Incorporating Gothic Elements into Your Writing: Here Are a Few Themes
I am a gothic writer. It is my interest, heritage, and culture. One of my hopes is that, if you are not a fan of gothic literature or know very little about it, you’ll travel with me here as I explore it with you. You’ll find that many things you love about literature are, in fact, gothic-based or gothic-influenced. As we study this, you'll also see how to incorporate gothic elements into your writing to create a spiced nuance that I think will add enormous flavor to your writing. So, let’s go on this journey together, and you’ll hopefully see how specific, yet universal, this genre is to any writing.
When people think of gothic – if they think of gothic at all – they think of old decrepit houses or castles, lonely and mysterious maids who inhabit these buildings, and maybe a few walking corpses outside on the back lawn. I’d call this stereotypical. For me, gothic is more a feeling and a theme than an actual setting. Originally, it was a setting, but with time and literature evolution as, with everything, it has evolved. So, let’s forget the dark shadows for a moment (pardon the pun for those old enough to have just gotten it) and look at what is important to me and the element that makes gothic so universal: the themes. Gothic, in sum, pits the past against the present, and there is no solution or synthesis to the two, for the past resides in the subconscious of the human, whereas the present resides in the frontal cortex. It is a lizard brain against an evolved human brain.
What sorts of themes are at odds in gothic writing? Here are some thoughts: the individual versus social order, society versus the individual, reason versus emotional irrationality, one class of people versus another, traditional versus others, religion versus science, children versus adults, adults versus older adults, the ordinary person versus authorities, facts versus superstition, men versus women, and surety versus the limits of current knowledge. It should be clear that no matter the genre you are writing, knowing it or not, you are heavily influenced by the Gothic tradition.
I look forward to exploring this, my favorite genre, with you. I want to surprise you at how much Gothic material you may already be using in your current works, regardless of your genre, and open your mind to the possibilities of including these contradictions, themes, and clashing mental views within your own current work. You will find it a fascinating journey, and you don’t necessarily need to be from the South to appreciate it.
Like this blog? Sign up for Clay’s newsletter, which offers encouragement, skills, resources, and knowledge relating to a balanced life while writing, marketing, promoting, and living. https://claystafford.com/newsletter
