I use mind maps a lot to brainstorm and clarify my ideas for my comic book story, Dark Time, a dark fantasy time travel epic. One, in particular, helped me work through my comic story's central theme and define what I wanted my audience to take away from my story.
So, I decided to create a free theme development template to assist others.
The mind map template will help you develop and brainstorm a story or book theme, motifs, symbols, and other overarching story details such as character, setting, tone, mood, and literary devices.
What is a story theme and why is it important?
A book theme is a central and recurring idea, message, or concept that runs throughout a literary work. It serves as a unifying thread that ties together various elements of the book, including the plot, characters, setting, and symbolism.
Themes can vary widely and can encompass topics such as love, power, friendship, identity, justice, morality, and many others.
How to determine your story theme?
Start by brainstorming different nouns that come to mind about your story.
Then pick the one that is the most encompassing.
Ask yourself what your story’s opinion is on this noun. Putting those two ideas together can give you a good idea of what your theme is.
What is a mind map and why is it helpful?
A mind map is a visual representation of information, ideas, concepts, or tasks organized around a central theme or topic. Mind maps are a valuable tool for brainstorming, organizing thoughts, problem-solving, planning, and visualizing complex relationships within a topic.
They are helpful for several reasons:
Provide Visual Clarity: Mind maps offer a clear and visually intuitive way to represent complex information.
Promote Creativity and Brainstorming: They encourage creativity and free association, allowing you to generate and record a wide range of ideas related to a central topic.
Help with Organization: Mind maps help you organize information hierarchically. You can create main branches for major concepts and sub-branches for related details, creating a structured overview.
How to use the template
The template is in Figjam, a free browser-based whiteboarding and diagramming tool. It is easy to use and will allow you to edit the template and create additional nodes.
To edit the text
Click on the text area and start typing. You can change the size and color elements in the text bar above.
To Copy, paste, or lock elements
Right-click on the element for a menu option or just use keyboard commands.
To add nodes
Hover the element's top, right, left, or bottom and click on the blue arrow. A new node will appear.
To move nodes or elements
Click and drag where you want it to be on the screen.
Get the free template here:
Get the free template on my Ko-fi shop, link below!
I hope this helps!
Follow me on my journey to creating my dark fantasy comic book / graphic novel, Dark Time.
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