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Write A Novel And Get It Published: Theme

by Nigel Watts

At the very heart of your story is its theme. This is not the same as subject matter, which is the tangible reality of the story, something which changes with fashions in novel writing. Theme can be broken down into thread and thesis.

A thread is a unifying idea, such as ‘love’ or ‘greed’. A thesis is the author’s attitude to the thread, such as ‘love conquers all’ or ‘love always lets you down’.

A novel can have more than one thread, in which case they should be woven together, but the core thesis should underlie them all. At some point you will need to understand what your thesis is, although this may not happen until the first draft is written. A thesis can always be expressed in a single sentence, so if you can only manage a long waffling explanation you still have some thinking to do. Once you know what your thesis is, make sure it applies throughout the book, so that it can do its job of giving the plot shape and coherence, driving the choices that your characters make. Cut out anything that isn’t in harmony with the thesis.


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