
Last week we looked at the need to ditch all the back story in our first scene (well, actually the first fifty pages, but we are focusing on just your first scene right now). Now we’ll take a look at another essential element that you must develop right away and that’s theme.
Do you really have to have a theme for your book? Not necessarily in a formal sense, but think about theme as some essential take-away thought you want to leave your reader with when they finish the book. Theme speaks to your plot, but more so to the heart of your story. One way to get to your theme is to ask yourself just why you are writing this book, anyway.
Do you have a message or something you want to say to your readers, some commentary on life, society, government, faith, or some other issue? Even if you are not trying to push a “message” per se, your book should be about something. Continue Reading…