Craft Chat: making through lines work in your story
In high school, I ran cross-country. But after a knee injury, I left the sport — and all sports — for quite a long time. During the pandemic, when I decided to take up running again to increase my activity and I began modifying my diet to include homemade green smoothies in the morning, I found myself incredibly annoyed.
I was hoping that regular exercise and super-boosts of daily greens would have no impact on my well-being, so that I could write it all off and abandon 5 a.m. runs in the dark and cutting my fingers while washing the blender blades each morning. But, no — I felt physically better than I had in a very long. I felt strong, powerful, and full of energy.
With the same amount of bitterness infused in my daily kale smoothies, I continued to run. I continued to drink my greens. I cut down on sugar and I added weight lifting. And I felt so stupid good.
Recently, I turned my efforts back to a creative practice that I knew would have similarly aggravating results — Morning Pages.
For those who don’t know, Morning Pages come from The Artist’s Way by Julie Cameron, and it involves a stream-of-consciousness hand-written journaling exercise done first thing in the morning, every day. The Morning Pages are meant to be done upon waking, before the influences of life can bog down the creative mind.
And they work.
Much like exercise at the start of the day, Morning Pages set me up for success in creative thinking. I sometimes brainstorm what I’ll write later during a work session, or I noodle through problems in my drafting and often come to decent solutions, or at the very least, I spend time each day reminding myself that I am a writer.
I would so, so much rather eat cheese danishes and scroll social media before slouching in my desk chair staring at a screen. But the truth is, when I run, drink green smoothies, and write every morning, my life is enhanced. I’m sorry I don’t have better news.
Craft Chat - How To Make Through Lines Work in Your Story
And questions to ask yourself
When discussing outlining, drafting, or revision, the craft element of “through lines” can have synonyms. Perhaps “theme,” or “central conflict,” or even “emotional arc.” Sometimes, through lines manifest in reoccurring symbols and motifs, or repetition and rhythm.
I will often refer to these through lines as “invisible strings” — but most exclusively with my Swiftie writers because I think “invisible strings” is a poetic, evocative phrase, and it’s one that I use liberally throughout my day in a variety of contexts.
Much like how real-life invisible strings are so pretty to think, the through lines of a story add depth and resonance to a narrative.
But, also like the ethereal concept of mystical invisible strings — one single thread of gold — through lines in story can be difficult to pin down. They’re not always straightforward, and confirming their existence isn’t as simple as logging a word count or doing a spell check.
How do you know the through lines of your story are working?
Or if they’re present at all?
I recommend asking yourself questions. These are useful during any phase of the writing process — drafting, outlining, revising. They’re helpful to bounce around with critique partners or other readers.
They’re also interesting to consider during the brainstorming process, before a story is starting to develop.
Here are some questions to ask, in order to be sure your through lines are not only present, but are also strong, cohesive, and effective:
If you had to describe the heart of your story in one sentence, what's the journey or transformation taking place?
What single element, if removed, would make your story collapse?
When someone finishes your story, what central feeling or understanding do you want them to walk away with?
How does your protagonist change from beginning to end? What's driving that change?
In each scene, how is your main character either moving toward or resisting their central transformation?
What truth does your character need to learn or accept by the story's end?
Could you draw a line from your opening scene to your closing scene? What connects them?
What deeper truth about life or human nature is your story exploring?
How does each major character or subplot reflect or challenge your core theme?
Is your theme consistent throughout, or does it get lost in places?
Be unflinching and fearless in your questions — and fully honest with your answers. That’s how you will get to the best possible version of your story.
I live for book recommendations
What’s a book you’ve read recently that you love? Why? Did any particular through lines stand out to you?
Picture books for you (and maybe even the kids in your life)
I have more picture book recommendations than there are stars in the sky. Rather than list a constellation of stellar picture books, I’ll try to pare down my suggestions, especially with gift-giving season upon us. As a reminder, books are THE perfect gift, and picture books are uniquely magical for young readers, teens, and adults alike.
Here are some picture books I currently can’t stop thinking about:
Rory The Remarkable Dragon by Kathryn Rammell (For full transparency, this is a book that I worked on professionally)
We Are Definitely Human by X. Fang (SO FUNNY and well-executed)
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin and illustrated by Daniel Salmieri (An evergreen fave and a great gift for any preschooler, or adult with preschool humor)
A City Full of Santas by Joanna Ho and illustrated by Thai My Phuong (Another CAT Agency book, and one I’ll shout about every Christmas from now on)
Lou by Breanna Carzoo (A hilarious book and fantastic gift for young readers)
It’s Winter! by Renée Kurilla (Beautifully done, with great educational takeaways and conversation starters as the winter season approaches)
Glimmers to share
✨My littlest and I met Adam Rubin, the aforementioned author of Dragons Love Tacos and many other hilarious stories for young readers. Big thanks to Books of Wonder for organizing this event (at Nordstrom, of all places!)
✨Sounds Like a Cult podcast - this is a thoughtful, sociological look “at the cults we all follow” in our modern society, with some turning out to be more insidious than others. The hosts discuss everything from the cult of Starbucks (of which I am a member) to the cult of Hollywood, the cult of dating apps, the cult of startups, the cult of Tradwives, and beyond.
✨Hot Frosty: “Widow Kathy magically brings a snowman to life. His innocence helps her heal and find love again. They bond before the holidays, but he's doomed to melt.”
Yes, this movie exists. Yes, that’s the synopsis. Yes, it’s a delightful, campy, frothy, silly film (indeed, film) meant to make us smile, if we can simply spend ninety minutes of our lives enjoying it for exactly what it is.
✨Everyone knows about bookshop.org at this point, right? The online book store alternative to Amazon? Please go visit their website and start buying books for the holidays!