Brainstorming the Story Core

So now that I have committed myself to writing this story. This first thing I do is brainstorm a few horses(themes) for this story. The goal is to find its core and then to choose a symbol that this story core could revolve around, and hopefully pull out a few minor themes that can help me build the story cast.

Examples of symbol story cores are:

• The Beehive in The Secret Life of Bees
• Purple Hibiscus in Purple Hibiscus
• the water well in Abraham's Well
• basket weaving in The Spirit of Sweet Grass
• a pair of magic jeans in The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants

OK.

I am writing a woman's self-discovery/romance story. It is about a hopelessly sad woman who on the brink of killing herself receives a request letter from an old college friend, who's now a soldier deployed to Iraq.

The story core of my story is hope. Both characters are searching for hope. So I need to shape every aspect of this story(the character's action, description, cast, everything) around this core of hope. What does hope look like? Is the question that I am answering through this story.

It is also the answer I seek as I search for a symbol that I can build this story around.

I have been taught a few techniques to help me search and find this symbol. For the next 30 minutes at home. I will apply those techniques and get my symbols.

While I'm away I would like to know from you, how much effort do you put in thinking about your story's theme?

Other articles you may like:

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Why I think of my Story Ideas as a Writer's Germ?

I am writing a short story this weekend for a magazine contest. I am also reworking a novel for a mystery novel contest for a publishing house. And I am writing a new novel. And and ebook on book marketing plans. Although I am a quick writer, it takes a certain kick, an excitement in my gut--if you will-- to fuel my drive to complete any of these assignments, especially fiction.

I never have writer's block, but I do have writer's waiting challenge. My term. For me it means that this story sits in my head. When I look at it its hazy and not coherent. It's like the first stages of having a cold. I'm not sure if I'm sick or is it allergies, so I wait it out and see until the cold begins to nag. I become congested and there's no point of return. Story creation is the same process for me. I have many germs of stories in my head that never make it to fruition. They fizzle out by the next morning.

The reason I decided to enter the Ebony short story contest was story germ is teetering over the the point of no return. My symptoms are very clear:

• I have a character that haunts me.
• Everytime I hear a certain song my story comes back to view.
• I can't move forward until this story is purged out of me.

Whether I win the contest or not is my concern. Getting this story written is. Today my body and mind and spirit will not allow me to do anything else but talk about this story, work its issues out, then write.

I will share my process with you. But I have a favor to ask?

How do you decide when its time to take your story idea and turn it into a story?

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