Day Twenty-Three

Exploring the theme.

Every book has at least one. No theme, no story. Simple as that.

What is a theme? If you need to ask… fair enough. There’s too much to remember, and we have Google at our fingertips.

The theme of your story is the idea that your readers will think about – the subject/issue/topic that comes up throughout the story.

Ask yourself: what do I want to say? What do I want my readers to think about when they finish reading?

You want your theme to be present throughout the story – so this means within your supporting characters and subplots.

Themes are much simpler than you would expect, too. Think of it in terms of “The Tortoise and the Hare.” The theme was slow and steady wins the race. Easy enough, right?

Just keep in mind: you’re informing us WHY this story needs to be told.