Personal Theme
I have never contemplated the concept of having a personal theme, or as I think of it, a personal signature or fingerprint in my writing style.
As I went through this assignment, I realized that I have specific stories and experiences ranging back to my childhood that are anchored in such a way that they have followed me all the way through my life to today. These stories and experiences make me unique. Those exact stories and experiences can be leveraged in my writing and my writing style.
Some of the fond memories I have as a child take me back to Cape Cod where I spent time with friends and family. Within these same stories and experiences, I have memories that instill fear and panic when I think of them. The interesting thing is that I can picture them so vividly because of the way my mind has anchored them.
Some of the vivid memories that I have as a child both excited me and scared me. This is especially true of my memories of the ocean in summer and the forest in winter.
These settings bring back happy memories as well as memories of fear. As a child my family used to do vacations in Cape Cod, and we had much fun and celebration there. But there were also situations that still haunt my memories today. One of the situations involved me almost drowning has a child. Obviously it turned out well and in the end I became a very strong swimmer and scuba diver in the years that followed. The memory is still anchored in my thoughts.
The same thing goes for when I think of the forest in winter. As a child I loved winter. I still do as an adult. I still play hockey and skiing to this day. Skiing has always been my favorite sport. While I have very fond and happy memories of the forest in winter, these memories also trigger anxiety for me. The anxiety comes from the dozen broken bones that I incurred over the years whipping out from skiing, but I still ski.
But also had memories of one winter where I got lost in the woods as a child right around dusk. I remember turning around in circles trying to figure out which direction to get home as the sun was setting over the trees.
These are just obvious examples of exploring personal themes for me. They are just two examples of many that are logged in my memories waiting to be recalled and explored. There are so many opportunities for me to cherry pick memories and experiences. I can leverage those memories in my own personal theme. I can catalog these memories and use them as a springboard for creating scenes within my own stories. I can insert my own emotions into my stories in a way that puts the reader in the proper mood for the story/