Emma Heggem

Presenting Moral Themes for a Secular Audience

February 10, 2022 By Emma Heggem 2 Comments

By Emma Heggem

Most of us don’t work within an entirely Latter-day Saint community. Many of us work with audiences, co-creaters, gatekeepers, and financial backers who are not of our faith. Sometimes, in the secular publishing community, it feels like we have to pack our beliefs away during professional moments and save them for personal time. But that approach is never truly possible. Some of our beliefs may be easily removed from our creations, like letting characters drink coffee or swear. On the other hand, some of our beliefs are so deeply rooted that we don’t even realize they show up in our work. We may accidentally include topics such as what makes a good leader, whether people are primarily good, or if good is capable of overcoming evil. Sometimes these influences will be subtle and readers won’t consciously notice them. Other times, these beliefs become an active participant in the plot in the form of a theme.

When our beliefs become a theme in our fiction novels, we can still make books that can be published and appreciated by general readership. We just need to make sure we are making these ideas palatable for readers who are not of our faith by handling the theme with honesty and complexity.

Explore Your Theme

When tackling a belief that some of your readers may disagree with, you can’t present a singular and unequivocal answer. For example, in a book with a theme about lying, stating that lying is bad is not going to be convincing. An author can touch their readers much more deeply by exploring the pros and cons of lying. For readers who do not already agree that lying is bad, this exploration—as opposed to explanation—will allow them to inform their own decisions rather than feel as though they are being force-fed your answers.

Posing your theme as a question can help you make sure that you are exploring both sides of the issue in your book, though not all questions are going to lead to true exploration of a theme. For example, the question “Are serial killers bad?” is likely going to provide a single and fairly predictable answer. I think you’ll be hard pressed to find situations that do anything but show serial killers being bad and will have an even harder time convincing readers that there is any confusion over the answer.

A better theme might be “Are sociopaths destined to be evil?” as the book I am not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells asked. While related to the topic of serial killers, it is a question that readers had not previously considered, and the book’s main character was determined to prove that sociopaths didn’t have to be serial killers. People were interested in seeing if that answer could hold up.

Another option, if you don’t want to try to convince people of an unlikely (but possible) answer to an obvious question, is to present one answer out of many. This is the case for the question “Is lying always bad?” Many people will have different answers to that question, and your book can explore several of those answers and which might be right in various circumstances.

Proposing a Natural Theme

In order to explore a theme, you need to match it to the right story. The events of your story should naturally lend themselves towards questions and conflicts over the topic. A story about the morality of war will need a war. A story about honesty will need secrets and lies. A story about repentance will need a main character who has made a terrible mistake or who has suffered from someone else’s sins.

Themes should also match the story in tone. A kids’ book about unicorns would likely not be the right place for a plotline focused on the murky, gray areas of life. An adult novel about deadly political conspiracy would probably fail to carry a theme about the importance of friendship.

Sympathize with Multiple Sides

As your story develops and the theme becomes relevant to the plot events, your characters will begin to be affected. They may deal with the fallout of other people’s decisions, or they may make their own decisions and have to deal with the consequences. As this happens, the characters may begin to have opinions or even dialogue about the “answer” to the theme question.

No matter what you feel is the “correct answer”, your characters need to come to their own conclusions. A good example of this can be found at the end of the film Doctor Strange. (If you haven’t seen it, the climax is a fight with a demon who was summoned from a realm of destruction by magicians who want to use his powers for their own means. The hero, Doctor Strange, chooses to use forbidden magic of his own to fight the demon.) The overarching question in this movie is: “Can dangerous magic be used for good, or will it always cause destruction?” Doctor Strange and his friend both enter the climax to stop the demon, but they leave the fight with very different conclusions about the overarching question.

No matter what you feel is the ‘correct answer,’ your characters need to come to their own conclusions.

In the end, Doctor Strange believes that forbidden magic could be used for good because he has just saved the world with it. This ties in with his arrogance, which is an important personality trait for him throughout the story.

On the other hand, his friend leaves the movie with the opinion that using forbidden magic is what brought the demon to their world in the first place, so not using forbidden magic, or maybe even any magic at all, is the safest course of action. This lines up with his own established personality as a man who believes rigidly in rules. He also has recently learned that someone very important to him has been lying to him. This betrayal breaks his trust in people, and that carries over into his trust in Doctor Strange’s use of dangerous magic.

In your own stories, the line between characters who believe in the “correct answer” and the “wrong answer” should not one hundred percent follow the line of “good guys” and “bad guys.” Their backgrounds, personalities, and experiences may lead them to come to different conclusions from you and from each other. Always treat the differing opinions as valid and intelligent. If the only proponents of the “wrong answer” are misguided idiots or actual evil people, you will lose your readers and come across as preachy.

Proposing an Answer

When writing a story with a theme, you may frame your plotline around a specific answer, or you may keep it more open-ended and leave readers thoughtful about the topic. If you choose to provide a single answer at the end, you’ll have to be careful to do so gently and without invalidating the individual characters’ beliefs.

Have you ever watched one of those twenty-minute kids’ shows where, at the end of the episode, the main characters say, “And that’s why we always tell the truth,” and everyone nods sagely. Yeah, me too. And it wasn’t at all that convincing. Instead, it usually made me want to laugh. And possibly start lying ridiculously.

The reason this drove me nuts was because the idea is unbelievable. When was the last time that you got caught having lied to a friend, and they said, “Wow, now I see. I’m never going to lie again.” Never? Me neither.

In this example, the character who lied and the character who was lied to are going to have different experiences in the same scene. This may lead to different conclusions and reactions. The liar may feel as though the truth coming out was what got them in trouble, while the character who was lied to feels that the lie itself was the problem. Despite these differing beliefs, you can still have the plot demonstrate a clear answer. When the main character makes a correct decision, the plot should move forward. They should conquer an obstacle and make progress towards their final goal. Likewise, when the main character makes an incorrect decision, the plot should stall, their progress should fail, and negative consequences should occur. This pattern of being punished and rewarded by the plot will leave readers seeing how the “correct answer” is useful, and the “wrong answer” causes problems. Individual characters may believe or react differently, but the overall plot will still clearly send the message.

Using a Theme to Share our Faith

Writing is a deeply personal art form, but we don’t need to hide our religious beliefs to write books for nonmembers. Including complex and nuanced themes will leave room for our beliefs in our books while still creating a story that people from any background can enjoy.

Author Bio

Emma Heggem specializes in content editing sci-fi and fantasy novels. She has worked with authors from around the world to prepare their manuscripts for publication. When she’s not editing, she loves to attend writers conferences to give critiques and demystify the publishing industry. She also runs an editing advice blog (www.editsbyemma.com). Emma graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English language and a minor in editing.

Humbly, I Market: 5 Reminders of the Power of Humility in Creating

July 7, 2021 By Emma Heggem 1 Comment

By Emma Heggem

When I first started editing, I thought I had all the necessary job requirements because I knew how to identify weaknesses in a book and recommend solutions. Then I realized I had to convince real humans—people who had spent months or years writing their book—that I had useful advice for them. When I first started, all they saw was a stranger telling them what was wrong with the product of their labors. Until I proved my expertise, we didn’t get anywhere.

Marketing our expertise is true about any product or service. Whatever role you play in the media industries, you are eventually going to put something out into the world and hope other people find it. However, if you want people to actually discover the existence of your work and pay attention, you will have to get involved in some level of marketing.

We’re all marketers in the end.

1. Recognize Humility isn’t About Being Ashamed of Your Talents

Most of us go into publishing or media creation because we have a talent that we want to share. There’s nothing wrong with that. After all, God gave us those talents for a reason. Personally, I have felt His guiding hand in my career, helping me find jobs and pushing me towards opportunities to work with some amazing people.

But He has never convinced someone else of my skills before. He provides the opportunity for me to prove myself, but He doesn’t send promptings to the client or hiring agent that I am the editor they need. He sends me a picture of a job notice from a friend or puts my website in front of a potential client. The rest is up to me. Sometimes I prove my skills through a résumé or an editing sample. Sometimes I do it through social media or by writing blog posts. Regardless of the method, proving what I can do is a necessary part of using my talent to the fullest.

2. Know Where Your Talents Lie

I didn’t just wake up one day and believe I was a good editor. I started out as a student, taking classes and doing industry research. Once I’d learned enough, I began applying those lessons to actual books. Over time, and with feedback from other editors, authors, and readers, I tested those skills. I found some weaknesses that I could work on (some are still works in progress!) and I learned what strengths I have. For example, I have determined that my work is able to help authors write stronger plot lines and engage their audience, but it isn’t great at catching all the typos and grammatical errors. This knowledge gives me the confidence to tell people about my editing skills, but also the humility to know when my services aren’t the right fit.

It isn’t pride to tell people what you can honestly do. If you use known facts and unbiased reviews, you can create marketing messages that genuinely reflect the quality of your work and help the right people find out about it.

You can use beta readers, reviewers, or industry gatekeepers to test your work. You can attend classes and conferences to continually adapt your knowledge to the changing industry and expand your skills. You can even create claims that you know to be true. For example, you may believe that everyone will love your movie. But what a humble creator will tell everyone is that they know the movie is a classic fantasy adventure tale for 12 year olds. You may believe the special effects are unbelievable, but you can know for certain that top industry professionals made them. (Think of all the movie trailers that begin with “From the creators of X.”)

Making factual claims and using reviews to verify your work may not be as flashy as sweeping messages about being the best and the newest, but it allows you to make public claims about your work that are coming from a place of honesty and not a place of pride. This is a huge step in creating a marketing message and still preserving your humility.

3. Get the Word Out

Marketing isn’t just about creating a message. It’s also about spreading it far and wide. In the modern age, there are many ways to do that. Social media ads, TV commercials, pitches to industry professionals, printed advertisements, giveaways, and many more opportunities exist. Because there are so many opportunities, you have to be careful not to over-saturate your audience.

As far as I know, there is no commandment that says, “Thou shalt not tell everyone thou knowest about thy book release.” But I think we all have been annoyed by a marketing attempt at least once in our lives, and I feel there is a commandment about that. I think it’s safe to assume that “love thy neighbor” includes things like not adding them to your email list without their permission and not messaging them weekly about liking your Facebook page. Still, as long as we are being kind and courteous, it’s okay to ask if friends and family are interested every once in a while.

Your current friends and family are not the only people you will likely reach out to. Endorsements from respected industry professionals can be a useful tool. Reviews from popular bloggers can get the word out. People with big email lists or social media followings can help spread the news beyond your own personal connections. Some people may feel that humility prevents them from assuming these big names and large reaches would have any interest in their work. However, asking for help is a principle of the gospel. We are encouraged to allow others to have a chance to serve their fellow man. As long as you are polite and give them a genuine chance to say no, there is no reason to be afraid of reaching out to influencers for help.

Asking for help is a principle of the gospel.

4. Do Not Raise Yourself Above Your Fellow Man

One of my favorite things about the publishing industry is the way it tends to be a supportive community rather than a cutthroat competition. Books and movies are an inclusive interest. It’s not like buying a phone or a house. Just because a customer buys one doesn’t mean they won’t buy another. In fact, in my experience, readers are more likely to buy books later if the first one they bought is good. Good media supports other good media.

Because of this, being a good marketer doesn’t have to be a competition. A humble person can advertise their own book and still leave positive reviews on books by other authors. A humble person can market their own editing skills and still give contract tips to other editors. To be a good member of the media industries, you need to accept help and offer it.

You can offer help in many different ways. An aspiring author can share the news that a publisher or agent is accepting submissions. A humble editor can pass on clients whose work falls outside their realm of expertise to other editors. A bestselling author could speak at conferences or recommend their favorite learning materials to those still trying to make a name for themselves.

Your success does not need to come at the expense of others; an attitude of humility is recognizing that your success puts you in a position to help others instead. Heavenly Father didn’t give us these talents to stop anyone else from creating. If we allow our success to prevent us from caring for our brothers and sisters, we are no longer using our talents to serve the Lord. We are only using them to serve ourselves.

5. Let Your Light Shine

I have felt the guiding hand of my Heavenly Father many times in my career and have seen Him do the same for others. The work we do by putting out good books and movies and other media adds brightness to the world. We should not be ashamed of our talents and should not let a false sense of humility stop us from sharing them with the world.

The world deserves to know what you can create. Whether you provide a service to creators or a final product to consumers, the work you do can be uplifting to those around you as long as you keep in mind that sharing our labors is about spreading joy and goodness into the world.

By realistically representing our talents, accepting negative feedback, and treating competitors, coworkers, and potential customers with kindness, we can share our talents with the world and still remain faithful, humble servants of our Lord.

Emma Heggem is the managing editor at Future House Publishing where she specializes in content editing sci-fi and fantasy novels. When she’s not editing, she loves to attend writers conferences to take pitches, give critiques, and demystify the publishing industry. She also runs a writing/editing advice blog (www.editsbyemma.com). Emma graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English language and a minor in editing.

Showing Versus Telling to Write Compelling Dialogue

June 2, 2021 By Emma Heggem Leave a Comment

By Emma Heggem

To write a good conversation, you first need to be picky about what conversations make it into your book. A conversation that doesn’t affect the story, no matter how dynamic, realistic, and well-written, will feel like an unnecessary aside. Dialogue takes up a lot more space than narrating a conversation would. It needs to earn that space by showing readers something important. Characters need to learn valuable information through the conversation, whether that’s the password to their bank account or the state of another human being’s emotions. The things that are talked about must change the story or the character by being known.

There are some things that come across particularly well by being shown to readers in a conversation. One example is relationships. Readers don’t like to be told about a relationship between two characters. They want to feel the connection for themselves, which means that it is very important to show relationships and show them changing over the course of the book. Downtime or relationship-changing moments for characters, including dialogue, can help readers feel the bond between the characters and be invested in the relationship. This is true whether the relationship is improving or declining. Inter-character conflict is just as important to show as characters falling in love.

Decisions can also work well as dialogue conversations. Inner monologues can get tiring to read and can drift into angst or get repetitive. Real people mull over the same thing again and again when making a decision, but characters need to avoid boring their readers. One way to show them pondering a decision without sitting inside their head and going in circles is to have them talk their decision through with another person. This pushes them forward and forces them to move through each part of the decision and then move on. When the character weighing the decision gets bogged down, their friends or listeners can express the same frustration the readers will be feeling and cut them off.

Another excellent use of dialogue is to provide the reader with an active and dynamic account of events that your point-of-view character wasn’t present for. This can help tone down unnecessary telling in your novel. The characters who were present can retell the story, be asked questions, and even be unreliable when it suits your needs. That’s much more interesting than a factual summary of important events.

Speaking of things your point-of-view character doesn’t know, dialogue is a great way to show readers the emotional state of your other characters without necessarily cluing your POV character in. Is one of your characters keeping a huge secret? Is a side character madly in love with your oblivious main character? By showing the conversations directly to the reader, you allow the reader to pick up on things that the point-of-view character doesn’t notice. This can help fill in the blanks and explain complex side-character motivations without having to switch POV.

As with most forms of showing, dialogue takes up more time and space than narration does. Choosing which conversations to show your readers is a very important step towards making sure that the conversation will be compelling. Don’t waste time with dialogue that isn’t going to strengthen your story. Focus on the moments that readers truly need to hear (read) about and you will end up having a much easier time keeping them interested and invested.

Happy writing!

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Emma Heggem is the managing editor with Future House Publishing. She specializes in content editing sci-fi and fantasy novels. She has worked with authors from around the world to prepare their manuscripts for publication. When she’s not editing, she attends writers conferences to take pitches, give critiques, and talk to aspiring writers about the mysterious world of publishing. Emma graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English language and a minor in editing.