Everyone articulates their thoughts but not everyone truly communicates. Eloquence and sophistication of speech do not necessarily guarantee that the audience will receive the message. The question is, have you conveyed your message in such a way that the audience will receive and understand what you are trying to say?
There are two ways to ensure that your message will NOT be received:
- Write (or speak) without a purpose.
- Allow creativity to take the bit like a runaway horse.
The first point speaks for itself. If you write to write and have nothing to say, then there is no message to be communicated. Such writing has no depth and stands little chance of moving the reader.
In the second point, you may have a message to share but uncontrolled creativity has swept you off course until you have lost sight of what you wanted to say. Creativity must be reined in to serve the message.
Your message is birthed from your life story.
The most compelling words you will ever write will flow from the conviction of your heart. Your message is birthed from your life story. So, write from life!
In his article, What’s Your Message as a Writer? You Need to Think About It, Tom Kuegler presents some simple questions to help you sift your message out of the details of your life. What energizes you and why are you so passionate about it?
Is there a recurring theme behind the various issues that grip your heart? For example, out of all the manifold ills in the world today, let’s say human trafficking, elderly abuse, and slave labor rile you up the most. All three of these issues concern taking advantage of the weak. What personal experiences have contributed to how you feel about this crime? How have these experiences shaped your morality on these matters?
You can be as creative and outlandish as you like while designing the vehicle to be used in delivering your message (or moral). While the message and theme are derived from your own experience and world view, the plot, setting, characters, etc. can be entirely fictitious.
Consider George Lucas’ film series Star Wars for example. The saga played out by the Empire and the rebel forces is a classic tale of good vs. evil with a message calling us to live and be willing to die for a moral cause greater than ourselves. Lucas could have delivered the same message while setting this story on earth, using animal characters, or pushing the story back to prehistoric times.
Jerry Jenkins provides an excellent discussion in his article 15 Common Themes in Literature, explaining the relationship between the message, the theme and the plot. He then covers some ways of developing and reinforcing the theme. What is the primary theme in your writing? What techniques do you believe would be effective at communicating your message?
Stay tuned as we dig deeper into Point-of-View (POV), characterization, plotting, etc. to strategically craft stories that truly communicate our message for our readers.
centralhoustoniwa.com 
Leave a comment