Since theme is the glue that holds the work of art called story together, and theme is the reason for wanting to write the story, and theme is the thing that you have to SAY about the subject of the story -- a writer who wants to make a living at writing has to have something to say.   

If you have nothing to say, you will have no story ideas.  

So while my first writing teacher, Alma Hill, the professional writer who took time from her writing to run the National Fantasy Fan Federation (N3F) Writer's Bureau (a writing workshop by snailmail) taught me that writing is a Performing Art, I learned on my own that writing is a form of Public Speaking.  

Imagine yourself standing up in the audience at Madison Square Garden or Carnegie Hall, taking a microphone from the usher, and regaling the audience with a set of reasons why they should reconsider their personal opinions.  (that's what it is to sit down and write a book)

Imagine yourself then invited up on the stage with the movers and shakers most admired by that audience, given a place at the podium and the microphone and the opportunity to hold forth on your pet peeve, your hobby-horse.  (that's what happens when you sell the book you wrote) 

What would you say and how would you say it to be effective? Would you break out in a cold sweat because you have nothing to say?  Or would you choke up because you have too much to say and don't know how to put it so you won't be pelted with rotten tomatoes?  

Have you studied the art of Rhetoric?  It's not taught in grammar schools anymore, but when my mother went to grammar school it was central to the curriculum.  Today, you'd be lucky to find a University with more than one course in it.  

You'll find some good books on Rhetoric in the Keybooks Bookstore under Nonfiction, Writing.  But they cover how to say what you have to say -- not where to get something to say.

To find something to say and find a way to say it, one needs a rich, varied, and broad understanding of how all kinds of people look at the world.

Conflict is the Essence of Story.   There is no source of conflict richer or more potent than a difference in religious outlook.  Very often, conflicts within and without a person stem from a cultural assumption based on a religious principle.  To find something to say, just pit two characters against each other who have two different philosophies -- or even more potent, who have the same philosophy but different opinions about one of the tenets.  

Any religion can be viewed as a set of assumptions (mostly held unconsciously by the majority of practitioners) about the Nature of God, the Nature of Man, and the relationship between them.  

To display what you have to say using the rhetoric of fiction, you must be able to argue both sides of any issue.  You must be able to write the antagonist's dialogue from within that antagonist's own point of view (well enough to convince the readers who espouse that point of view that you, yourself believe as they do), and you must know how the protagonist will respond well enough to convince the readers who espouse the protag's point of view that you, yourself truly believe that too.  

If you are a person who has always wanted to write, has yearned to see a novel of your own published, but just can't get STARTED -- just don't know WHAT to write -- philosophy is a good place to start, a good place to find something to say.  

Even if you are Jewish and know it all already, take a tour of the websites listed under the link Explore Judaism in the table to the left and look through the eyes of one of your characters who does NOT know all this, and to whom it is as alien as Martian Pretzels. 

Drill down into those websites; follow the links you find there, move out onto the webrings and circles of the online Jewish community, and the other philosophical communities we expect to present here.   

Do that once a week for a couple of hours a week, (include other religions if you can find them online) and in a few months you'll have your novel material amassed.  

If you can help us with a page of links, essays, even a workshop, seminar or course, we'd be very pleased to hear from you.  First check our Agreements.  Then email us at simegen@simegen.com 

We are looking for instructors to do workshops, seminars, interviews and  courses that will be helpful to writers at all stages of their careers.  If you have an idea or wish to volunteer, see the Teacher's Agreement, and then email us at simegen@simegen.com -- we have a special need for those who can build web pages.  All of this domain would be growing a lot faster if we had more hands!  

This Page Was Last Updated   01/13/03 04:42 PM EST (USA)