How to Write Allegories that stay with you?

The Little sister of Time…

Death.

Words are Images.
An Allegory is an Icon, an Idol that will generate Fear, Hope, Joy, Courage.
Link your Images together, give them intricate relationships.

How do you Write Compelling Allegories?

Words are Images, Images are Words.

  • A Symbol
  • To write an allegory you need a strong image.
  • A strong word, a strong concept that will generate an extreme emotion.
  • Some of the best themes are Death, Time, Love/Sex, Control/Power & Fate/Destiny.
  • Which Symbols do you Use?
    • Icons
    • Totems
    • Coins
    • Cards
    • Mirrors
    • Statues
    • Portraits
  • Why use these Symbols?
  • What do they represent to You?
  • What do they represent in the Collective Unconscious?
  • Words are used to generate Emotions
  • Any theme, any word, any phrase that can generate a combination of Emotions.
  • The most common ones are:
    • Courage/Anger, which mainly correspond to the Action genre.
    • Excitement/Enticement, for Adventure.
    • Joy/Hope, for Comedy.
    • Fear/Despair, for Horror.
    • Sadness/Grief, for Drama.
  • Emotions come from Themes
  • Examples of theme for each emotion:
    • Courage/Anger : War, Revolution, Upheaval, Resistance
    • Excitement/Enticement : Discovery, Voyage, Journey, Expansion
    • Joy/Hope : Laughter, Paradoxes, Randomness, Absurdity, Oddity
    • Fear/Despair : Oppression, Limitation, Imprisonment, Oblivion
    • Sadness/Grief : Loneliness, Abandonment, Ostracism, Betrayal
  • These Themes can guarantee you Relatability.
  • If you want to Create relatable Characters use them, the Public will Emphasize.

Write Allegories that you want to develop a relationship with.

Turn Words into Characters.

me
  • Characters are Allegories
  • They have Strengths.
  • They have Weaknesses.
  • They have a Goal.
  • What does your Character want?
  • What makes her an Allegory?
  • Of what?
  • How do you display this Orientation?
  • Which Symbols represent this Character?
  • Does she display these Symbols?
  • Voluntarily?
  • Environments are Allegories
  • Environments are Symbolic.
  • They represent the Diversity of your World.
  • Which Symbol could they bear?
  • What Landmark defines them?
  • Who are their Inhabitants?
    • How are they memorable?
  • Who is their Guardian?
  • What is their Soul made of?
  • What is their Origin?
  • How did they come to existence?
  • Bind your Words/Images together.
  • Give your Words/Images intricate & sustainable relationships.
  • Make them Siblings.
  • Let them develop a sense of Enemyship.
  • Let them develop a sense of Friendship.
  • Let their Relationships evolve & unfold with the Story.
  • Let them develop their Definition.
  • Become more Popular.
  • Fortify their Goal.
  • Clarify their Behavior.

Only when all has vanished you can see it.

Write Allegories that Compel your Characters

The most Compelling Allegories are Characters.

  • Organizations
  • What are the Organizations administrating over your World?
  • What is their Goal?
  • What are their Symbols?
  • Which Symbols do they display?
  • Which Symbols do they hide?
  • Do they have a Flag?
  • Do they have a Crest?
  • How Ordinary is it?
  • How Fancy is it?
  • Do they have a Banner?
  • Is is recognized even by non-members?
  • Leader
  • Who leads each of these Organizations?
  • What is their Goal?
  • How do they behave?
  • Who do they Serve?
    • The People
    • Freedom
    • The Constitution
    • The Capital
    • The State
    • Peace
    • An Alien Entity
  • Which Ideal do they pursue?
  • Why?
  • Let the Public become the Main Character
  • What does the Public need?
  • What does she need to see?
  • What does she need to feel?
  • What does she expect from your Story?
  • What will she find?
  • How does the Public relate to the other Characters?
  • How does the Public relate to the other Allegories you’ve developed?
    • Does she like them?
    • Does she relate to them?
    • Will she remember them?

Something you want to Protect even if it Hurts you.

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