Motif Me, Baby

Why motifs are cool in your novel

Writing motifs are cool. They are one of those elements that elevate your novel from something crooning Celine Dion off-key on a karaoke stage to Ms. Dion herself.

Seriously.

They are a big deal.

Here is what LitCharts says about them:

MOTIFS ARE THE SHEBANG SHEBANG

Basically, motifs:

• Make things moody;
• Help pimp out the main themes of your story;
• Act a bit like foreshadowing and make your readers psychic; it helps them ‘get’ the story on a deeper level;
• Uses repeating symbols or patterns to make a deeper layer of meaning; and
• Are cool.

A MOTIF IS NOT A THEME!

According to MasterClass,

• “Themes are the main ideas of a work of literature. They represent the meaning or question behind the series of events that make up the narrative.
• “Motifs are recurring elements that point to these themes. In other words…