Shalla Finishes 3ND Round of Editing--Yeay!!! Shalla On: What are Themes?

Shalla Finishes 3ND Round of Editing--Yeay!!!
Themes in my novel are now more clearly defined.

What are themes? They’re ideas or insights your story reveal.

Themes can be the moral of the story.

In romance: Love is all there is.
In a detective story: Crime doesn’t pay.

Sometimes, themes are larger and more abstract.

In Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” the theme is “loss of innocence” or “initiation to maturity.”

In literary fiction, themes are not as obvious as with commercial fiction. Themes do not have to be a moral or a message, they can be the summation of ideas.

How do you figure out the theme of a story?

Make sure you look to other elements in the story besides plot.

1. Look at the title of the story. From what you have read, what does it indicate?

2. Does the character change? Does the character come to a realization/understanding? Did you realize/understand something you didn’t before?

3. Any general observations of the author about life or human nature? Any observations by the characters? Make sure the character’s opinions are those that support a theme.

4. Any objects, curious flat characters, significant animals, repeated names, song titles, etc. that hint a larger meaning? In literary stories, symbols usually point to central themes.

5. Good literary fiction: themes are not just a summary of the plot, they’re embedded into the essence of the story

6. The truth of the theme must encompass the whole story, not just a part of it.

So why do it? Why incorporate themes?
If you’re writing commercial fiction (romance, mystery, horror, etc) you don’t need to go too in depth, just entertain your readers. To those writing literary fiction (me), themes focus scattered impressions.

Themes clarify the nuggets of wisdom in our stories.

I love that. To me, that’s rewarding. When I figured out the theme in John Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemums, I was overjoyed. It’s like figuring out a puzzle.

Read a literary story first for enjoyment and basic understanding then read it again and figure it out. The 2nd time I read literary fiction, I mark things with a pencil, encircling possible symbols, words that stand out to put together in the end. You like pure entertainment? Go for commercial fiction. You like to use your mind and think more about the story? Go for literary fiction.

Now for Round #4

Time to Punch up Elements of Fiction: Plot, Character, Setting, Point of View, Style, Tone and Language, Theme (make it flow), Symbolism, Allegory and Image, etc.