Theme, huh? Boy, this is a though one.
Let me begin by thinking about some of my favorite movies.
Think about Star Wars episode 4. The theme here is the difference between knowing something and BELIEVING it. That's why the movie ends when Luke believes in the force and turns off his radar. He trusts that it will work. (At least that is one theme)
What about the Matrix? It has two themes. The main one is choice. You do things simply because you choose to. That theme runs from the beginning to the ending of the trilogy, as does the Christ metaphor, which I won't get into here. The other major theme for the original movie is that there is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path. It's not until Neo believes he is the one that he finally is the one.
Strange, two of my favorite movies seem to have very similar themes.
Maybe I want to do something similar. It does seem appropriate. I am sturggling with writing novels because I know I can write a novel, but I don't entirely believe it. But if I am to do it, I must simply believe it.
And if my character is to use the magic effectively, he must believe in it. And he must believe in himself. He must throw away all of his self-doubt and simply do it because he believes he can. He must change his attitude from one of half-belief and half-doubt to one of complete belief.
That leads me to think about the character a bit more. Why would he not believe in himself? Surely his accident is a portion of it. That destroyed what belief in himself he had. But that can't be all of it. There must be some root deep in his apst that destroyed his belief that he can do something.
Yet, that is a question for another chapter. As I read "Novel Writing Made Easy" I see that is something for chapter 2, which is probably later this week.
Belief begets success.
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2 comments:
It sounds like you've really hit on something here; a good theme that be highlighted in various ways throughout the book.
Can I give a couple more ideas to mix in your thinking about THEME --
In INDIANA JONES AND THE HOLY GRAIL, Indy can't get across the chasm until he takes a step in faith, believing in something outside himself. Yet once he does take that step, that belief is very real.
This has similarities to STAR WARS, where Luke comes to believe in The Force, which is something outside himself, yet is in him and becomes a part of him.
In THE LION KING, Simba comes back to the pride to take responsibility only; he doesn't become the leader until he recognizes that he is the good one, not his uncle Scar. Then, because Simba believes in himself, is the fight between Good (Simba) and Evil (Scar).
And I will say, your last line 'Belief begets success', is a thought-provoker.
Thanks! I've never seen the Lion King so I didn't know about that.
I'm glad you like that last line. I was trying to come up with a new way of saying that which was simple yet seemingly profound, though not really.
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