There are so many vital elements that go into crafting a can’t-put-it-down manuscript: engaging characters, a vivid Storyworld, a strong spiritual thread and knowing what’s at stake in your story. But so often, as we craft these aspects of our story, we overlook a fundamental aspect of our novel – and then we have to back up and figure out something we should have known from the beginning.

What: Theme

We often shut down when we hear the word “theme” because we recall high school English class and the dreaded “What’s the theme of the book?” question.

Theme is the overall idea of a book – what the book is about. As you read, theme is what you’re going to discover about yourself, others and God – and it’s usually stated in one word. Example: forgiveness, expectations, trust.

Why:

Guess what? Your high school teacher had it right: Discovering the theme of a story is vital to grounding your story and your characters. Theme is woven into so many other elements of your novel: your Story Question, your character’s Noble Cause and Noble Quest, your character’s spiritual journey. Determining your theme helps you write a stronger first draft.

So how do you decide the theme for your manuscript?

1. Ask: What message am I sending through this story?
2. Google a list such as “Common Book Themes.” Do any of these themes resonate with you and your novel?
3. Don’t stop at the first idea that comes to mind. So often as believers, we like to say the theme of our novel is faith. Or love. Or forgiveness. Dig deeper. What aspect of faith or love or forgiveness is your story exploring? Maybe your story’s theme is actually doubt. Or feeling unloved. Or repentance.
4. Stay focused. I like to select no more than three key themes. Your story needs to be focused. As a writer, you are not writing about anything and everything. You have a specific story to tell – and specific (think limited) themes within that story.

In my recent release, Catch a Falling Star, the Story Question is “What do you do when life doesn’t go according to plan? Do you keep pushing Plan A? Do you pull Plan B out of your back pocket? Or do you just settle?”

But what themes support that Story Question? Three specific themes: Expectations. Disappointment. Hope. Those three strands woven together into an emotional chord within both my characters’ lives – and in real life. Knowing these three themes helped me stay focused as I wrote my novel. I knew my characters would wrestle with expectations, disappointment, and find hope.

What about you? Have you determined the theme(s) for your work-in-progress (WIP)?