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Motivation

Using proverb based themes for story ideas - Part One

Using proverb based themes for story ideas - Part Two

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Plot: The Fiction Writer's Itinerary

Choosing and Describing a Perfect Setting

Characterisation

Learn to be quiet

Delving into your past

Using inclusive language in writing

Copyright: Where To Find Information

Critiquing guidelines

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All Rights Remain With the Author: Fact or Fiction?

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We get ideas for stories all the time, but often we can't carry them through. Sometimes the feeling of despair that follows starts us thinking about the possible existence of a magical story guru somewhere on the planet who can help us find our way. Unfortunately, if there is one, it's not widely known.

Don't be discouraged. Let me zap you back into hope with some tips. Most effective stories are based loosely on proverbs. As you read the following, think about the short stories and novels you've read or the movies you've watched which relate to these proverbs:

love conquers all;
opportunity seldom knocks twice;
every law has a loophole;
all good things must come to an end;
every shoe fits not every foot;
you can't please everyone;
nothing so certain as death;
the company makes the feast;
it's a small world;
where there's a will, there's a way.

'Ah, I recognised some of those,' I hear you say, 'but how does this help me with my story idea?'. When we start writing, we usually have in mind plots and characters and settings, but only have vague ideas about themes. Proverbs provide themes. They break stories down into simple, manageable storylines. They give purpose to stories as well as beginnings, middles and ends. Take for example - where there's a will, there's a way. With this proverb, we get the general idea that, in the beginning, a character has a problem that, in the end, can be solved. Of course this is only possible, as long as the character has a strong will to try many solutions or the same one until it works.

In the movie Groundhog Day, the main character confronts the same day over and over. He quests after a particular woman's affection only to fail each time Groundhog Day is repeated. Then one day he resolves to keep trying in the hope of eventually winning the woman's attention. In the end he shows his true self, the woman falls for him and Groundhog Day finally ends in a wonderful way.

With a proverb based theme, a story not only has a purpose but a framework on which to build and a road map from which to find one's way. The proverb - every law has a loophole - tells us there is a framework, in this instance it is law. On this framework we build a setting, for example, a modern day court with related characters such as plaintiffs, their families, lawyers, judges and possibly the media. Learning from the proverb that laws have loopholes means we have a road map on which to search for appropriate avenues of action. In the movie The Castle, a family is about to lose its house so an adjoining airport can extend its services. Fortunately for the family, they accidentally meet a senior judge who takes on their case and works with them to find a loophole.

Proverb based themes also provide clues for building characters. The proverb - opportunity seldom knocks twice - as well as providing a purpose, a framework and a road map also provides important character traits. Not everyone recognises opportunities let alone possesses the gumption to take them when presented. Only characters with pizzazz, determination and foresight can fill this role. In the movie Working Girl, the character Tess McGill discovers that her boss has stolen one of her ideas and is planning to act on it. While her boss is in traction following a skiing accident, Tess seizes the chance to rise up and run with her idea, masquerading as a high profile businesswoman and hiding her own lowly secretary status.

Some proverbs, although vague on the surface, such as - all good things must come to an end - provide themes for some of the most memorable stories we know. This particular theme is effective for delaying an ending, keeping an audience guessing to the very end. Take F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby as an example. Gatsby, a self-made man, living lavishly off an income from dubious sources, puts out all attempts to win the heart of Daisy, a woman he's desired since his younger, poorer days. Things go well throughout the novel and it's not difficult to wish for the couple's eventual happiness. In the end, however, with Gatsby's murder, we discover the true theme.

Some stories seem vague, yet, when analysed, show straightforward proverb based themes. With the movie Big Night, a tale about a dinner in a not so popular Italian restaurant, viewers can be forgiven for wondering what the real story is about. As the food preparations begin, however, and the guests arrive, they suddenly realise company makes the feast and they can't help but become engaged in a charming story.

You can't please everyone is a proverb that gives birth to stories featuring joy as well as sadness. It's a growing, maturing theme ripe for characters making life changing decisions. Invariably someone ends up hurt in the process. In the movie Drop Dead Fred the main character, Lizzy, tries to please her cheating husband, her overbearing mother and just about everyone else. An imaginary friend from Lizzy's childhood, Drop Dead Fred, shows her the way to gaining self respect.

With proverb based themes, a writer can apply a number of themes to the one story. It is, however, easier for a writer to settle on only one theme. If others develop in the minds of readers and viewers, so be it. A theme is only a tool for helping a story along to its final stage and it will always be the story rather than the theme that is remembered.

© Justin O'Leary 2004

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