Tips for Writing Round Characters

Posted in Blog, Writing by Abigayle Blood

I’ve never had a character come to me fully formed and ready to go. They come to me like ghosts and I have to make them real by getting to know them over time. Creating (good) characters is hard work, but when you take the time and effort to make them ’round’ it’s always worth it.

So what is a ’round’ character? E.M Forster wrote in Aspects of the Novel, that:

“The test of a round character is whether it is capable of surprising in a convincing way. If it never surprises, it is flat… It has an incalculability of life about it – life within the pages of a book.”

Someone once told me that if you can imagine the character existing outside of the novel, if they have lives that reach beyond their role in the book’s plot, they’re round. It’s all about putting life back in those ghostly figures that first appear.

But it’s not always so easy to create a round character. One approach is to let the characters reveal themselves to you, to really sit down and get to know them.

Ask questions.

Write out a set of questions for your character and conduct a kind of interview. This gets your brain thinking about all sorts of random details that you can use for background info to help round out your character. If you’re not sure what to ask, check out this list of possible questions.

HINT: This works even better if you don’t know the questions beforehand. Have a friend do the asking – it’ll keep you on your toes!

Have a chat.

Imagine physically meeting your character for the first time (maybe in a cafe, or at the library – it depends on the character). How does the conversation begin? How do they respond to you? This is great for picking up body language and visualisations about the character.

HINT: It’s not recommended to tell people who aren’t writers that you’ve been ‘talking with your characters’. They just don’t get it. Believe me.

Fill out a job application.

This idea comes from an article on The Write Practice. It’s a great way to work out the facts about a character. Don’t forget the important yet sometimes over looked details like age, date of birth, and previous work history.

HINT: As the article says, don’t hesitate to add more parts to the job application and really scrutinise your character.

Write a letter.

Not many people write letters anymore, so this is a great way to learn more about your character’s motivations, their past, their friends, and so on. It’s a good exercise for creating tone and voice as well as vocabulary.

HINT: Don’t post it!

***

Happy writing 🙂

Via: http://writersedit.com/resources-for-writers/4-tips-writing-round-characters/

2Aug2017

13 Struggles Only Unpublished Fiction Writers Understand

Posted in Blog, Writing by Abigayle Blood

First things first. This isn’t an article for all y’all fiction writers who have actually been published. I’m sure you have your problems, but this post is not for you, you beautiful, successful monsters. This post is for the semi-clueless writers whose hearts are still full of hope, with their Word docs full of nonsense plot outlines and six different versions of the same abandoned manuscript. This is for anyone and everyone who is writing a book right now and has no idea what the hell they’re doing, because that’s where I’m at too. If you’re riding on this struggle-bus with me, you know all of these struggles way too well:

1. You never have time to write

Apparently you have to work to pay rent? And see people to maintain friendships? Also, laundry gets dirty, plates don’t wash themselves, and the fridge is not filled by fairies? What! Does not compute???

2. Just kidding — you do have time, and you waste it like nobody’s business

*scrolls into the Twitter abyss*

*calls mum for a catch up*

*finds the lost portal to Narnia*

Oh man, no time to write! Better luck tomorrow.

3. The conditions have to be ‘just so’ when you’re writing

When there’s no pressure, you can write upside down strapped to a rocket. When you’re writing The Novel That Will Make You As Famous As J.K. Rowling, So Help You God, then you need to have a candle burning, a half glass of red wine at your side, and a chimpanzee playing the violin before you’ll even think about opening your laptop.

4. You’re constantly daydreaming about your characters

I’ve apologised to at least ten different stationary objects that I’ve walked into this month alone.

5. You keep getting 40,000 words into something and then immediately want to burn it down

BURN IT ALL DOWN. (Or rename it “ZZZZZ” so it hits the bottom of your Docs folder and you never have to see its ugly mug again.)

6. Whenever someone asks you what kind of story you’re working on, you make this face…

Which basically says “It’s just this little dumb stupid terrible awful horrible story I’m working on, sort of, kind of, maybe.”

7. And whenever someone asks to read what you’re working on, you make THIS face…

Whilst thinking “OVER MY DEAD BODY. (Nobody has to read this for it to get published, right? Right??)”.

8. And yet, you’re genuinely concerned about casting the movie for this book you haven’t even finished

Is [insert favourite actor/actress here] available and will they remain available for the next 10-15 years while I’m getting my sh*t together?

9. Friends you didn’t even know were writing a book end up getting published before you do

Congrats, by the way. Can’t wait to read it and love it and eat an entire pack of Oreos consoling myself, you talented pain in the ass.

10. Every 3 weeks or so you are thoroughly convinced that your ideas suck, everything is crap and what the hell were you even thinking?!

Writers are totally emotionally stable, though!! Honestly, we’re fine!! Everything’s great!!!!!!!!! (Help.)

11. Writer’s block is some real sauce

You can stare at that blank page for hours, and end up typing every random word you can think of in the futile quest for inspiration. You start a sentence, and delete it. Get up and make a drink. Type another sentence. Delete it. At the end of the day you have a blank page and a headache from banging your head on the wall. And it’s not like you can talk to anybody about it, because then you’d have to actually admit that you were writing something in the first place.

12. Nobody but you actually cares

Like, you’re a nobody. You have no deadlines, no expectations, and no cheerleaders to provide that much needed praise and admiration for the stinking pile of dog-poop you’re writing. So you are forced to plod on, without reward. Most likely most days you feel dead inside. TELL ME I’M PRETTY, INTERNET.

13. You actually have no freaking idea what to do when you’re done with this giant thing you made

Click your heels three times, blow some glitter on your manuscript and hope for the best! According to the internet, the “real work” in getting published hasn’t even begun yet.

***

Via: https://www.bustle.com/articles/101031-13-struggles-only-unpublished-fiction-writers-understand

1Aug2017

Eight Rules of Writing | Neil Gaiman

Posted in Blog, Writing by Abigayle Blood

Some expert advice on writing from Neil Gaiman:

Happy writing! 🙂

31Jul2017

Simple Ways To Boost Your Confidence As A Writer

Posted in Blog, Writing by Abigayle Blood

Being a writer by profession is an incredibly public thing to do. Our work will inevitably be distributed and read by extended audiences that we may never meet.

With the opportunity of self-publishing thriving, more and more writers have emerged and there is now a saturation of content. More than just asking ourselves how to produce great quality work, we now have to face the question of how to stand out among the crowd as well.

To do this, one of the most significant attributes to have is confidence.

Confidence helps us stay focused about our writing paths regardless of the amount of competition that is in the industry. Confidence also keeps us motivated to write and write some more regardless of whether our work is labelled successes or failures.

Here are a few simple ways to help writers boost that confidence.

1. Understand the learning process

Though it sounds cliche, it makes the saying no less true: writing is a learning process.

The more we write, the more we will learn about language itself and about the topics we are writing about. For example, if you’re writing about a character in your novel, re-writing the dialogues and revising the plot lines helps you to think more critically about that character and their situation.

Writing and re-writing forces you to make connections between ideas and self-expression. Consequently, the output of repetitive writing practice allows you to create more established thought processes for your next piece of work. In this way too, your confidence will be boosted.

2. Read to learn

The equation of becoming a better writer is simple. We must read and we must write. But to do this well, it is important to maintain a teachable perspective.

As easy as it is for others to read your writing, so will you of others. With no shortage of readily available reading material for us online, it’s become even easier to learn about writing on a more dynamic scale.

People are made up of different stories and their own unique experiences. Consider it a privilege to have incredible amounts of reading material at the tip of your fingers.

Reading with a teachable perspective, though, makes a distinction between reading for enjoyment and reading to learn. Try not to spend too much time comparing, it will only disappoint you as you realise that there will always be someone out there who writes better or has found greater success.

When you read to learn, however, you give yourself potential to discover new ideas, more patterns of writing, new vocabulary and so on. This will help your confidence.

3. Celebrate the little victories

Rarely do writers find success overnight. The potential for an incredibly long process of trying, before your work gets recognised or published, can be confidence crushing.

One way to avoid this is to celebrate the little victories, because success is essentially made of milestones.

Milestones, like getting your articles published online, building your market of influence, extending your network of contacts and gaining inspiration for new ideas, are all included. Even through these victories, you’ll be able to learn more about the writing industry, how to build your writing career and even who to go to when you need help.

These little victories will boost your confidence as you know that you’re gaining achievements that’ll help you in the future.

4. Give yourself a break

Everyone makes mistakes. However, when we understand the learning process of becoming a better writer, we begin to appreciate the mistakes we make.

It’s through our mistakes that we discover what we can improve on in our work. Responding with determination and an active spirit for learning, rather than self-degradation, is a much healthier way of dealing with mistakes and failures.

For Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale and more recently, The Heart Goes Last, she says in an interview with The Guardian:

“Failure is just another name for much of real life: much of what we set out to accomplish ends in failure, at least in our own eyes. Who set the bar so high that most of our attempts to sail gracefully over it on the viewless wings of Poesy end in an undignified scramble or a nasty fall into the mud? Who told us we had to success at any cost? Get back on the horse that threw you, as they used to say.”

5. Find a trusted writer community

Confidence is a contagious spirit, but so is doubt. It’s crucial that you assess the type of environment you can allow yourself to thrive in.

Ask yourself: is it one that provides opportunities for you to flourish confidently?

Having a community that encourages and inspires your writing processes may be the only thing that is standing in your way of having some inner writer confidence.

More than that, having a trusted writers’ community will put you in a place where you can bounce ideas off each other, get feedback and even, discover ways to overcome challenges specific to a writers’ world.

Writing itself may be something you do alone. However, in preparing for it, ensure that positive energy fuels your writer-mind and places you back into a confident space.

6. Embrace criticism

Finally, criticism is a gateway to a steep learning curve.

As noted before, it’s through criticism that we find out more about what we can make improvements on. At the same time, it’s also through criticism that we see where our strengths lie.

But before you take the criticism too seriously, it’s important to know where your criticism is coming from.

In a digital era, anyone can scrutinise your work and publish harsh comments that may or may not be relevant. It’s easy to have low confidence because of this. After all, hearing negative views about work you’ve poured your heart and soul into can be hurtful.

Furthermore, you must understand who is criticising you. Are they people you can trust? Are they people whom you respect? Do they want the best for you? Are they offering constructive feedback or just being nasty?

Asking these questions can definitely point us in a better direction on who to trust without sabotaging our writing careers. Some criticism might be worth taking with a pinch of salt. And some can be dismissed altogether.

All in all, keep an open mind, and try to let your confidence flourish through all criticism, mistakes and little victories. Stay positive, and surround yourself with people who will support you and your writing.

Via: https://writersedit.com/10881/resources-for-writers/6-simple-ways-boost-confidence-writer/

29Jul2017

Three Things to Know Before Starting Your Novel

Posted in Blog, Writing by Abigayle Blood

Before you jump in the deep end and start writing a novel, there are a few things you should know.

1. The Premise

This one seems obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many authors launch straight into writing before knowing the basics. The premise of your story, is the core of it – the skeleton that runs throughout the whole thing. When someone asks you what your book is about, the premise is what you’ll give them. More often than not, if you begin writing without a premise, chances are that your story will have trouble going anywhere.

For example, this author began writing a novel, knowing the character and his physical journey, but unsure as to what the basic concept of her book was. In 9 months, she struggled to write a measly 13,200 words. By contrast, she then began writing a new novel which had originally been a short story. Knowing the premise this time, in 4 months she wrote 60,000 words and finished the first draft.

“With my first book, I had known the main character inside out, known his travels… But I found it increasingly difficult to write. The scenes were random and didn’t build to anything. I couldn’t have told you what the climax of the novel was. If you compare the progress of my second novel to the first, which remains unfinished, it’s pretty incredible. I’m not saying you should know everything about your story before you start, because it does develop and change drastically as you work. But knowing the premise the second time around changed the way I write for the better.” – Novelist/Creative Writer, Darlinghurst

2. Research Basics

Again, this sounds like an obvious one. Some writers find it easier to set their fiction in a real place, have a character with a similar occupation or family situation… things they’re familiar with. If this is you, that’s great. What I will say is: be careful you don’t omit details accidentally. When you know a setting, a job or a person very well, it’s easy to forget that your reader doesn’t.

To those who are creating from scratch, that’s great too. Is your main character a doctor? An air-hostess? Is your novel set in South Africa? Italy? Russia? Whatever your main character does and wherever they are, know the facts, at least the basics. What does their job entail? Long hours? Mundane tasks? Risk? Who do they work with? How long have they been in their position? Are they happy there? Do they earn a lot? These things won’t necessarily make it onto the actual page, but these factors affect a person’s nature, how they behave, how they live… The same goes for the setting you place them in… Do they have electricity? Do they live above a nightclub? Is their living space small or spacious?

“What I found incredibly useful, was mapping out the settings that my characters spent a lot of time in. Whether it was a room, a house or a village, it was a relief to keep coming back to a reference point and know where things were. I also kept ‘Research Profiles’ for want of a better term, so I could constantly layer my work with authentic touches, whether it was for the environment, political climate or a character.”

3. Character

Try and learn everything you can about your characters before you start writing. Naturally, once you get your story going, you’ll learn more and more about them, however it’s always super helpful to know the basics of who they are, what they do, etc., beforehand. Jot down a profile about each of your main characters including details about their: name, physical appearance, age, which characters they get along with and their relationship, where they live, do they have children? A partner? Do they have any particular mannerisms or quirks? Decide where you want to draw the line with how much you need to know before you start, and how much you learn along the way.

“One of the things I wish I had of known before I started my book was a few extra details about the background of my characters, things that make them distinctive from the rest of my cast. I’m now on my second draft and I’m having to redo character profiles and slot these details in second time around – it would have been a lot less hassle to have done it from the beginning.”

There are plenty of character profile templates available online for free that can be a great help. Click here to see one such example of a useful profile. Although it’s quite long and detailed, it does prompt you to think outside the box.

In conclusion, starting a novel is a huge undertaking and a massive achievement in itself, but sometimes, it helps to have something small, pointing you in the right direction. I hope this little checklist has done that.

Happy writing!

Via: http://writersedit.com/resources-for-writers/three-things-to-know-do-before-starting-your-novel/

27Jul2017

A Word Factory Masterclass with Louise Doughty | Words Away

Posted in Articles, Blog, Writing by Abigayle Blood

Today on Writer’s Blog, I want to share a fantastic article from Words Away on what she learnt at a Word Factory event. I found the whole thing really informative and valuable for my writing, and I hope you will too.

Enjoy! x

How do you work out if your idea is a short story or a novel? You begin writing in one form only to discover that your work has mutated into something else entirely. I attended an excellent masterclass recently, Where The Narrative Leads, with Louise Doughty, run by the Word Factory. Who better to help you work out if your idea can go the distance or is destined to crystallise into a short story than with an award-winning novelist, screenwriter and short story writer? Tucked away in the basement of Waterstones Piccadilly, Louise chatted about her writing process, touching on the main aspects of plot and narrative structure. There was lots of opportunity to ask questions and do some exercises to apply to our own writing.

Who knows where the origin of a story comes from – something grabs the imagination and grows. Two of Louise’s novels, Apple Tree Yard and Black Water, were each inspired by an image of a single character in a situation and started as short story ideas. So why did those short stories turn into a novel? According to Louise there are two elements at work, the first being your character; Look at their biography. If, as Paul Klee suggested, ‘drawing is taking a line for a walk’ why not take your character for a walk. Ask questions of your character; what age are they? What year is the scene set? Interrogate history and events. Play around with what you find. When something starts bothering you – that could be your idea. Anything that feels ‘noteworthy’, find a way to get it in to your story. Join the dots and make connections. Secondly, scrutinise the world in which the character finds themselves; While on a visit to Bali and gripped by jet lag, Louise was seized by an image of a man mortally afraid and lying awake in a hut, listening to rain on the roof. She didn’t know anything about Indonesia or it’s history but set about finding out. Your own ignorance can be a driver more than the stuff you know about. Don’t be stymied by research; if it interests you it will interest the reader. Go and visit your novel – if possible. Walk it out. There’s no substitute for going on location. A pragmatic decision can become a thematic one. Find your way around the limits of your knowledge.

One of the most interesting parts of the evening was looking at the formal principals behind narrative structure. According to the filmmaker, Jean-Luc Godard, ‘All stories should have a beginning, middle, and an end, but not necessarily in that order.’ Referring to the Screenwriter’s Workbook by Syd Field, Louise suggested adapting a few screenwriters tricks to help structure your novel. There was a hand out with a diagram dividing the story into quarters, with a set-up, a mid point and a resolution. Three ‘plot points’ divided the narrative. A plot point takes the course of the narrative, turns it around and spins it in another direction. There’s no going back from this experience. A plot point is not an event that happens but rather when something has impacted on the character’s life to cause irrevocable change. It does not have to be large or dramatic. The point is change.

I loved hearing about Louise’s intuitive approach to writing which she described as a chaotic ‘jigsaw method’ and heartened to learn she writes without worrying too much about outcome. Inspired by an image or a subject she gets up and writes whatever comes into her head that day. Herein lies the joy! Researching along the way, she writes scenes, generates loads of material and leaves gaps as she writes. She’ll go back and fill those in later. She described the physical process of printing out the scenes, then laying it all out on the kitchen table or floor. She looks for her corner scenes, picks out the edges and what might be the beginning or end. She maps it all out into piles of three or four and from this she has a working draft. If overwhelmed she simplifies the story, cutting scenes ruthlessly.

If you’ve never been to a Word factory event, I urge you to go. The guest authors are brilliant if not legendary and, whether you’re a beginner or seasoned scribe, the atmosphere is welcoming and writer friendly. If you’d like a flavour of previous masterclasses click here to read about a couple with Neil Gaiman and Tessa Hadley. It was a great evening with thanks to Louise Doughty, Cathy Galvin and the Word Factory team. I’ve scarpered back to my writing cave to see if I can put some of what I’ve learned into my own writing. Let’s see what the summer brings.

Kellie

PS: With Louise Doughty’s masterclass in mind, YA author Non Pratt has blogged brilliantly about her approach to writing and revising a novel. And thinking about ‘plot points’ and change, I love editor and writing mentor Andrew Wille’s blog highlighting the wisdom of Ursula Le Guin in Steering The Craft:

“Conflict is one kind of behaviour. There are others, equally important in any human life, such as relating, finding, losing, bearing, discovering, parting, changing. Change is the universal aspect of all these sources of story. Story is something moving, something happening, something or somebody changing.”

Links: The Word Factory, Louise Doughty, Paul Klee, Jean-Luc Godard, The Screenwriter’s Workbook by Syd Field,

Via: http://www.wordsaway.info/a-word-factory-master-class-with-louise-doughty

26Jul2017

Writing Prompt: Turn On Your Telly!

Posted in Blog, Writing by Abigayle Blood

It’s always good to have a few reliable writing prompts up your sleeve. The best are flexible and new every time you try them – something you can use over and over again. Here’s one such writing prompt that you can retry as many times as you like:

Turn on your TV

Your idiot box may not be so stupid! Turn on the telly and write down the first sentence (or partial sentence) that you hear and use this line as inspiration for a story or poem.

The great thing about this writing prompt is that if you want to give it another go, just turn the TV off and flick back on again. Change the channel or flick on at different times of day for new lines and new prompts.

If none of the first lines you hear inspire you, watch any program for a few minutes and keep an ear out for any interesting dialogue. Choose something that grabs you, and go with it.

Hazard Warning

Keep in mind the reason for switching on the box, and don’t get bogged down or distracted watching the latest rerun of an old drama, soap or quiz show. Stay focused, keep your attention on finding that writing prompt, perhaps with pen and paper in hand, so that you remember to press the off switch as soon as you’ve got one.

Happy writing!

Via: https://https://writersedit.com/1677/resources-for-writers

22Jul2017

Your First Chapter: Getting Past The Fear

Posted in Blog, Writing by Abigayle Blood

Fear holds a lot of writers back from getting their work into the world, and when you’re writing a book the fear of the first chapter can stop you in your tracks.

Much of this fear comes from pressure for the first chapter to be perfect. It is drilled into us that first impressions are everything, especially when it means keeping your manuscript out of the slush pile.

But if you don’t get started, you’ll never get going. So here are a few tips for pushing past the fear of failure and writing your first chapter.

Before the First Word

Think about your concept. No matter where it came from: based on a real event, in a dream, a fairy story, your imagination, whatever, you will need to flesh it out a bit and think about where it is going. Do some research into the area, and allow your concept to morph as it takes shape.

Coming up with the plot is the most difficult part, because our ideas change and grow all the time. But if you do a little planning on your structure and develop your characters, the shape of your novel will began to reveal itself. And doing this beforehand will make the actual writing process easier.

Putting Pen to Paper

From all your planning, the obvious place to start should present itself. Try not to overthink it – just start writing and see where it takes you. If you hit a dead end, don’t panic. Back up a bit a try again, or put it in a draw for a while and then come back to it with fresh eyes.

Personally, I have found giving my ideas time to marinade really helps my process. I reworked my plot, my world, some of my characters, and prepared to take that leap into a new first chapter.

Advice

There is a lot of advice out there about right/wrong ways to start a book. My advice is: just start writing. If you’ve got off on the wrong foot, the book will tell you. Sure, it may set you back a little, but you’ll learn from that experience and your novel will be better for it.

Think about how your favourite books and films start. Do they jump right into the acton, or is there some breathing space before the story begins? If you can imagine an intriguing scene that doesn’t give the game away, you’re on the right track.

Don’t let the pressure of publishers, agents, or readers intimidate you. First chapters are scary and exciting (like the first summertime leap into a swimming pool) but the great thing about words is that you can change them.

The revision and editing processes are so long that chances are, your first chapter will transform many times from your first version of it. We revise for a reason, so don’t stress about the minor things just yet.

In Retrospect

Although it can be hard figuring out where and how to start, the re-starting of my draft made me realise that the little things don’t matter (yet) and that first drafts never come out perfectly polished the first go.

My biggest lesson: don’t try to write the perfect first draft, because it’s like a unicorn – it only exists in my imagination.

It doesn’t matter that a chapter feels stale, or that the wording for some descriptions aren’t quite right, or that your tense keeps shifting.

Words are flexible: they can be edited, moved around, deleted, and swapped. Just get yourself past the first hurdle and keep pushing forward.

What’s important is that you write, not hide behind the fear that your first chapter may not be entirely perfect just yet.

Via: http://writersedit.com/getting-past-fear-first-chapter/

18Jul2017

Writing Prompt: Book Spine Poetry

Posted in Blog, Writing by Abigayle Blood

There is beauty and writing in everything, and the world around us is an excellent source of poetry if you take the time to see it… A lot of time and energy goes into selecting a book title, for example. It must encapsulate the novel yet leave desirable mystery, it must sound intriguing, it must be a piece of art all on its own.

This writing prompt is a poetic exercise in finding beauty in your bookshelf.

Book Spine Poetry

The idea of book spine poetry began in 1993 with artist Nina Katchadourian’s Sorted Books project, with a recent online resurgence from people having a go at home. I thought this would be the perfect writing prompt to get your creativity flowing, especially when you’re not in the working mood.

This is a kind of poetry that even writers who devoutly protest they “are not poets” can have a bit of fun with. Scour your bookshelf for inspiration and put some pretty words together. It’s as simple as that. Here’s what you get from the picture above:

Beloved, pale fire

In the sky of a lion

The passion

On the road

To the lighthouse

It turns out that this writing prompt is trickier than it first appears, but the scope for creation is wide open and it’s a quick and playful exercise that really makes you think about sentence structure and deeper meanings within words.

Happy writing!

Via: https://writersedit.com/weekly-writing-prompts-21/

15Jul2017

Literary Devices: Motifs, Symbols and Themes

Posted in Blog, Writing by Abigayle Blood

Have you ever been reading a story, only to be struck with déjà vu? Perhaps you noticed that roses had just been mentioned for the tenth time. Or daffodils. Or the colour purple. Perhaps you found yourself wondering, ‘Why on earth is this author so obsessed with pineapples?’ But what is it you are really noticing? What are these recurring symbols and images? It may seem like you’ve discovered a strange fetish of the writer, but what you have more likely stumbled upon are motifs.

Just like any other literary device, writers can use motifs to add depth, convey meaning, and/or shape the way a reader receives, responds to, or understands a text. However, before using any literary device, you should first make sure you are familiar with how it works. So, here are the things you may need to know about ‘motif’, before using it in stories of your own.

What is a ‘Motif’?

In literature, a motif can be defined as any recurring image, object, idea, or element within a particular work. However, this definition is not entirely complete. After all, a motif should never be meaningless. In fact, a motif should contribute some form of symbolic significance to the story. For instance, a motif may be used to establish mood and atmosphere, or to reinforce/further explore the overriding themes of a story.

Motif vs. Symbol

As motifs are often symbolic in nature, they can often be mistakenly identified as mere symbols. However, it is important to remember that these two literary devices are not one and the same. So what is the difference between the two? The key difference to note between motifs and symbols is the element of repetition. As we’ve already established, a motif is an item that reoccurs throughout a text. In contrast, a symbol may only appear once. Beyond this, a motif often contributes toward developing the themes of a text, whereas a symbol’s significance may be limited to the particular scene. In this way, a motif may be a symbol, but a symbol is not necessarily a motif.

Motif vs. Theme

Another element ‘motif’ can often be mistaken for is ‘theme’. This is no doubt due to the fact that motif and theme are so closely connected. While a theme can be defined as a key or central idea explored throughout a text, a motif is more a means of embellishing, examining, or reinforcing these central ideas. For instance, a text may examine themes of good versus evil through the repeated images, or ‘motifs’, of light and dark.

Examples of Motif from a Literary Master

The best way to understand any literary device is to study examples of them in action. To better understand ‘motif’ and its relationship with ‘symbol’ and ‘theme’, let’s turn to a literary master, Mr. Edgar Allan Poe. The Fall of the House of Usher is rich with examples of motif. For example, the idea of certain things passing from one state to another is constantly repeated throughout the story. The word “pass” or “passed”, for instance, can be found on no less than seven occasions. On top of this, the very name ‘Usher’ (as in Roderick Usher) is associated with someone who directs us from one place to another. In this way, we can see a motif emerging, relating to the idea of transition.

This motif is also contributing to an overlaying theme – a theme of crossing, or transcending boundaries (particularly those between life and death). Madeline Usher, for example, is portrayed as crossing the boundary between life and death, when she emerges, alive, from her tomb. This theme is further enforced by the motif of decay. From the description of the partially “crumbling” house, and the “decayed trees”, to the description of Roderick Usher, possessing a “cadaverousness of complexion”, the notion of death and decay is clearly repeated throughout. As the very process of decay is itself a transitional state – one from pristine to ruin, we can see how this motif works to symbolise and reinforce the overall theme of crossing the boundary between life and death.

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So now you know more about motif, symbols and themes, try identifying some of your own. The next time you read a novel, take note of the images and elements that reoccur. See how they are used, and what they symbolise. Then get writing, and practice using motifs of your own.

Via: http://writersedit.com/literary-devices-motif/