It’s a gripping title, no?
I’ve been meaning to post about recurring themes and imagery in my writing, and to find out if this happens to other people. Will I grow out of it? Do I actually want to grow out of it?
I go through phases where the same imagery pops up in my writing, whether I like it or not. And they continue to resurface.
I’ve gone through a phase with disjointed and severed limbs. One with dead birds. Right now I’m going through a thing with old people. Usually there’s a relationship breakdown involved, or cyclical and unstoppable time. Perhaps it’s the way all these things can be connected to decay, and appropriate to use with breakdowns and time.
I’m torn between whether this makes my writing same-ish, or if it’s giving me the opportunity to really explore the possibilities of imagery. I’m leaning towards the latter. I never use the same image in the same way. It’ll get recycled, but it a new direction…
Does this happen to anyone else?
Sam van Zweden 
05/07/2010 at 7:32 am
I tend to go back to similar themes and images, as long as there’s something new to it, that it’s not the exact same image or theme than I think it’s a good thing.
05/07/2010 at 11:29 am
They’re your recurring starting points. If you write from them and explore, you could wind up writing on a theme you didn’t foresee. That’s a theory anyway. Alas, I don’t write much imagery. I mostly write dialogue. I am not good at exposition, description. Comes from working on scripts for so long.
Good luck with your writing.
06/07/2010 at 10:47 am
Do whatever you enjoy. If that means writing the same story over and over again, then yeah you’re pretty weird but do whatever you’re inspired to do! (have been mediating children’s web pages all day, I’m in the mindset….)
I definitely get caught up in writing about the same themes over and over. I end up annoying myself, but there’s nothing wrong with it.