365 Q&A #63: Pick a Theme, Any Theme
A theme by definition is the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person's thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic. Today's writing prompt asked the following:
What is a theme that often comes up in your writing and where do you think it is born from?
I can't really say there is one theme that often comes up in my writing. It is more of a combination of three smaller themes to make one larger theme. Those themes are Outcasts, Dystopia and the Supernatural. I use this gathering of themes a lot in my work, especially when world building. A lot of this stems from the books, films and TV shows I grew up on.
I really love mixing these themes together. I can have a world that is a dystopia while having a character that is an outcast with supernatural abilities. I really enjoy the idea that there are people out there with special abilities or creatures out that we don't know of. It really brings out my inner explorer and sense of curiosity about the universe. I also write stories where the world is dystopian because I like to write where we may end up in the future if we don't change our ways. I also love a good story that fights the establishment and most dystopian stories have that element. I love to write characters that make choices that I normally wouldn't or that I wish I could.
A lot of what I write about is what I see going on today in the world and where it could lead (worst case scenario), even though it's set sometime in the future (or sometimes the past). Take for example my origin story on the Angel of Death, the main character has supernatural abilities, is the last of her kind (an outcast), and lives in a dystopian society. Toss in a love interest, death and a war for survival and you've got yourself the makings of an epic villain origin story (once I've finished all my world/character/story building and actually write the story that has been begging to be written).
Stay tuned for updates on the Angel of Death's origin story. For now subdue your cravings for more with the blog post linked above.
