In this video, we’ll explore the concept of a thematic unifying principle in writing. This key element can elevate your storytelling beyond mere plot structure to an experience your readers won’t be able to stop thinking about.
I illustrate this using one of my favorite books, Irwin Shaw’s “Nightwork.” In this book, the narrative intertwines the chase for stolen money with the protagonist’s journey of self-reinvention. This duality not only drives the action but also supports a deeper theme.
Hello, Jane Cleland here. Can you give an example of a thematic unifying principle? Yes, I can. A unifying principle is one of the two thematic approaches to writing. The other is a dominant idea. A unifying principle is a structural element that serves as a through line for your plot.
And an example is, uh, “Nightwork” by Irwin Shaw. On the face of it, the story is about criminals trying to recover money that a guy stole. The guy is a down-on-his-luck clerk doing the all-night shift in a dumpy hotel in New York. Used to be a pilot. Eyes got bad. Terrible situation. He has an opportunity to steal a lot of money, and he does. And now the criminals are chasing after him to get it back.
But under that obvious story, there’s another through line. Another through line is what he does with the money. He takes himself around the world, um, reinventing himself. He goes to nice resorts, buys good clothes, goes to art galleries, listens to people, and begins to meet people with whom he now has things in common that he didn’t know about himself until he reinvented himself. And they like him for who he’s become, he reinvented himself.
So we have the crooks chasing him, and we have this unifying principle of what he’s going to do with the money. The idea of having something that is incident-based—that’s your plot—is the incidents that take place chronologically to tell your story and have that support a theme. Powerful stuff.
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