4 CONFIGURACIONS
4.3 WAF
When I wrote the first book for Emma + Elsie, I didn't consider theme, which I'm now confident was a major mistake! I was a bit lazy with this series because I figured I'm just retelling a story that's already been told. Of course, that's not the case—while I do know many of the major plot points, I have the opportunity to reframe them through theme.
As I thought about the theme, the most obvious thing that came to mind was friendship. Friendship is a big part of the concept, so it should
play into the theme, right?
I also realized I should probably work with the themes I already have.
Jane Austen's theme was always the idea of how romance clashed with class (and she wrote six separate novels about it—a perfect example of same concept, different premise). It led me to think about how class is still prevalent in our modern day society. There is a lot of media coverage about meritocracy and how even when poorer kids do everything right, they still only end up at the bottom rung of where rich kids end up. This seems like an interesting concept to play with in terms of the two main characters—
Emma has all the connections and wealth, while Elsie is a straight A student still struggling for an invite to a college business club that could open doors for her.
My Memoir
When I look back over my life since about high school, I realize that I spent many years doing everything out of fear. I got good grades in school out of fear of not getting into college. I went to college (even though it didn't suit me) out of fear of being different or taking a different path. I even chose my degree based on what would get me the best job—quite pragmatic of me, although I did end up hating that job and wanting to switch!
Looking even deeper, I got married to the wrong person out of fear of being out on my own in the world. I went to grad school out of fear that I would never find my calling. I stayed out of the spotlight as much as
possible and often self-sabotaged opportunities to break free from the path I was on.
It wasn't until the last few years of choosing things that I loved, even if others didn't understand them, that I was able to find happiness. I left my husband even though I had no true excuse (he hadn't cheated on me or abused me). I left my career even though I had no money and no way to pay back my student loans. But making choices this way has led me to some of the happiest years of my life—writing for a living and married to the man of my dreams!
I think the theme of my memoir would have to be making life decisions while aligned with love rather than fear.
I still owe you a concept, so the concept (working backwards from the theme) is:
A young woman who spent her life following society's blueprint for happiness hits a breaking point and realizes this "dream" is her nightmare. She swiftly starts tearing down everything "normal" until she is left with a blank slate... Even though it means hard decisions, broken promises, and letting go of achievements she once held so dear.
We will work on that one… still a little rough. For now, onward!
Working in Reverse
If you have your theme but need to capture your concept or premise, the easiest way is to turn the internal conflict into an external conflict.
For example, if you know you want to write about the dangers of marrying too early, before you've discovered yourself, you can go back to the three elements of concept and identify:
• The protagonist
• The opposition (not necessarily the antagonist, but an opposing force)
• The situation (which is usually some sort of setting that forces the protagonist to meet his or her opposing force)
Let's say you choose a woman in her 20's who is unhappy with her marriage as the protagonist. The opposition is probably something like she can't leave her marriage to her high-school sweetheart, and the situation could be anything:
• Her husband is suicidal and is threatening to kill them both if she leaves (ooh, dark)
• They can't afford to live separately on their low incomes
• Her husband is a good guy and she just discovered she's 3 weeks pregnant—but she still knows that they aren't meant to be
All of these concepts are vehicles for the theme—it's just a matter of how you want to discuss the theme and what elements of the theme you want to highlight in your story.
By doing this exercise, you also refine your theme into not just your point, but the way you plan to make it. If you go the suicidal husband route, you are setting up some high stakes that will be more of a metaphor for the every day marriage (because most failing marriages crumble less
spectacularly than this). If you choose one of the latter routes, you are telling more of an everyday, slice-of-life story. The second one in particular might be interesting. I know several people whose marriages fell apart not due to anything either person did, not even due to disliking each other, but because they just weren't compatible on the everyday things. This type of story would almost be an anti-Gone Girl.
Layer 2 - The Surface
In the Surface layer, we'll talk about genre and what it means for your plot, so you can be thinking about this early on. We will also get into the groups and characters in your story and start fleshing out your cast and major conflicts.
Lastly, we'll tie the Surface layer back to the Design layer so you can see how these storytelling elements interact with each other!