Hello and welcome to a new month of From Heart to Shelf: MiniMusings of an Indie Author. I’m so thankful that you’re here with me this month.
Introduction
I’m very excited about our topic, and the topic is “The Heart Behind My Tagline.” My tagline is, “Writing the Soul with Heart.”
A tagline is just simply something that authors typically have or businesses might have that just kind of sums up what they are and what they do in a few short words. So that’s what a tagline is.
I want to share with you the heart behind it, and we’re going to do this in four parts. So, just like last month, this first episode will be available publicly on my YouTube channel, and the other three will be available for my newsletter subscribers. So, they have a separate playlist that has all of the episodes. So, if you would like to see these weekly, you can find down in the notes below how to subscribe to my newsletter. So, let’s dive in!
Lasting, Not Trendy
I wanted to talk today about how the heart behind this tagline is an idea of “Being Lasting, Not Trendy.” I’m going to explain what that means today.
The other things that I’m going to talk about throughout the rest of the month: Next time it’s going to be “What Truly Matters,” and then I’m going to talk about “Emotions Matter” and then finally “Consistency Across My Body of Work.”
So to today’s episode—”Lasting, Not Trendy.”
“Writing the Soul with Heart” means that I strive in everything I pen to write what truly matters and to do so with great passion and care and commitment to quality. That’s really what it means.
So those few words, that is the entire thought process and heart and soul behind it. Heart and soul—very important words for me.
A Little Story
I have a funny story to share. Back when I was still working on my debut novel, Any Good Thing, I had beta readers read it and give me some feedback. I had one who was a younger beta reader, and she asked me, “Why wouldn’t you just set this book when they have cell phones?” She was very perplexed by this, and it kind of made me … at first I was a little taken aback … and then I kind of had to chuckle.
So, I guess there’s a bit of a generation gap. I am of the generation who has experienced beta, VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, on demand streaming. I’ve experienced records, cassettes. I’ve experienced CDs, iPods, typewriters, word processors, deep monitor computers. You remember those?
Laptops, tablets, smartphones. I remember life before the internet. I remember during dial-up and of course now. So, I’ve lived through a few changes in technology, to say the least.
Quite honestly, isn’t it shocking when you think about how quickly we shifted from computers were some weird large thing housed in some government building somewhere to having them literally be able to slide into the side pockets of our yoga pants. How crazy is that? And it hasn’t been that long, right? It really is pretty mind-blowing when you think about it.
But, back to this story: it kind of made me sad that this young woman found it so perplexing that I wouldn’t just make some of the aspects of my story easier by setting it in a time period where people could instantly reach each other. Now, a different time period for Any Good Thing would have meant an entirely different story for many, many reasons.
Okay, it’s set right around 9/11. The beginning is right in that time period, a little bit before that and then 9/11, Iraq. All of those things are pivotal to Jack’s story. And the emotions of becoming an adult at that time are some that I could write well because I experienced them.
So, even though my main character is a guy, I still was able to channel my emotions and my experiences during that time period of figuring out how to be an adult while also wondering if the world was collapsing around us.
I know many other generations have had those truly pivotal historical moments happening around them at that time in their lives. It’s kind of a crazy time.
So anyway, I just found that humorous, and I found that it was just kind of interesting that she really was perplexed by why I wouldn’t just set it with cell phones. And that kind of got me thinking about a lot of other things.
What Makes a Classic, a Classic?
What are some of the commonalities of classics? You know, you think about the books that have withstood the test of time, right? They’re the books that have been around forever, that kids still read in school, that pretty much everyone—if you quote or reference these books—they’re going to know what you’re talking about, whether they’ve read them or not. They’re such a part of our culture that they’re relevant to everyone just to mention them.
So, what is it that makes these classics become classics and lasting?
Honestly, what it comes down to is one very simple thing: They all have a great story.
That’s it. It’s as simple as that.
The story is great. It’s something that we can connect with. Doesn’t matter if we live in the time period with cell phones or not. We can connect with the story itself.
Themes & Values vs. Trope
So, for me, I am not a huge fan of the word trope. Now, I hope that’s not going to get me in trouble with anyone. It’s so much fun to see authors post reels and stories with tropes that are in their book, and it is fun. It is fun.
But for me, simply because trope does somewhat have a little bit of a negative connotation, I guess … at least in my mind—maybe I’m the only one. I prefer to think of things in terms of … or think of stories, not just things … think of stories in terms of themes and values.
The traditional themes and values that pop up in pretty much every classic are the ones that really do stand the test of time that are not going to fall out of date. They’re not going to become irrelevant.
Love
And those are things like love—isn’t that just the … I guess … the pivotal theme really to everything? There’s going to be some element of love. Now, it doesn’t necessarily have to be romantic love, but that could be it. Or it could be sacrificial love, parental, sibling, best friend, bosom friends.
You know, you think about Anne of Green Gables and Anne and Diana’s friendship. They were bosom buddies, right? That really, really close, deep friendship that is such a beautiful type of love that is explored and showcased in so many classics.
You think about Sam and Frodo and their beautiful friendship and how much they loved one another, how much Sam loved Frodo, and it was a sacrificial type of love. Such a beautiful story.
Sacrifice
That is another theme: sacrifice. Sacrifice is another common theme that just is not going to go out of style.
More Timeless Themes
Selflessness versus selfishness. That’s something that comes up often.
Good versus evil. Man, that is a foundational theme, right? Good versus evil. And I’ll talk more about that in one of the later episodes this month, but man, that’s a big one.
There are also things like hope, honor, courage, you know, all of these things—these themes—that just infuse a story with so much depth and make them relevant no matter when you’re reading them, no matter when they were written.
Conclusion
These are the things that keep us coming back to stories. And these are the things that I strive to put into all of my stories. Whether I’m writing fantasy or historical fiction or contemporary fiction—or in a time period without cell phones—I strive to include these types of themes because I know that they’re lasting. They’re not trendy. They’re not going anywhere.
And at the end of the day, these are the themes that we love to read about and these are the things that we want to see in our characters. These values and these things that are just so important and valuable to human life.
That is a little bit of the heart behind my tagline, “Writing the Soul with Heart.” I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode, and I hope to see you next week for our next installment when I talk a little bit more about what truly matters to me in my writing.
Have a great week and … Share the Read!
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