This page, and all pages under the ‘Themes’ menu, contains ‘behind the scenes’ commentary about The Cosmic Chicken from a writer’s perspective. Readers who wish to enjoy the story as a work of fiction may find the following content distracting.
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I try to phrase my thematic elements in the form of statements or questions. To me ‘theme’ is a study of what my story is about once the specifics of character, plot and setting have been interpreted through philosophical, spiritual or sociological lenses.
These ‘deeper meanings’ are not always central to story, but the astute reader can usually identify thematic strands even in an unmitigated and unapologetic potboiler. As a writer I rarely begin with theme in mind – I simply want to tell a good story through the lives of believable characters, placed in convincing settings, facing realistic dilemmas.
That said, theme asserts itself from the moment I begin writing, and as my work unfolds it influences every aspect of the story. This portion of the site explores thematic strands of the Cosmic Chicken.
