Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

How to Develop a Theme Before Writing a Novel

+0
−0

I've given some thought to this, and I decided that I want to either make or find a theme to my fantasy novel before I really get into it (as I have started a couple pages already). I did some research online and found a whole lot of stuff about why stories should have theme and what theme is, but not much about how to make theme (Besides the usual "Oh, you'll figure it out eventually"). From what I can tell, this is kind of an unusual way to start out a book, so thanks for any advice :D

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/18184. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

0 comment threads

1 answer

+0
−0

Your theme is the general statement you're making, but you can only make the statement via the plot. The plot should be developed via the organic actions of the characters.

Therefore, decide on your theme, figure out a rough plot which will express this theme, and staff the plot with characters who will accomplish it.

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

0 comment threads

Sign up to answer this question »