Weaving in a Red-Threaded Theme

(This article is meant for an adult audience 18+)

When I was assigned a developmental editor by my publisher, I didn’t know what to expect. I had reservations about whether this editor would understand the concept of the red string of fate and some of the other themes I had weaved into Threads of Red. I was more than pleasantly surprised. Not only did she understand this ancient myth, she believed in this story from our first conversation and saw its heart and soul. She understood the past lives and fated romance themes better than I did, and she was there for it. Her suggestions, attention to detail, and careful hand helped expand and polish my manuscript from a messy draft into something I never imagined it could be. With her knowledge and incredible input I successfully weaved a red-threaded theme throughout the story. I would highly recommend that self-published and indie authors hire a good developmental editor.

Polishing this thematic weaving was one of my favorite aspects of the editing process. I carefully went back through the manuscript with a single mission: to physically pull more of the theme and the Red String of Fate into the prose, dialogue, and character thoughts. Instead of just telling the reader that Ellie and Ezekiel are bound by fate, I wanted them to feel the divine magic vibrating into their skin. I needed to show them. When you pick a core motif for your book, weave it directly into your descriptions to make the world unforgettable.

To do this, I chose descriptive words like cinnabar thread, coiling, ancient earth, and vermilion to make the supernatural bond feel tangible, solid, and ancient. Yet I also weaved in words like scarlet, crimson, ribbons, gossamers, undulated, and twisted to ground the red theme into the contemporary world.

Below, I share a few excerpts from Threads of Red to illustrate this thematic weaving.

First up, but in no particular order, is a vivid dream that Ezekiel Larson has about a past life with Ellie Tanner when they shared time in the Druid era. Notice how the descriptive words of red combined with  other words like gloaming and rowan berries help to immerse the reader into this long-ago time period and that powerful fated string. This scene takes place before they meet again in this life.

A single glimmering cinnabar thread—the color of ancient earth and hallowed blood—coils around us. Its immense power doesn’t just touch my skin; it vibrates into my very being—a divine magic sealing our souls. Before I take my last breath, her lips meet mine, and we kiss with practiced grace.

The purr of that cinnabar seal is the last thing that binds me—binds us. A deep, ancient magic weaves through my bones, my veins, my very cells. Then, the blackness of the Dark Age blurs into the gloaming mist, drawing taut with the corded red of crushed rowan berries.

In this second example, Ellie Tanner experiences a dream of her own. It is one of the first indications to the reader and to Ellie herself that she is tied in some way to the famous celebrity superstar, Ezekiel Larson. Notice how the description changes from contemporary to ancient with a simple word swap —choosing vermilion instead of red or crimson. Adding to this, though it doesn't speak to the red threads, are words like ferrant which describes an iron-gray color, historically used to describe the coat color of a horse, and destrier—a highly prized type of warhorse used by medieval knights. Those two words help the dream feel authentic and transport the reader into that medieval era.

Last night in slumber, they met for the first time again in a medieval setting. She, Elaria, wore sturdy leather boots, a sable-hooded cape, and a bold vermilion scarf. On her shoulder, she supported a bow, and quiver of arrows. He, Sir Elric, rode into the village atop a beautiful ferrant destrier. He nodded to her, and she stared back. Her loose scarf blew away with a brisk wind, landing on his surcoat. Soon they were tangled up skin to skin, ensnared by red threads.

This third example is a vision that an intuitive, present-day Ellie has of meeting Ezekiel for the first time in this new life. In her vision, they are out for a cruise on his motorcycle. The streak of scarlet in the below excerpt is a simple phrase, but it's powerful. It's another element of the red-string theme and the red-threaded plot that was dropped in to strengthen the motif. Dancing and twisting help the reader visualize the wavy, billowing red that the string represents. At this point Ellie has no idea what all of the red means, she only knows it keeps popping up. The phrase—vibrant and impossible to miss foreshadows the potency of their red thread. It signals to the reader that the meeting between Ellie and Ezekiel is not as impossible as Ellie believes.

The air roars past us as we race the wind. My eyes lock onto a streak of scarlet—a scrap of cloth, dancing and twisting —vibrant and impossible to miss.

The image above represents the inciting incident—the single, specific event that launches the plot— where Ellie's psychic friend Kym reads the tarot cards. Through her interpretation—and the red bracelet Ellie chooses from a mysterious pouch—Kym reveals that she and Ezekiel are connected and bound by supernatural forces not from this world.

The below paragraph showcases how I keep circling back to the red theme and its accompanying magical essence. It takes place during a present-day tarot card reading where Ellie must face what the cards reveal. The powerful emotions that the cards provoke are so overwhelming, they cause the fated-thread to seep into her very being.

Gossamers of scarlet is a descriptive and creative way to bring both red color and the idea of the threads into the narrative. The complete phrase Gossamers of scarlet laced them into a single breathless form, is again foreshadowing that the two will somehow meet and be tangled in a passionate moment. (OR TWO—OKAY, ACTUALLY SEVERAL)

That magical red thread wove into her aura again. Ellie’s mind shot to an image of Ezekiel’s naked body wrapped around hers. Gossamers of scarlet laced them into a single breathless form, a sensation that felt deliciously restraining.

In this final example, Ellie is having coffee and a slice of banana bread at her friend Kym’s house. It represents the first time Ellie realizes that red keeps popping up and influencing her as she goes about her everyday life. The words, twisted, and undulated provide visuals for readers that can easily attach themselves to a red thread in the reader's mind. Words like this are important additions. Whatever your theme may be, create a list of words and phrases to help support your motif as you write.

A twisted red ribbon framed the bone china plate. It danced in undulating waves, sexually assaulting Ellie’s otherwise dormant lower half with a delicious tingle. Impossible.

You will have to read the book to find more of this central theme and visual motif that is sprinkled through its pages. Oh, and to discover how Ellie and Ezekiel meet and what happens to them. The official release date will be announced soon.