Organic themes are symbiotic with their stories’ plots. This is because when everything is working well in a story, plot and theme are two halves of a whole, each one “proving” the other. When plot and theme are not working together, that’s a sure sign your story is in trouble. Theme can be a tricky […]
Search Results for: theme
May 23, 2022 by 36 Comments Plotting Your NovelDeepening Your Story’s Theme With the Thematic Square
How can you deepen your story’s theme? This is a question most writers find themselves asking at one point or another. And there are many answers. As an inherently abstract concept, theme can be approached from many different directions—and still feel hard to get at. But as one of the most important factors in creating […]
September 10, 2021 by 13 Comments NewsWriting Your Story’s Theme Audio Book (+ Special Announcement)
I’m happy to announce the Writing Your Story’s Theme audio book is now available, narrated once again by my regular collaborator Sonja Field. Thanks for your patience in waiting for the audio version. I know I’ve been promising it ever since the paperback and e-book versions of the book came out last year. We ran […]
October 19, 2020 by 363 Comments NewsBook Launch Day: Writing Your Story’s Theme!
Today I am officially launching my latest writing-craft book Writing Your Story’s Theme. Yay! This book has been such a passion project for me. When I started thinking about what writing-craft book I wanted to publish next, I realized my cornerstone writing guides have so far built on each other in a linear way, moving from […]
October 18, 2020 by Leave a Comment Writing Your Story’s Theme
Theme Is What Your Story Is Really About Theme—the mysterious cousin of plot and character. Too often viewed as abstract rather than actionable, theme is frequently misunderstood and left to chance. Some writers even insist theme should not be purposefully implemented. This is unfortunate, because in many ways theme is story. Theme is the heart, […]
December 16, 2019 by 37 Comments CharactersSupporting Characters and Theme: 6 Important Questions to Ask About Your Story
Raise your hand if you’ve ever written in a new supporting character just because, hey, somebody had to start that tavern brawl. Creating delightfully colorful, unexpected, and sometimes just plain convenient minor characters is half the fun of writing. That said, we might all want to now sit on those hands we raised. However random […]
September 30, 2019 by 61 Comments Characters5 Questions for Choosing a Protagonist Who Represents Your Story’s Theme
Choosing a protagonist is often more of an event than a process. Writers sometimes feel more like the protagonist chooses them than the other way around. While most of us heed our first instinct to simply chase after this character to see where he goes, it’s important that at some point we analyze the soundness […]
April 8, 2019 by 52 Comments Plotting Your NovelWhat Is the Relationship Between Plot and Theme?
Sometimes plot and theme are confused as being basically the same thing. Other times, they’re viewed as so distinct they don’t even belong in the same discussion. So which is it? First question first: is plot basically the same thing as theme? To some degree, the answer is yes. Or, at least, intuitive phrasing often […]
April 1, 2019 by 39 Comments Characters5 Ways to Use Theme to Create Character Arc (and Vice Versa)
What’s the easiest way to find your story’s theme—and make it stick? Although any discussion of theme is multi-faceted, one of the best ways to approach this complex topic is through the realization that you can use theme to create character arc—and vice versa. When asked to explain what a particular story is about, some […]
March 11, 2019 by 91 Comments ThemePlot, Character, and Theme: The Greatest Love Triangle in Fiction
Once upon a time, Character fell in love with Plot. Right from the start, it was a stormy relationship. There was passion, there was romance, there were epic stakes. And conflict? Puh-lenty. Sometimes they were pretty sure they couldn’t live with each other a moment longer. Sometimes they tried to give each other up altogether. […]
