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One of the things I noticed when preparing Allure of the Gypsies for publishing that there was a theme. It wasn’t intentional. In fact, I realized each of the main characters had their own theme. At least so far because one of the new heroes is so laid back that I’m not sure what his personal goal is. Well, I know one, but he’s the only character comfortable in his own skin and role so far. Anyway, a theme may appear by accident through plot progression and character development.
It’s fun when these are unintentional and then you can run with them. They can be more interesting than the main plot and give your story some depth. With these themes, your story can prompt discussions among readers because the topics tend to have different meanings for everyone. I’m not talking the deciphering of the theme is different, but everyone has their own thoughts on certain areas like family and friendship. Those play big roles in the Legends of Windemere series even among the villains.
One challenge is when you’re working with an ensemble cast for your books. People will perceive one character as the main and focus on their themes. That theme might even be misunderstood when compared to a character with a stronger theme or power. For example, take Luke and Nyx with part of their themes. Contrary to what some people think, Luke Callindor isn’t the only main hero of Legends of Windemere. Part of his theme is courage and determination in the face of superior strength and odds. This makes him a reckless character who takes a beating to win and will never go very high in terms of open power. Nyx will always appear to be the more powerful character because part of her theme is controlling incredible magic. This isn’t to say Luke is weak. His theme simply requires that he be strong in a different, less obvious way.
I’m considering spending a week or two in January do a post each day that involves the theme of a character and a book. It’s simply too much to work on here because it involves character analysis and opinions. I can think of 14 characters/books already that would make interesting posts. Two of those haven’t appeared yet, but they have amazing themes that I want to investigate.
So, do any other authors read their finished books and realize that a character or the overall story has a theme they never intended?
Legends of Windemere 
Yes – absolutely! I have found this to be the case, even with my main characters who I kind of had an idea about anyway. But as I wrote, their stories became interconnected and then the personalities developed and boom, the material for further books based on those new themes. If I had read this post twelve months ago I would have thought you were nuts, but now it completely makes sense to me. Seems I have crossed the dark side.. 😀
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I just realized it a month or two ago. It’s given me a lot more of focus with all the characters. Almost like they embody certain things, which makes them easier to work with.
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Very much so. I am still finding things in my first two books that I didn’t realize that I was writing about at the time. We’re not the only ones–Ray Bradbury, for example, wrote in an interview about how he realized that “Something Wicked This Way Comes” was largely about his relationship with his father only years after it had been published.
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Good to hear even the masters get into it. Guess we pull from what we know and feel even without realizing it.
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Strong in less obvious ways sounds awesome. Go Luke! I look forward to reading your series.
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Thanks. Part of that stems from someone pointing out that the spellcasters overshadow him in terms of power since he’s a swordsman. Maybe I’m biased, but I don’t see him as weak. Not able to dole out the damage that the others do, but that’s not the sign of a powerful character.
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I’ll let you know what I think after I read it, if you’d like. I agree about the sign of a power character.
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This was mostly after the third book. The first book is supposed to have him horribly outmatched. First time hero versus a demonic assassin should never give the edge to the amateur. I’d be happy to know what you think of the stories though. Always happy to get feedback and discuss.
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Agreed. Sounds great.
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Great post. It’s an exciting thing when characters can come to live and dictate their story.
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A major part of the fun if you ask me. 🙂
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