Theme v. plot…
[An oldie but goodie that bears repeating…]
In essay-land (that includes op-ed, of course), theme rules: you have to have at least one theme to opine. For writing fiction, not so much. And, perhaps because I do both, I make a semantical distinction between theme and plot when I write fiction. A good story doesn’t need themes per se, but it does need a plot. But one or two themes make for a better story—they enhance the plot. The theme or themes in a story are motivating issues: spousal infidelity or abuse, mental illness, the horrors of war, how spies make it through the night, sexual aberrations, child pornography, and so forth. The plot weaves these themes together to create a good story, so a plot is a wee bit weak if there’s nothing to weave!
As an avid reader (even if you’re a writer, you should be an avid reader), you probably have many examples of what I’m talking about if you just stop and think about stories you’ve read. If you’re like me, you enjoy the added complexity of having some themes woven into the tapestry of the novel. Often themes and how they’re woven into a plot make a reader stop and remark, “Geez, that’s a twist—I never thought about those issues in that way.” A good story is more than entertainment; it should be the genesis for those type of internal dialogues. Of course, some readers don’t appreciate that complexity—that’s fine, because there are many novels, even enjoyable ones, that don’t make you think. But you probably can’t avoid that type of mental introspection when reading my novels.
So, at the risk of being accused of beating my own drum (I can, because this is my blog), let me analyze the ebooks in my “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series.” I’ll call my cops C & C for brevity. As you might guess, I’m an expert on those novels! (Here’s a link to my Amazon book page for access to more descriptions.) They provide examples of how themes are woven into plots. I can’t help it—my stories contain themes associated with problems I’ve observed during a lifetime of observation. My first goal is to entertain, but, in doing so, also comment. The ebooks in this series are mysteries or thrillers—they tend to alternate, and all contain suspense. The two cops are main characters, of course, and there are some nasty villains. How they solve the crimes or stop the perps is the entertainment. The themes are usually associated with the perps’ nastiness.
#1, The Midas Bomb (a second, more economical, edition is coming real soon! [now out]), has two themes: terrorism and financial criminals. A warped ideology defines the former; greed defines the latter. I wrote this novel around the financial implosion of 2008-2009; by Bear-Stearns, I was already pretty ticked off about what the banks, hedge funds, and government were doing, so its writing even predated AIG and Madoff. These aren’t original themes by any means, but I can claim some originality on how I blended the two. Even the title, one of my best, blends the two! The plot spans only a hectic few days. C & C have to work extra hard to unravel how the two themes are connected, so the plot is complex.
#2, Angels Need Not Apply, has one theme, terrorism, but three versions of it: Mexican drug cartels (the recent escape artist in the news was actually a model for the drug lord in the book); international terrorists in the form of al Qaeda (a perp from #1 reappears to hatch a complex plan); and domestic terrorists in the form of right-wing militias. Again, the plot’s complexity resides in how these three versions are woven together. A secondary theme is the international arms market and drug interdiction, of course. For the title, I wanted something like a gender-neutral version of No Country for Old Men, but related to the importance of my strong, smart, and kick-ass female characters (a common meta-theme in most of my novels).
#3, Teeter-Totter between Lust and Murder, also has one theme, the illegal gun trade. Every month thousands of guns are bought, legally in some states and illegally in others, and transported across state lines right into the hands of eager criminals. No cop likes this weapons trafficking—C & C are no exceptions. Technically this is the first mystery in the series: Chen is framed for murder (the title describes the situation a wee bit). The plot weaves the threads of this theme into a tangled mess that C & C have to sort out. It isn’t a conventional who-done-it, by any means, because of this theme. Complications also occur because the plot involves two Manhattan social strata—the very rich and the very criminal—and how sometimes they can be the same. (Of course, #1 had some of that too.)
#4, Aristocrats and Assassins, has several themes, one obvious and another not so obvious. The first is WMDs in the hands of international terrorists; the second is Middle East politics and intrigue. For the second, I explore both sides of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and how tragedy can change the dynamics of individual participants. I won’t talk about the first—no spoilers here—but it’s a real possibility. This is the most international of the C & C thrillers (there’s some mystery too). The title describes the situation: various European aristocrats play cameo roles, and the assassins are the terrorists. Castilblanco and his wife are on vacation and get mixed up in the terrorists’ schemes. Chen is on assignment in Beijing helping the DEA and Chinese authorities. How they come together to foil the terrorists is the plot, but that plot couldn’t be so interesting without those themes.
#5, The Collector, has two themes, child pornography and the assoicated illicit sex trade, and stolen artworks. I bet you’re wondering how I weave those two themes together! This is more mystery than thriller, and C & C again have problems figuring out the complexities. I also revisit that theme about the connection between the upper echelons of society and its criminal elements. This novel again has a wee bit of an international scope. An Interpol agent in Aristocrats and Assassins plays a role here, along with his old cougar girlfriend, and they’re based in Europe. I briefly mention all the artworks found in Munich in the old Nazi’s apartment, but three stolen paintings from Boston’s Gardner museum play a more important role—hence the title.
#6, Family Affairs, has the theme in the title, of course, but you have to consider an expanded definition for family. The second theme is terrorism, but with a twist. I return here to the mystery genre—that’s unusual when you think that most books about terrorism are thrillers. There are thrills, of course—C & C always provide them—but the plot is really associated with finding one of Castilblanco’s kidnapped relatives and figuring out why another is targeted. By the way, they don’t know each other, because Mr. C has a big family. How the themes and cases are related adds complexity to the plot and a lot of fun.
[Added for this posting.] Will there be a #7? Yes, and Gaia and the Goliaths will have the main theme ecological issues with some wrinkles that might stir controversy (yes, climate change exists, but we have to counter our fixation on petroleum products, even though they’re cheap now). An excerpt from the novel appears at the end of #6. I don’t have a clue when I will be able to afford to produce it. (If you buy some of the previous books or other books in my catalog, that will help immensely. Thank you.) Same comment holds for other manuscripts I have ready.
You’ve seen that the C & C novels often have common themes. Terrorism plays a prominent role. I became concerned about it when the first attack on the WTC and Oklahoma City occurred. 9/11 stung my soul; we lost family and friends in that one. I’m not foolish enough to think that people resort to terrorist tactics only out of malevolence—there are often ethnic and social problems that lead to these actions—but attacking innocent civilians to create terror isn’t any solution, no matter who performs these evil acts. But all the other nightmarish themes considered in these novels are high on my list too. Maybe it’s cathartic to write about them so people won’t forget their importance. They certainly have led to interesting and entertaining plots. These are the kind of books I love to read; they’re also the kind I write.
Many good stories are microscopes that focus on the contents of the many Petri dishes that are in our human societies. I hope mine can satisfy both criteria—good stories with some meat to them. I guess most people don’t like that, though, because my novels aren’t that popular…yet. If you’re reading this and are one of those people, please just read the stories for entertainment. But the above will probably help you understand my storytelling better. I understand and accept that you might have different thoughts about these themes too—mine can be wrong (but I often treat the many sides of some themes in my novels—Castilblanco is progressive and Chen conservative, after all). Maybe my books will help create a dialogue. We can’t solve these problems by ignoring them.
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In libris libertas….
