on matters of theme

[rm]

One of my keen interests is the obsessions of creative people -- that is, the stories they tell over and over again whether they mean to or not. Peter Jackson, for instance, seems to have an obsession with romantic friendship; Baz Luhrmann with prostitution; Sofia Coppola with the results of the absence of force; Minghella with matters of (in)fidelity; Steve Erickson with the idea that sound awakens us to impossible choices; and so on.

These same sorts of patterns are often in evidence in fandom as well. Certainly, we all know about the Mary Sues (e.g. "Draco is a cutter") or people who write dozens of stories in multple fandoms all about one particular and not all that common sexual kink. But those are the obvious, and to me, rather uninteresting examples.

What I'm curious about, oh fanfiction (and other) writers on my friends list, is what your thematic obsessions are? What story is it that you seem to tell over and over again without meaning to? What wounds hide in your work? What graces?

When I look at the themes in my own written work -- both fannish and not -- I think of reading 1,001 Cranes when I was little. I could never do that particular orgiami figure, and after I read that book, it terified me more than a little that I could not. But each time I tell the story I never meant to tell once, much less over and over, I think it's like one of those cranes, like a little prayer that maybe adds up to one big one. So what I want to know is, what is the story of your life, regardless of whether it has anything to do with your life at all? And why? Where did it come from? And what would it take to drive it off?

I'll write about mine later/in the next couple of days. I have to eat dinner and write and work on the fencing and all that. But I really want to know. I love the drive for theme and the ways in which it propells us.

Comments

[gaaneden.livejournal.com]

Many of my stories have the theme of evolution. The fact that a person can rise above their situation. That they can, if they try, suceed. Another theme is that everyone has something inside that makes them special. I suppose I have these themes because I believe in the first and hope for the second.

[beetiger.livejournal.com]

It's interesting that on thinking about this, I'm not really sure, but I'm sure the people I love could tell you in an instant. Perhaps I'll ask them.

[punzel.livejournal.com]

I'd like to think about this one in terms of thematic personal blind spots, but more overtly, the project I have in my own journal has a blatant overall theme of "hey, you fabulous person with awesome potential (yes, you), why not wake up and notice there's lots/more of love possible?"

[alabastardragon.livejournal.com]

My heart skipped a beat then.. on first reading that, thought you were referring to Me! :-o

[coyotegoth.livejournal.com]

I'm fascinated by the idea of people trying to deal with, and help each other through, impossibly difficult and trying situations (the HP thing being a key example.) Odd- I just read 1,000 Cranes for the first time recently, at my sister's house.

[alabastard.livejournal.com]

Perception/reality ... a common theme in my work... if I can ever find time to get back to it ;-)

[abnormal-apathy.livejournal.com]

The one about the rebel who left home at 16 and built her world by scratch. I can't help it and I don't mean to, but I've got that wild narcissistic streak in me.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

I've loved this idea, of the "one story" that people tell, ever since I first heard of it a few years ago, but I can never quite decide what my story is. Or at least, it seems to change every time I think about it.

At the moment, I'd say I tell the story of characters who are brilliant, broken and emotionally opaque (three necessary characteristics, but not always embodied in a single character), who struggle to learn to use their brokenness to advantage, particularly with the support of other people. Not to be fixed, but to turn, for instance, self-destruction into self-sacrifice for a cause, the thin line between negative and positive attributes.

[fuyukodachi.livejournal.com]

When we have the "man date," I will try to bring some paper, because I know how to make them, because we were forced to learn in elementary school, and I have since folded hundreds of them but likely not a thousand.

As much as it might fuck with your narrative a bit, this year has had so much of you doing things you thought you couldn't or shouldn't, and why not that, too?

I used to give them to [him], because I had no words for love then.

[00goddess.livejournal.com]

I have written a lot of stuff based on fairy tales. I explored themes with regard to childhood and its "secret" horrors, and with the social expectations placed on women.

[rezendi.livejournal.com]

Tribe and belonging.

[rahalia-cat.livejournal.com]

You know, I hadn't even really given that a thought, which is surprising when you consider the amount of conversations you and I have had regarding the obsessions of at least one of those creative people. Now I want to go back and check all of my solo fic to see - heh!

The problem with this for me is that I've been writing collaborative fic for so long now, that much of my solo output has been reduced to drabbles and short works that focus more on moments than on themes. Now that the collaborative efforts are mostly done with, it'll be interesting to see what I come up with on my own. The plot of the novel that I'm working on at the moment focuses on loneliness, acknowledgement, recognition and love, and I suppose those are pretty big themes for me, given the year I've had.

As an ETA, I can think of at least one other solo story that contains the theme of acknowledgement and recognition: Respect (http://rahalia-cat.livejournal.com/725359.html), which was my Buonaparte/Maturin short fic. So there I think we have one of my main obsessions. The first two stories that I can think of, and they both have the same theme? Recognition and acknowledgement. Which, when you think about it, is something that I've not had a lot of over the past 18 years...

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

My writing is unfortunately rather shallow and suffers from a lack of clear theme, which is probably why most of it is crap and I never finish it. However, there is an underlying motivation for all my writing, whether it be in my blog or research writing, and that is something like, "Hey world, pay attention to me! I'm speshul!"

[phaenix-ash.livejournal.com]

What I'm curious about, oh fanfiction (and other) writers on my friends list, is what your thematic obsessions are? What story is it that you seem to tell over and over again without meaning to? What wounds hide in your work? What graces?

father figures, absent mothers, cruel domineering women, victims, alienation, strong virgins, the child savior...more and more in the guise of fairy tales. i've gotten slightly obsessed with campbell and proppe.

[roadnotes.livejournal.com]

One of mine is the step into saying "I want," or "I will take," from someone who has been blocked from acting on their desires, or ignorant of the existence of a way to their desires, that trembling step towards something.

[mia-writings.livejournal.com]

a lot of what i write has to do with archetypes and archetypical and also collective behaviour patterns and symbols.
I believe it has to do with my obsession to find the core and the essence of life and of people.
thanks for asking!

[splix.livejournal.com]

One recurring theme of mine is that of transformation - principally, how people brought into proximity change one another, sometimes for the better, sometimes not.