date.

 

--Akaku: Master of Flight

Even if your story doesn't have a grand meaning, I think it'd be best to have some symbolism, or at least a common allusion throughout it. In my opinion, I find it gives them a greater depth. But, then again, there are plenty of awesome stories that don't have any themes, symbolism, and hidden literary devices that contribute to a meaning at all -- like most of the stories on BZP.

-K

I'd say ignore him. I've managed to make things work without messages, you can too.

I think you're fine without them; If you wish to add a message or underlying meaning, do so; it won't hurt anything. But it's by no means a requirement imho.

 

Also this.

 

-Mesonak

I've noticed, even if you didn't mean to add them, they will surface up. It's happened to me a lot. I wrote a story just for a plot, but lots of messages/morals/symblism got in there without my doing, but in the end I was quite happy with it. It even challenged how I originally thought of things.

 

I wouldn't worry about it. Stuff like that should come on its own.

Technically, all stories have an underlying message, just as long as someone is doing something. It all depends on how deep you want to analyze it.

I've noticed, even if you didn't mean to add them, they will surface up. It's happened to me a lot. I wrote a story just for a plot, but lots of messages/morals/symblism got in there without my doing, but in the end I was quite happy with it. It even challenged how I originally thought of things.

 

I wouldn't worry about it. Stuff like that should come on its own.

 

Precisely what I was about to say.

 

But I would like to add that, even if you write a story with a planned theme behind it, that theme may end up changing during the actual writing process. For example, my most recent epic, An Unlikely Alliance (link in sig, BTW), was originally going to be titled Fear and be more of a horror story focused on, well, fear. Part of this is still evident because the main antagonists' group name means "fear."

 

However, as I began to actually write it, it soon became evident to me that the story was more about trust, friendship, the limits of keeping secrets from friends, exactly how much you should share with other people, putting aside old grudges to work with those whom you hate in order to survive, and so on. As a result of this, I changed the name of the story to its current title to reflect the change in theme. Not that I am complaining, since I think the story itself turned out to be stronger and more original as a result of the theme change. Plus I like "An Unlikely Alliance" a lot better than "Fear," title-wise.

 

So basically, don't be afraid to change your story's theme if you think it'll be for the best, since if you think that then it probably is.

 

-TNTOS-

You know, i don't think there's much i can add to this, but what i can say is that You're going to be the one to have published books, not him, and that's the complete and utter truth. Stories revolve around plot, not neccesarily a meaning or thought you wish to convey. I'm not going to write a hige story, so that i can teach the people who read it that lying is bad, i'm going to write it for the plot. If i throw in something about lying and the effects it can have, then so be it, but that won't be the reason i wrote the story.

 

I suppose it really comes down to preference. For example, half of the books based on the Warcraft Saga have no morals, come to think of it none of them do. The Dragonrealm books i'm reading have no moral, so i suppose it's really what you want to throw in there. To be perfectly honest, there's a reason that there are so many books that don't get into school lessons because they don't teach a moral lesson.

 

Also, fencing... havn't done that in a while, might be interesting to one day pit my meager skills against yours, Miss Firesword. Just don't use a literal Firesword, Mkay?

but what i can say is that You're going to be the one to have published books, not him, and that's the complete and utter truth.

Ehehehehe. Ha. I don't mean to bring you down or anything, but that's just not right.

 

THeres been plenty of great storys with no real message or morale to them, such as the LotR series

*coughcough*

 

Personally, I think that the best stories are the ones that make you think. When people read, they want to empathize and sympathize with the characters. They want to know what makes them tick.

 

LotR, for example, shows us the nature of corruption, and how it can affect even the smallest of people, just as they can make an impact on the world around them. The Dresden Files, as well, has a major, recurring theme - temptation and friendship. It's just a testament to Butcher's writing skilsl that he's able to bury that under witty banter - lots of it - and epicness.

 

While action and epic world-breaking plots are cool and all, they're like the fat on the meat. They flavor things, but you don't want to put too much in it. You want to focus on the characters, without, at the same time, coddling them.

 

If it's all just action and romance and stuff, then you get, well, Rambo, or maybe sparklies.