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Do you deliberately insert some lesson about life into your stories?

Yes 0.15217391304348 15.2% [ 14 ]
No 0.46739130434783 46.7% [ 43 ]
Only in specific cases 0.3804347826087 38.0% [ 35 ]
Total Votes:[ 92 ]
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Dangerous Lunatic

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According to my creative writing teacher (damn, that was years ago...), every good story has some sort of message.

I guess you might call it a moral, but the message can be negative/antithetical to societal norms. At any rate, it's always some broad statement about life.

So...do you (un)intentionally work some sort of message into your writing? What does it tend to be?

And does good writing really need a message? My take is, every story can have a message even if the author doesn't write one in.

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I agree with what you say when I write I try to make it Ironicly funny... like I have a God of Atheists as one of my main characters in one... and really the only message in that one is "LAUGH DAMN IT!!!"

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It's good to have a message but I don't think it's necissary to good writing, just look at Waiting for Godot, a peach of a play in which nothing happens twice.

The message is really up to the reader/audience, you can write a story one way and they'll never get it but might take away their own view of what that scene or passage was about.

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Rosenkavalier
It's good to have a message but I don't think it's necissary to good writing, just look at Waiting for Godot, a peach of a play in which nothing happens twice.

The message is really up to the reader/audience, you can write a story one way and they'll never get it but might take away their own view of what that scene or passage was about.
I had a thought earlier today about writing a book report and if you are already an author picking your own book as the book to report on. no matter what you say the teacher can not dispute it

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Every story needs a point, and every story has a theme. But it doesn't need a moral (or anti-moral).

Messages usually work themselves into a story whether you want it to or not, though, and you can't really get away from it. If your character struggles against something, like most characters should, and if he's dynamic, you have meaning coming your way. What the main character does and says is going to impress something on your reader, as well as your tone. It's up to your reader to decide what the message is, or if the story has one at all, and since it's never said outright the message will be different for everyone.

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Nen Ohantar
Rosenkavalier
It's good to have a message but I don't think it's necissary to good writing, just look at Waiting for Godot, a peach of a play in which nothing happens twice.

The message is really up to the reader/audience, you can write a story one way and they'll never get it but might take away their own view of what that scene or passage was about.
I had a thought earlier today about writing a book report and if you are already an author picking your own book as the book to report on. no matter what you say the teacher can not dispute it


Within theory, you'd still have to justify what you'd written with your own evidence and possibly reference to third party sources that influence your work.

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Rosenkavalier
Nen Ohantar
Rosenkavalier
It's good to have a message but I don't think it's necissary to good writing, just look at Waiting for Godot, a peach of a play in which nothing happens twice.

The message is really up to the reader/audience, you can write a story one way and they'll never get it but might take away their own view of what that scene or passage was about.
I had a thought earlier today about writing a book report and if you are already an author picking your own book as the book to report on. no matter what you say the teacher can not dispute it


Within theory, you'd still have to justify what you'd written with your own evidence and possibly reference to third party sources that influence your work.
point taken

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bump

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Not really. Other than that violence is really good at solving things.

And those that live by the sword die by the pike, 'since Chobham armor stops shotgun blasts.

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no, but alot of times if a person irl was a particular asshat and something they did got to me, i often have a person with a similar relation to my mc do the same thing and show how my mc was hurt by it.

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I came across something about messages in stories a while back, and I'd rather say I agree with it:

http://www.cbcbooks.org/cbcmagazine/meet/leguin_ursula_k.html

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please, I write in my journel, slaving over a keyboard, and I feel left out as comments go
So please let me feel like I'm doing something right or wrong

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No. Unless I am writing mystery where the main character dies or something, I never put a moral into my story.
ex: for one mystery short I wrote, the moral was
"Don't get into a car with a creep who drives a pickup truck from the 60's"

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I always use strong symbolism in what I write. And there is always something powerful to gain throguh reading my stories. Messages and meanings are very important to me, I think everyone has a little bit of knowledge than the people around them. If your message, ideas, and morals can be expressed in a creative, entertaining way...share it with the world. ^_^

For those of us who don't add messages, that's fine. You don't have to convey a message. However, if a person is looking for a message they will find one. You should also take into account the tone in which the author writes. Tone is found in every story and cannot be avoided. Also, tone is directly reflectant of an authors intentions and beliefes, ect. In that way, every story has a message. 3nodding
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