{"id":25074,"date":"2022-04-01T03:00:58","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T10:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=25074"},"modified":"2022-03-30T05:10:14","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T12:10:14","slug":"the-best-way-to-deliver-your-message-message-in-a-bottle-your-story-by-catharine-bramkamp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2022\/04\/01\/the-best-way-to-deliver-your-message-message-in-a-bottle-your-story-by-catharine-bramkamp\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Way to Deliver Your Message: Message in a Bottle (Your Story) by Catharine Bramkamp"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a>Let\u2019s welcome back monthly columnist Catharine Bramkamp<\/a> as she shares with us \u201cThe Best Way to Deliver Your Message: Message in a Bottle (Your Story).\u201d Enjoy!<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the best way to deliver your powerful message or warning?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

You know the answer — through story.<\/span><\/p>\n

But <\/span>how <\/span><\/i>to deliver an important message is a more difficult question to answer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Myths and legends are powerful and ubiquitous for a reason<\/strong> – they tap into and illuminate our basic human needs and unconscious desires and bring them to light through story.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Easy Path\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Some authors take the easy path — they drop their opinions into the mouths of a character.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not without problems.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For example<\/strong>, let\u2019s say you are writing a genre western. In the middle of the bank heist, gang member 3 stops the action to deliver a rant on the effects of explosives on air quality. The other two gang members may be impressed by his insights, but the reader is not.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, the author wants to make a point. But tossing in a rant about the environment from the mouths of gun slinging bandits is not only awkward, it invites the reader to skip ahead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but will the explosive work? Will they get caught?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Is there a better way to deliver your important message? A better approach?<\/span><\/h3>\n

There is but it is more involved and requires more effort<\/strong>: weave your message — often the theme of the story — into the story structure itself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Harder, but Better, Way<\/span><\/h2>\n

Create a hero\u2019s journey that, through metaphor, allegory, or symbolism, is expressed dramatically as part of the story.<\/span><\/p>\n

Allegory: a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Using our Western bank robbers, maybe one of the gang members deeply cares about the environment. So he encourages his friends to pick up their trash, put out the campfire, and, ultimately, that caution will save the day.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Archetypes and Myth<\/span><\/h2>\n

You are probably familiar with the uses of archetypes and myth as a frame for your story.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Myths and legends are powerful and ubiquitous for a reason<\/strong> — they tap into and illuminate our basic human needs and unconscious desires and bring them to light through story.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We as authors use this common frame of myths and legends to deepen our stories and connect with our readers and, best case, embed new ideas without sounding preachy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The framework common to myths is:<\/strong><\/p>\n