And By Flip-Flops, I Mean Freedom

Symbolism is supposedly a big part of literature. I'm not really in on the bandwagon.

When I was little, my school had a Young Authors and Poets club. I joined, figuring I was pretty good at poetry (although at the time I didn't think it was anything more than writing in verse). The first time we did a group critique—or at least swapped each other's pieces and talked about them—a boy named Seth informed me it wasn't a really good poem because it didn't have enough symbolism.

I've since dropped out of the poetry sphere, but that doesn't mean I'm out of hot water yet. Symbols are still important to prose, or so I hear, and, well, I write prose. It's a way to incorporate deeper meaning into things without hitting the reader over the head with it.

Symbolism also seems to tie in with theme, which may be why it gives me trouble. It's all about getting a point across, which just isn't why I write. Sure, there are things that I argue, but most modern people are just going to be offended by what I have to say, and I've never once written a story for the theme. I just want to play with characters I like in a world I like, and pushing a theme into the mix may still allow that, but it hogs some of the focus.

So, I'll probably try to work in some symbolism, although the way I write it would have to wait until editing.

What kind of symbols do you use in your stories? Like to see in other stories?

(For anyone curious about the title: In my "nerd prison" school, flip-flops weren't allowed, which made me unhappy because I quite like wearing flip-flops. Additionally, Dad won't let [trans: make] me drive if I'm wearing flip-flops. Thus the freedom part.)