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How To Write Advice On Theme For Novelists
How to write novel help always includes information on developing plot, creating characters, setting a good pace, and describing great settings. But how often do novelists think about theme? The best how to write a novel advice focuses on theme before it goes on to cover the other basics.
The theme of a novel is the central “why” of the manuscript. If you want to know how to write a great novel, you must know why you’re writing the novel.
Why are you telling this story? What’s the point of it?
Answering the question why isn’t something that’s an afterthought. It must, in fact, something you figure out first. If you want the secret of how to write an incredible book, here it is:
You’ll be well on your way to knowing how to write a great (and publishable) book when you choose a compelling theme BEFORE you begin even planning the rest of the book. The theme of your book is the pattern of thought in your book. In other words, it’s the answer to your why question.
A theme is the central concern around which your story is centered. Often people call theme the “message” of a novel, but “message” doesn’t quite capture what a good theme is. Theme is not so much a message as it is a pattern, a concept that structures the whole of your story.
When you learn how to write from the starting point of theme, you have five elements to choose from as the core of your theme: plot, character, style, idea, and emotional effect.
1. In plot-themed books, the why of the book is the movement of the story. It’s the entertainment value of the happenings in the book. You structure your novel around “what happens next.”
2. In character-themed books, your main reason why is the person or people in your novel. The characters are the driving force of your novel.
3. In style-themed books, your writing style is the central core of your novel. Only a small minority of books have style themes. These are not mainstream novels. Style-themed books have heavy-headed, extremely unique styles that tend to overshadow the rest of the novel’s elements.
4. In idea-themed books, the theme is a concept intended to provoke thought. Moral ideas, social comment, human nature and human relations ideas are all the sorts of ideas that can drive a novel. When you have a particular thought you want to explore, that thought will be the central linking pattern of your novel.
5. In emotional-effect-themed books, the theme centers on your readers’ emotional responses to the book. If you are most interest in generating a particular emotion, that emotion is the theme of your book.
To learn how to write a novel, you must first know how to choose a theme. Answering the question why—discovering what matters most to you regarding your motivation to write your novel—is the key to choosing theme. Choose your theme well, and you will be a novelist who knows an essential part of how to write.
About the Author: Get two free reports on how to avoid writing mistakes that keep you from writing success and free writing tips at http://www.writinghelppartnership.com Andrea Rains Waggener is the multi-published author of fiction and nonfiction books, articles, web and sales copy.
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