TROOPER: Glory to the Empire and to this video’s
sponsor campfire blaze! Wow. Look at that big pile of burning pencils. Wonder what’s that about? Oh well. No time to worry about that when I have to
teach writers how to add Symbolism, Themes, and Motifs to their stories! Inner Critic: Yes! At long last. I’ve waited for this episode! I have so many notes and insights to… Oh no. Out you go inner critic. If I let you into this episode, the whole
video will be filled with endless walls of text that no one has time to read. Inner Critic: But! Nope. Go back to nitpicking on Goodreads or something. Huh. I just banished the personification of my
inner critic without even listening to his suggestions. Wonder what that’s about? Now as I was saying, symbolism, themes, and
motifs are a great tool for a writer to master as they can add depth, nuance, and flavor
to an otherwise bland story. And much like any tool in the writer’s tool
shed, Terrible Writing Advice is here to teach aspiring authors how to take these highly
specific and delicate tools and use them with the same grace and skill as a hammer being
used on porcelain. Let’s start with symbolism. Symbolism, in case you fell asleep in literature
class like did, is when an element in a story is used to stand for or to represent something
else. For example, while a balance scale is used
to measure the weight of items, it is also used a symbol for justice as both must be
slowly balanced with care to work right. A sword can be more than just a weapon, but
also become a symbol of romantic ideals. Roses can be a symbol for love in that both
are beautiful but can hurt if handled incorrectly with their thorns. Does this mean that employing symbolism is
in fact a very careful and thought out process that requires research and careful execution? No! Of course not! Time spent researching and understanding is
time better spent thinking about how future generations of literary elites will be praising
the depth and complexity of my deep symbols that took a whole google search to find. Did I settle on symbols that resonate with
the story’s tone, plot, and theme? Well no, but I did pick symbols that looked
really cool! Symbols can be selected carelessly and without
worry about backfiring. That Yin-Yang Symbol looks really cool so
I’ll just borrow that for my story that has absolutely no dualism in it at all. See the best way to pick symbols is by how
exotic they are rather than their relevance! What does all of this east-Asian mysticism
stuff mean? Who cares? It looks cool so in it goes! It doesn’t matter that I totally misunderstand
what it means and that the symbol’s actual meaning goes against the central message of
the story. Besides, the main reason to use symbols isn’t
to explore a deeper idea, but to instead show off to the world how super smart I am! And you know what makes a writer look really
smart? Using lots of symbolism! Be sure to keep packing more and more symbolism
into the story without worry that the over abundance of symbolism will dilute the impact
of each symbol individually faster than you can say “law of diminishing returns”. Just keeping piling on symbolism until it
drowns out the plot and characters because telling a good story should always be secondary
over letting the world know how smart I am because I read up on Norse mythology on Wikipedia. Now that we have our symbolism picked out,
how does a writer implement those symbols? Should I use this symbol sparingly and in
the background without drawing too much attention away from the story’s characterization and
plot? Or maybe I should find a way to implement
the symbolism organically by blending it into the scenery or descriptions. Maybe even describe the symbol through the
lens of the character thus adding a layer of meaning and characterization at the same
time? Nah. If I do that then there is a chance that the
audience will miss it and thus I will lose out on a prime opportunity to show off my
galaxy brain in action. Better to be blunt with symbolism. In fact, make sure to have the story come
to a screeching halt just so one of the characters can explain exactly what each symbol means
to the audience. Nothing like wielding authorial intent in
authoritarian way. This is necessary because, since I have a
triple digit IQ, there is no way that the audience will have any hope of deciphering
the meaning of my super complex symbolism unless I explained it to them like brain dead
zombies I imagine them to be. I know. It’s tough being a super brilliant, incredibility
attractive, and extremely humble writer celebrity, but sometimes we just have to sacrifice the
story’s flow so I can show the world just how intelligent I am. Now what if I am so super smart that I want
to use the same symbol over and over again? Well then it becomes a motif. A motif is is a repeating element, symbol,
or idea that occurs over and over again. Like a garden that two characters keep meeting
in and each time they do their relationship grows. Or a loner character with a wolf motif. Or even something as simple as an assassin
who is always washing their hands after each job. Were as symbols can express an idea, motifs
can reinforce that idea through repetition. Character motifs in particular are great because
a skilled writer will use motifs to completely supersede the character of said character. Just create a character from a broad archetype
and then slap a motif on them. Done! If anyone complains then just give the character
some sob story background. Much like symbolism, motifs can be used as
much as the writer wants without worry of how little sense it makes that my wall clock
motif somehow followed my characters into the open desert. Don’t naturally blend motifs into the background
or into characterization. They should be front and center drawing away
focus from less important things like believability and consistency. Why blend symbolism and motifs into the background
when they can blend everything else into the background. A writer isn’t dong their job right unless
the audience's willing suspension of disbelief is constantly shattered so the writer can
brag about how clever their literary and mythological allusions are. Although I’ve added excessive and largely
pointless symbolism and used motifs to turn my characters into walking English class notes
rather than a compelling cast, what more can I do to prove to everyone that my literary
genius is unrivaled in the annals of the classics? I know. I need to introduce story themes! A theme can be as simple as revenge or betrayal. It can also express a more complex idea like
the opposite of love isn’t hate, but apathy, war makes monsters out of good people, or
even something like everyone who disagrees with my extremely self-contradictory pseudo-philosophy
is literately Hitler. Themes are very useful for organizing a work
because when unsure about adding a new element to the story it becomes easy for a writer
to ask whether or not that element meshes with the theme. But since that requires a basic level of introspection
and thought, the far superior method of implementing a theme is to use it like a hammer on the
story’s plot and characterization, smashing them both into pieces so they can fit within
the theme rather than adapting the theme to fit in the story. Rather than have a theme underlay the foundation
of the story, giving strength to support the overall structure, instead have the theme
plow through the story’s walls like a bulldozer. No point in having a theme that works in harmony
with the story when they can instead fight each other for parking. It is possible for themes to develop during
the writing process rather than being planned ahead of time. Having a theme emerge organically within a
work and then honing that theme over subsequent revisions won’t work because a true auteur
would never allow their work be tarnished by a filthy editor and their irrational mandates
to ‘stop acting like a pseudo-intellectual poser with delusions of grandeur’. Once we have our theme the best way to expound
upon it is to prattle on and on about it for pages on end. Remember, we don’t want any of the lesser
intellects in the audience to miss my deep and complex theme of ‘the good guys win’. Better to beat the audience over the head
with the theme rather than risk a chance to miss displaying my cerebral might. It helps to remember that when it comes to
themes, symbolism, and motifs it’s always best to be as pretentious as possible. But if all of this ‘themes and symbolism’
stuff sounds too hard, then don’t sweat it because at the end of the day most people
just want a good story, not a literary analysis. Which is the completely wrong attitude to
have! How else will I show the world how smart I
am? Man I keep bringing up my need to assert my
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It feels like J.P. watched all the Snyder movies in preparation.