Whether you’re shooting photos or writing, theme can make the difference between okay and great.
Photography
When on vacation, come up with several themes and take photos that fit within them. This will help stretch your creativity and give you some powerful images.
(The photos in this post were taken during my recent vacation in San Francisco.)
Writing
When possible, you want to choose words that make the scene more powerful. One way to do this is to list your theme(s) and find words that go will work alone those lines.
Example (Whispers by Dean Koontz):
Day seemed to be changing into night much too rapidly, and, as a sudden cold wind rattled the windowpanes, it also seemed to Joshua that autumn was giving way to winter with the same unnatural haste.
The story is about a serial killer who is killed but apparently comes back to life. ‘Unnatural’ fit perfectly with the theme.
Do you consider theme when taking photos or when selecting an appropriate word for your story (this works for nonfiction, too)?
(Speaking of serial killers and theme, the last two photos were taken in Alcatraz.)
(note: all photos on this posts ©Stina Lindenblatt)