Do you intentionally build a message into your story?

[Trish]

No? I'm not sure how to answer. Do I intentionally write a moral message from my (the author's) perspective? No. Do I write things that have a moral message for the characters? Yes. I'm not sure how you'd actually write a compelling story without differing opinions, objectives, and moral codes. If they all agree and get along it's going to be really fucking boring.

Writing well means you have to write both sides of whatever it is in a compelling way, doesn't it?

Also, to add on to Homer's comment -
Don't take pretty fruit (or candy) from strangers! Be safe out there.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

Beware of apples, spindles, and strange men- and remember all men are strange as hell.

Don't pick roses or try on glass slippers that don't belong to you.

 

[DLC]

Some guy said messages are for western union. I forget who it was but his message has stuck with me. How ironic.

 

[Louanne Learning]

Every story has to have a point - otherwise what is the point of writing it, and reading it?

For me, the point of the story is often to share the lived experiences of the characters, and see how it affects/changes them.

In so doing, I'd like to think that maybe, it might change the reader, too.

But no lectures or moralizing. But if the story gives the reader something to think about, that's a good thing.

 

[Schism]

By "message" I also mean "moral" or "meaning" or "statement" or anything similarly lofty that a story is meant to convey, acting as a carrier.

Not necessarily, though I don't avoid any consciously arising moralism. Go with the flow, so to speak. Assess later.