by Scott Matthews

Writers approach themes and stories differently. Mentioning the word ‘theme’ in a room full of writers will most likely ignite a fierce debate. Most genre writers have a hard time embracing all that a good theme can offer. For those who write to entertain, discussing themes usually brings to mind fictitious images that leave their readers amused with their story.

Today, you’ll not only do away with this misconception but also learn how to develop a theme that can be easily integrated into a novel. Learning how to develop a story so that you take your readers on a thrilling journey is crucial to becoming a remarkable novelist. Here are seven steps that will help you develop the theme of your story. But first, let’s understand what a theme is.

Defining a theme

The theme is one of the writer’s most powerful tools. It’s a statement that you make about the topics that you discuss in your book. A book’s theme is usually derived from the emotional development of characters or from the consequences these characters face as a result of their actions.

By using your theme in the right way, you end up creating an emotional connection between your readers and characters. This hooks your readers into the character’s way of life and leaves them with a hangover after reaching the conclusion.

By doing it well, you’ll avoid using your theme to enforce a message on your readers. You’ll allow your readers to conclude for themselves by reading and learning lessons or experiencing the consequences with your characters.

Identifying your theme

What is commonly referred to as a theme is made up of two elements namely the themes and the author’s thematic statement about those themes.

According to top essay writing service, theme is defined as a central topic that authors discuss in their literary work. A theme on its own cannot make a statement. It’s an idea that is highlighted from the beginning to the end of a book. While most novels are not limited to one theme, it is best to choose a couple to highlight.

By making a point of choosing these themes during the pre-writing stage, you’ll easily identify and amplify the concepts in the drafts that will follow. Common examples of themes include empowerment, fulfillment, hope, order, injustice, and greed to name a few.

Your thematic statement

After identifying all the prominent ideas that you’ll discuss in your novel, you need to think about the other side of the coin: the thematic statement.

A thematic statement is defined as the message of your novel. It’s the stance that you take on the predominant themes in your book. While a novel can have several thematic statements, there’s always one statement that stands out. For instance, in the novel, The Dark Between, the dominant thematic statement is, “You can never stand on your own in someone else’s shadow.”

Developing your theme into a story

To develop your theme into a story, here are seven practical steps that you need to take:

1.    Study great examples of plot development

As custom essay reports, reading is one of the best ways to develop and improve your writing skills. Great writers will inspire you with examples that will help you get the elements of your craft right. While reading other peoples’ works, it’s important to take note of the effective elements that they use in their books. Note how the characters change over time and the sequence of events.

You should avoid comparing yourself to these authors or trying to copy exactly what they are doing. Remember, you are reading their stories to improve your writing skills. By reading these examples and focusing on yourself, you’ll end up developing a great story.

2.    Shape your story with plotting processes

The source of great plots are good ideas and curiosity. Your story needs to begin with a hypothetical situation. A good story should be brought to life through a clear and focused plotting process that will shape the story.

Also, developing a clear summary is one of the best ways to brainstorming ideas that will help your characters and plot to grow.

3.    Create a timeline of your plot’s events

According to Dissertation Today, understanding the ‘when’ of your story is critical when you are developing a story. By creating a timeline of the plot of events, you’ll easily navigate between the scenes and chapters. And this will help you have a clear picture in mind. Even if you aren’t intending to plot the whole novel in advance, it’s crucial to create a timeline.

4.    Develop your characters in exciting ways

It’s important to think about the process of developing your characters. At the initial writing stage, you need to identify the main goals of your primary characters and their personalities. Regardless of your story idea, your characters should develop in exciting ways. Show how their ambitions or fears affect their decisions. And show the consequences of these decisions

5.    Change the 5’Ws

All stories are made up of the 5 W’s namely: what, why, when, where, and who. ‘Who’ are the dominant characters in your story. ‘What’ is the situation that your characters find themselves in. ‘Where’ is the location or the setting. And ‘when’ is the time.

According to best paper writing services, a great story not only contains satisfying answers to these five questions but also highlights the developments in all these areas. By making all these elements of your plot change in a convincing way, you’ll take your readers on an interesting journey.

6.    Outline the scenes

Creating a storyboard is one of the best ways of developing a story. You can use index cards or pieces of paper such as post-its. Summarize all the key events of a scene in two lines or less.

Include the characters involved and the purpose of the scene. Reorder the scenes according to your story until you have a sequence that makes sense. Sometimes you’ll have to reverse or shift an early scene towards the end to connect with your readers.

7.    Incorporate action-driven elements

According to assignment help, change is the only thing that makes a story move forward. Your characters have to act so that your readers can enjoy the ride. Even if you are writing a less dramatic story such as romance, this point applies. Change is one of the best ways to develop your characters.

Conclusion

After working on all aspects of your story, it’s important to share your work with other writers to get feedback. Sharing your work with other writers will help you seal the holes in your plot. In most cases, these holes cannot be seen with your eyes. Don’t fear criticism. It’s exactly what you need to become a great writer.

Bio

Scott Matthews is a talented editor and writer at dissertation help online, best resume writing service, buy custom essay and best essay writing services uk. He loves mentoring students and authors during his leisure time. He is interested in technology, literature and business.