Stories Must Have A Purpose

It is all about theme for me.

This is a pet peeve of mine. I really do hate stories (and movies too) that have no purpose. You know the type. You sit through a movie or you read a book, and when the end comes, you sit there and think, "What was the point of all of this?" I want to leave with a take-away.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not saying that your story needs to have this huge, cosmic moral that forces the reader to have to enter a monastery for a year just to digest the wisdom of your words. I am talking about something that just makes us think.

Think of the book by Frances Mayes, UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN. Please note, I am talking about the book, not the movie. Although the book is about her renovating the house, it is really about learning what is truly important in life. The house, obviously, is a metaphor, but in the end, the take-away is for readers to look around their life and determine what is important and what isn't.

Too often, I find that authors have simply decided on two characters, they throw them in a setting and let them talk and do things together. Regency romances where he has come home from the war and she is in London for the Season to find a husband. OK, so what about it? What are we learning from it? Who cares?

This is just a plot. These are just characters. But if there is no driving theme to keep the story moving, the story is just going to feel flat.

I should also note, that finding a theme to the story, AFTER you write the novel is not always going to work. This is especially true when you are thinking about the high concept for your story. I remember a workshop I taught about query letter writing and I saw an entire room faced with the same problem. When we talked about the high concept and the purpose of their book, they all sat in shock. They didn't have one, but were trying to make one for their story that simply had no purpose.

I don't care if you are someone who seriously plots, or someone who writes from the seat of your pants, you need to think about what is going to be the driving theme of your story before you start writing.

Show us YOUR Voice, Not An Imitation

I find myself, far too often, rejecting stories and marking in my log that the reason is "Same Old Same Old." In other words, the author is giving us absolutely nothing new. When I read these proposals, it is almost as if the person has simply copied the story from someone else. Now, please understand, I am not talking about plagiarism here, but simply that the person has just mirrored the voice of so many other stories out there.


Before I go on, let me just say that I am not someone who buys into the theory that there are no new ideas out there. Without new ideas, we would not be advancing in pretty much everything around the world and all that we do. What I am focusing on here, is that authors are struggling to find their own voice, style and story. These are just imitations of things already out there.


There is nothing wrong with utilizing familiar tropes out there when telling your story. Rags to riches, secret babies, cowboys with a past... the list goes on and on. What we are talking about are stories that seem to look like the author has just patched together themes from all of these other authors.


I really see this with authors who want to write series novels such as those you would find at Harlequin. We are not looking for stories that are formulaic and just duplicate what has already been done. We want something that fits the same theme of the line, but for the author to throw his or her own twist on the story. I always try to describe this as having one foot in the old and one foot in the new. Tap into those tropes but give us the spin we haven't seen.


If you want to see some great twists on this, take a look at the writing of Helen Lacey and Ryshia Kennie. When you read these authors, you get a sense that these people have found a way to maintain their own voices, provide unique spins on familiar tropes, and always keep you guessing.

If, when you are writing your synopsis or query letter and find that as you tell the story, you seem, to be talking about someone else's book, but have simply changed the names, then you are falling into this trap.


To fix this situation requires planning before you write. Obviously, this requires thinking about your plot. Know where you are going and why you are doing so. But the bigger twist is, when you add plot devices into the story, know the reason you are doing so and what the impact is on your plot, story and character. If you are simply adding things to your story because someone told you to do so, or this is what you have seen other people do, the odds are you are heading into the direction of an imitation.


In other words, THINK as you write!

But Why Are You Telling Me This Story?

Melville really nailed the point well today. I wanted to spend some time talking about themes today. I do believe this is one of those areas where so many authors are lacking when it comes to their stories.

What I see, all too often, are authors who have great characters, or a great plot element to the story, but when we really dive into the story, we are left with a huge question - WHY?

I am sure you have watched a movie before, or read a novel, and you get to the end and think to yourself that something is missing. There were a lot of things you might have noted as being fun, exciting or emotional, but in the end, there was something still not there. The odds are, it was the theme of the story.

When we talk about theme, we are talking about what you really want the readers to walk away with when they reach  the end of the story. It is that big message that you, as the author, are trying to teach us along the way. Too often, however, I find that writers confuse this with the story type. For example, "this is a coming of age story" or " this is a story about finding lost love." Now, while these can certainly be incorporated into the story, we still are missing what we need to learn from this book.

Now, I do know, when I bring this up at conferences, there is always someone who throws out the idea, "But can't we just write a book to entertain and not to teach?" At some level, yes, BUT, even if you ask comedians, they will often have a theme or a message with that routine. In many cases, those comedians are trying to get us to look a things we have been doing in our daily life and realize that we are being stupid, or acting in a way that just might need to change.

I should add here that many authors, after I point this out to them, will attempt to go back and identify what the theme was to their story. This really doesn't work. Sure, you might find small little messages throughout the book, but the theme is something that the ENTIRE book is focused toward. For that reason, authors really need to have a sense of that theme before they sit down and start crafting that novel.

If you think of the theme of the story, it is very similar to a thesis in an academic paper. Everything that goes into that paper is designed to address the thesis. The evidence, proof, analysis, claims and so forth are all elements that are there for the thesis. The same is true for a theme. Every action of the characters, every scene you place in the story, and every element of dialogue all support that theme.

Go back and take a look at the stories similar to those I spoke of at the beginning of this post. See if there really was a theme there. Hopefully, however, you are not looking at your story.

Have a great weekend everyone! I am off to do some work with my clients today!

What Is Your Novel's Thesis?

Although for most writers, hearing the word THESIS conjures up images of academic writing and research papers, this same concept extends to writing fiction Whether or not you are a plotter or a pantster, knowing where you are going to and why you are taking that journey is really the key to success in your story.

Let's start first with some basics of thesis writing. According to a basic definition of the concept of thesis, it is a "statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved." But we really want to take this a step further. According to Marcie Sims, a colleague of mine. in her textbook, THE WRITE STUFF, she notes that a thesis statement "establishes a narrowed scope of your topic, provides at least one controlling idea or analytical purpose."

But you still might be questioning why a writer would put a thesis statement into his or her essay. You will note that in no way am I saying you would actually put a thesis statement in the essay. You should, however, know why you are writing the story and what you want the readers to leave with when they finish your novel. Marcie goes on to note that even in narrative writing, you would have a purpose to your story. In fact, the definition of narration in her book is a story that provides insight or truth gained from the experience.

Too often, writers just simply write, but without that controlling purpose or goal, the story ends up being pretty flat. This is very apparent when editors and agents discuss a prospective novel or read a submission from a new author. When the author just tells us the plot of the story and we are left with this question of "So what?" that is generally a story without a purpose.

Taking this a step further, we can see that having a thesis in your mind, both before you write the story and as you write it, will actually tie all of the events in your book together. It will give each scene your write and each passage of dialogue you have a meaning. The elements in your story should have some sort of meaning that advances the reader closer to that ultimate insight you want them at when they finish the book.

If we look at Jean Love-Cush's novel ENDANGERED we can see how the author has done just this. For those of you who are not familiar with this book, it is clearly one that needs to be read during these tough times here in the United States. Let me give you the "blurb" about the book from Amazon:

An innocent black teenager is accused of murder in this provocative and compassionate thriller that skillfully probes issues of race, class, crime, and injustice and offers a searing portrait of modern America.

From the time her son, Malik, could walk, Janae taught him that the best way to stay alive and out of trouble with the law was to cooperate. Terrified for his safety, she warned him, “raise your hands high, keep your mouth shut, and do whatever they say,” if the police ever stopped him. But when a wave of murders hits Philadelphia and fifteen-year-old Malik is arrested, Janae’s terror is compounded by guilt and doubt: Would Malik have escaped jail if he’d run?

Unable to see her son or pay for his defense, Janae, a cafeteria worker, reluctantly allows Roger Whitford, a white human rights attorney, to represent Malik. With the help of an ambitious private attorney named Calvin Moore, Roger is determined to challenge the entire criminal justice system and expose its inherent racism—racism that threatens the very existence of America’s young black men.

Offering a startling and unprecedented defense, the lawyers spark a national firestorm of debate over race, prison, and politics that burns to the very core of Janae herself. As she battles to save her son, she begins to discover that she is also fighting for her own survival and that of her community.

This author knows exactly the message she wants the readers to leave with. She wants those readers to leave questioning their own beliefs but to also be motivated to become socially and politically aware of the things going on around them. For this reason, each and every scene in the book paints a picture of this unfortunate circumstance and then has a moment to allow the reader some introspection. She does not come right out and "preach" to the reader, or say things such as, "This is what you should believe," but through the narrative, this is implied.

Knowing that thesis will also add to your marketing of the book when you are trying to show the uniqueness of the story. What is it that makes this book stand out? Why do we want to read it? Without that purpose and that thesis, you will struggle to come up with anything other than a generic writing trope such as "this is a coming of age story" or "this is a story about lost love found again."

So, what is your thesis? Do you have one? If so, does everything in your story link to that thesis? If not, this may be the reason why your story is going no where fast!

What Is Your Take-Away

Lately, I have read a lot of books or seen submissions for those hopeful books, where I am left with
the nagging questions, Why? Why was this book written? Why did the characters do the things they did? What did the author want me to get out of this book? The problem is simple. There was no "take away" for the reader.

Now, I understand that many believe that books can be simply for "entertainment" purposes, but even those books will often have a message of some sort that we should leave with. Even movies like "The Hangover" or the "Scary Movie" series force us to look at the things we view as entertainment and questions, "Really? We watch that? We aren't like that? Are we?"

I am not saying that all books need to have a global, life changing message that makes us completely realign our thinking to some universal thought, but there needs to be something. And I should note, this "something" is not a catchy phrase you just shove into a query letter or throw into a pitch session with an editor or an agent. This is something that you decide on in the early phases of the writing and planning process for your book.

Knowing the "take away" will shape what scenes you put into your book. It will shape the thoughts that pass through your character's head. It will shape the sequence of the plot because everything is working for that one goal of the "take away." Please be aware, I am not talking about a plot element or a conclusion in your book. Things do not just head to "another scene" but to that message that is implied in your book.

If all people can do is talk about the events in the book, then you are probably missing the mark with the take-away. If all you can do is highlight these great lines or a description you put in the book, you are probably missing the mark. But if you hear people saying, "I could totally relate to what the characters were doing" or they say "I have been is a situation like this and it was great to see I did it right [or I wish I had done it that way]" then the odds are you are heading in the right direction.

Finding Those Hidden Themes

I am working through some edits for one of my authors right now and thought I would describe for you what I do believe many authors face. What happens when your story takes off in a direction you just didn't see coming? How do you get it back on track, or put it on a track that might be better?

In this case, we are working on a women's fiction piece. This is the second book in a series and we were working to maintain many of the same themes we saw in the first book. As I read through the story, however, there were moments when the story simply didn't have those thematic messages shining through when the messages should have been there.

This is a tough situation. As I looked at the story, I was starting to think we might be gearing up for a full blown revision of the story. We're talking a complete over-haul here. But I kept reading and it wasn't until yesterday that I stumbled across the hidden gem I was looking for. Roughly 40% of the way through the book, the author had an amazingly powerful moment with some character introspective and she tossed in a line that had it all. It was the title of the book, it was the theme, it was the answer!

Now, as I go back and look at the story, we won't be doing a complete over-haul. The theme of the story did indeed go a different direction than we had planned, but this new theme creates a stronger approach for revision. The plan will be simple:

1. We cut scenes that were trying too hard to get to the first theme that wasn't work.
2. We enhance the existing story with the new theme's message.
3. We add some new scenes to A) get that word count back up; and B) to truly showcase the new theme.

There will be times when we know exactly what story we want to tell and the story just happens. There will also be other times when the plans we had made just aren't going to work. The key to solving these issues is to not panic and keep your eyes open. Sometimes, the answer is right in front of our face. We just were looking in the wrong place.

What Is Your "Take Away" For Your Novel?

The business world has been using this term for some time. It's the "take-away". This is that one message or idea we should be getting from a meeting, an article or a discussion we might have. I use this same concept when we talk about novels. I have honestly found myself, in recent years, wondering at the end of a book, "why was this book even written?" or "what really did the editor see when he or she bought this book?" These stories, I often find, lack a "take-away."

When authors pitch their stories to me at conferences, I often see the exact same thing. They sit down and proceed to crank out this well-crafted speech outlining the plot of the story and when they are done, I simply ask them what the "take-away" is for the story. What is the message or theme you want the reader to be left with?

And they stare at me with that deer in the headlight  look.

It is crucial that, as an author, you know why you are writing this your story. It is crucial that you understand the message and the theme of the book. The reason is clear. That message, that theme, that "take-away" dictates everything that you are going to do in the book. It will control the type of characters you put in the story as well as the dialogues they will have with each other. It will dictate the smaller complications in the story as well as the larger conflict of the story. And, it will certainly dictate how you solve the story.

I think this is the reason why I do like the Inspirational stories. These authors begin with the message they want to get across to the reader. For fiction writers, however, they tend to start with the characters or a creative scene they have running through their head.

When I do talk to some fiction authors about this concept, I often hear people say "but can't we just have a story for entertainment purposes?" At some level, yes, but even then, there will be a message.

Consider comedians. Even in their stand-up routines, there will be a guiding force and take-away they want the reader to leave with. It might be that we take relationships too seriously and maybe we need to re-think our ways. It might be that we have placed too much stock in degrees and titles and we need to re-think what we do. Comedians hold a mirror up to their audiences to say "do you realize what you are doing?"

Now, I do have to stress that you cannot, after the story has been written suddenly come up with a theme just to have one. This is not an after thought. This might be a bit frustrating for some of you as you try to think of how you are going to sell your story to an agent or an editor, but it is something to consider. There might be one hidden there but don't be shocked if it isn't there.

Before you start that next book, or if you are in the middle of a story, take the time to consider that take-away first. You will find the outcome will be much better than you think!

A Common Theme Does Not Mean Stereotypes and Cliche'

When I tell people outside of the industry that I work with romance authors, I will often get comments about how every one of the stories are identical. I have found there is a widely held perception that romance stories all follow an identical formula, the characters are all the same and the plots are carbon copies of one another. Of course those of us who read these stories know good and well that is far from the truth.

However...

Time and time again, we as agents and editors find ourselves rejecting stories for just this reason. It seems that many writers believe that following those common themes means to use that pattern or formula. It is also those authors who frequently use the line, "There are only so many different stories out there."

Let me take one from the Harlequin line. What follows are the submission guidelines for this line.

If you love small towns and cowboys, you'll love Harlequin American Romance. Our stories are heartwarming contemporary tales of everyday women finding love, becoming part of a family or community—or maybe starting a family of her own.

American Romance Key Elements

• Central romance is driven by the hero's or heroine's (or both) desire to be a part of a family or community
• Stories showcase the comforts of home and a sense of place – particularly the charm of small-town America and the ruggedness of western locales
• Must be set in the USA
• Western heroes and heroines are very popular – cowboys (ranchers, rodeo riders), law enforcement (sheriffs, deputies, Texas Rangers), etc
• All stories must feature strong family elements such as pregnancy, young children, blended families, etc
• Warmhearted stories offer a range of tones, from light humor to drama
• Level of sensuality is low to moderate
• Word count of 55,000–60,000 means stories must be fast-paced and plot-driven

Now, let's dissect this a bit. First of all, you will see a lot of comments that use the phrase "such as." This is not a mandate that the authors need to use these idea, but simply ideas that provide a contextual definition of the type of stories that you would see. Do you have to use exactly those points? Absolutely not. What you would use would be "similar ideas."

You will notice the common theme for this line plays off of the idea of "The American Dream." Although many of these ideas are universal, this is really the central focus. To write a story of this nature, it is crucial for a writer to take the time to identify what that theme or message is that he or she wants the reader to walk away with. At the same time, the common focus of  finding family, community and romance is the central hub to build on.

What are the big requirements outside of that theme?

1. Must be USA Setting.
2. Must have strong family element
3. Lower levels of sensuality
4. 55-60 K word count

Outside of that, writers have a lot to build on and work with.

Now, let's take this a step further. Even though these are common themes and ideas, we don't have to make carbon copies of all of the characters and story elements. Unfortunately, we, too often see these over-done ideas showing up in submissions. These might (note I am using that same might here as well):

• The heroine is from the big city, dressed to kill and her car breaks down but the "cowboy" shows up in a beat up pick up truck to save the day.
• The cowboy is an ex-Special Ops guy trying to hide away from the world in Backwoods, USA.
• The heroine gives up a corporate job to go to Backwoods, USA to start a: 
• bakery
• flower shop
• bed and breakfast
• ... without any experience in these areas but simply because an relative left her the home.
• Because of a clause in a will, the hero and heroine must live or work together for 1 year first.

I think you get the idea. The thing is that it is fine to use some of these ideas every now and then, but when we are talking about themes and ideas, you are not required to use A) every one of the ideas; or B) just copy what others have done.

Another example of this is when we see the international settings for stories and the hero happens to be an Italian Billionaire. O.K. I get Italy rocks! I get women think Italians are sexy (as well as the Aussie heroes) but be careful using the same stereotypical ideas. Don't get locked in.

While the example I used was for a Harlequin American line, the same idea works for pretty much any other genre out there. Historical romances don't have to involve the hero or heroine being forced to marry for money. Science fiction and fantasies don't have to involve "being chased by some evil ruler". And certainly those romantic suspense stories don't have to involve a Special Ops hero "in charge of watching over a heroine because his boss/ex-military leader needed her to be protected."

Be original people! I dare you!

What Is Your Take-Away - Thinking about theme in writing

I don't know how many times I read a submission that shows me great writing skill, great character development and great dialogue, but, in the end, I end up rejecting it because I ask one big question - WHY?

I am someone who is a firm believer that theme in your story really is the glue that holds everything together. As I described it in the title, this is the big "TAKE AWAY" for you reader. What do you want your readers to leave with and understand by the time they reach the end of the story.

According to Stenhouse Publishers, a provider of Professional Development for teachers, they note several key points for understanding theme that I believe really make it clear. "themes are the underlying ideas, morals, and lessons that give the story its texture, depth, and meaning." They also go on to say that many times, these themes are not directly stated in a text, but the readers can infer the meaning of the text from the things the author does in the story.

Before going any further, it is important to note that it is the author who is in control of the theme. As a writer, you dictate what you want the reader to leave with. It is your decision to focus on certain scenes, have your characters say certain things and have certain behaviors to get your message across. These can be subtle or pretty straightforward.

Writers also need to understand that there is a clear difference between the plot of your story and the theme of your story. Again Stenhouse notes, "the plot is simply what happens in the narrative. The themes represent the bigger ideas of the story. The plot carries those ideas along." They go on to use the example of Goldilocks to clearly understand the difference:

"A girl named Goldilocks was wandering through the forest and entered an unfamiliar, empty house. She tasted porridge that didn’t belong to her, broke a chair, and slept in a bed that wasn’t hers. She was caught when the bears returned, and she ran out of the house scared to death." This is simply the plot of the story. It is what happened to the characters between the "Once upon a time" and the "The end."

As we look at this though in terms of theme, we have to ask ourselves what this story is really trying to get across to the readers, in this case the kids. In this case, the "take away" is what we now learn about "taking things that don’t belong to you, selfishness, thoughtlessness, and so on."

An additional error many writers confuse with theme is using a description of a story to identify the theme. "This is a story about finding lost love." or "This is a coming of age story." Again, these are not themes, but descriptions of the type of story you are telling.

Now here comes the hard part and something that often comes out when I listen to pitches at conferences and have a chance to talk to the writers. In far too many cases, the author simply doesn't have a theme to their story. They just sat down, wrote a story, created great characters but never asked why they wrote the story in the first place. And here is the bigger issue. Once the story has been written, you cannot simply "add a theme" to the story. Some writers say they "discover" the theme and yes, this can happen, but in reality, a story with no theme, will always be that.

Knowing your theme is crucial for pitching that story to editors and agents. We want to know what makes your story special and what makes your story stand out among all of the other stories. In the end, it will not simply be the plot or the characters, it is that message.

I have one author that really maximized on this idea. When I first met her at a conference about a year and a half ago, she pitched an amazing multicultural women's fiction. Yes, the story sounded interesting, what stood out for me was the theme she was pushing. She was showing how racism and discrimination infiltrates everything we do and can truly damage a society, and in her case, especially youth.

So, your homework over the weekend? Do you have a theme? Chew on that for a while!

 

What Is Your Story's "Take-Away"

I have to first state that I am not one who jumps all over the new "catch phrase" but I had to in this case. I want to simply know what you want your reader to walk away with when they finish their story?

This "take away" is really the driving force of your story. It is the ultimate goal you want to make in your story. This idea is that level of the human nature that you as an author want your reader to sit up and take notice of. In many ways, this is the theme of your story.

I have to say, I find that there are far too many stories that I read (both from published and unpublished authors) that leave me questioning what the purpose was behind this book. Why on earth did the author even sit down and start crafting the novel in the first place? Sure, there were funny elements, or touching elements in the books? Maybe there were great sex scenes. But, in the end, I still sat back and started asking why?

Now, some of you might be saying that the only purpose is to entertain. Personally, I think this is a cop-out answer. If we go back to the earliest traditions of storytelling, we're talking the oral tradition here, stories were told to teach, to instuct, to glorify, and yes, they did it to entertain. Literature is about the human spirit so why leave that out?

If you find that you are reading your current work and feeling that something is lacking, ask yourself what the take-away is for your novel. My bet - you're missing it!

Scott

Why Are You Writing Your Story?

As an agent, one thing I really look for in a submission is a sense of purpose. In other words, I am looking for authors who really had a goal in mind when they were telling their story. I fully understand there are many of you out there that claim the sole purpose for telling their story is to "just tell a story." But, I have to say, in my humble opinion, and one that comes from a literary tradition, there needs to be more.

In literature, we often look at this concept when we talk about the theme of a story. What is that message you are hoping the reader/audience will walk away with. I know that one publisher I work with describes this as the "take-away."

Too often though, I see many projects that it becomes clear the author just had a great set of characters, or a plot element they wanted to build off of, but beyond that, there wasn't much more. Sure the story read great, but there was still a lingering question floating around the text. Why was I reading this?

What most people seem to forget is the theme really drives the story. It is the theme of the story - the real reason you are writing the story - that gives all of the action and the characters a purpose in the story.

I will also add that if you are some who struggles with writing queries or pitches because you fail to understand your "high concept" much of this stems from a potential issue of your story having no purpose.

So the question you get to ponder this weekend is simple. Why are you writing your story?

Scott

Gimics Don't Make A Good Story

Sure, books like this may be fun, but in the end, a story either built on gimics or full of nothing but gimics isn't a story. Instead, I see this as a written version of a comedy show like SNL. We have a string of funny things happening with no theme.

I am currently reading a very funny romance from one of my favorite historical authors at Avon. For purposes of this post, I want to leave this person nameless because that would cause some to miss the point. The thing is, this voice has some great voice to it and the scenes between the characters are a riot. I keep wanting to read scenes out to people around me, including those that have read the book. We laugh about the scenes but unfortunatley, that is it. We still end up saying, "this is funny, but what is the point?"

My comment yesterday about contemporary romances was an attempt to look at this concept from a slighly different angle. We have to remember that in romances, the key is the relationship. The focal story arc should be the romance and the relationship. An author simply cannot fill it with a lot of other stuff because the end result is we lose focus.

I do think that many people believe stories without action, demons, intrigue and constant plot gimics are boring. Heck, my father-in-law believes this about movies. When I hear this, I often feel it is a real shame. Stories about relationships without all the baggage can be good, IF the story is written well. As I said yesterday, the problem is not that contemporary romances are not selling or that as agents we aren't signing contemporary romances, it is simply that we aren't seeing well written contemporary romances.

As an agent, I look for the story and the relationship. Sure, I see the gimics, and like that favorite author of mine at Avon, I will often talk about it, but I will not be swayed by the gimics. I want a relationship. Hey, when it says Greyhaus Literary Agency represents "romance and women's fiction" that should be a key!

Scott

Why Are You Telling Your Story?

Here's a big question for you...

Why are you telling your story?

This one should make you think a bit. There shoule be a purpose to your story. Simply telling me you have these great characters you want to see together is not enough. Simply having a hot scene you want to have in your story is not enought. What are we talking about here? This is theme.

The theme of your story is really the guiding purpose to what you want your reader to leave with once they finish your story. This is what adds the meat to your story. Unfortunately, there are many stories that I simply ask myself, "why did this person spend their time on this?" No, the writing isn't bad. Sure, there might be some interesting scenes, but there is no satisfaction once I finish the story.

The theme of your story doesn't have to be major, but it needs to be the guiding force that gives purpose to all of the events and character interactions in the story. Think of a thesis statement in a research paper. In fiction writing, we work with the same idea, although, in this case, it might not be clearly stated from the beginning.

I am working with a debut author right now with a story following the 9 months of her pregnancy. I love the theme on this book because it gives the reader a lesson of being a stay at home mom and all the things that are important about it. We learn there is nothing bad about this, but something really worthwhile.

So, what is your theme? Think on this one.

Scott

Finding the Central Theme

As an agent, one of the most frustrating things to face is reading a story that completely derails and heads in several different directions instead of the one established in the initial premise. In other words, what the author pitched is not what the story ends up being about. Now this issue is not so much about the plotters versus the pantsters, but more of the writer understanding what he or she wants to write about.

As you work on any story, you have several elements to keep in mind, and each of these come back to the same basics we all learned when we first were learning about literature: Character, setting, plot and theme. Obviously the author needs to make sure there is character consistency. The setting needs to me something clear to the reader. The plot needs to have forward motion and be organized. But, it is this last element, writer tend to miss. In the end, the writer is trying to deal with too many issues in too small of a space. As a result, the story becomes a jumbled mess.

When a writer starts a story, it is crucial the writer begins with a single theme to focus on. Yes, these can be abstract and literature sounding. Ideas can include things such as: How does a woman in today's culture deal with maintaing feminity in a corporate America? Or... How do characters that are so different find a way to maintain their individualism and yet become a couple?

Once this is established, the entire story has to continually focus back on this. The plot needs to work like a shephard guiding the characters through the wilds but always knowing the path leads to the corral at the end of the day, or for the characters, achieving that theme. The characters need to grow scene by scene, taking in what they learn and moving on. And most importantly, the plot needs to always stay on that path.

What I have seen lately are proposals that set up a great theme that makes me really want to read and yet when I open up the pages of the story, it never even addresses the theme. I am sure this is happening for a lot of you as you read this.

Your task this week is to edit. Go through the story and identify if the scenes you have inserted, the lot twists, subplots and complications actually support the theme. In most cases you will find that these elements simply are plot devices to link two scenes. Not necessary.

Your job is to create a streamlined story. We don't want it full of fluff. We don't want it full of mindless chatter. If it doesn't support your theme, it goes away!

Scott

There are no new stories - NOT

I always have to laugh when I hear comments like this from writers. It always follows when I have made some comment that editors and agents really want to see something new out there. We want unique. And then the comment shows up... "But Scott, there are no unique stories out there. Story tellers just use the same stories over and over again."

Nope, this is far from true. O.K. maybe I need to rephrase that. Good story tellers do not do that, but maybe a lot of writers do that and wonder why their career goes no where or simply dies out.

In reality, this idea stems from a concept in literature that we often call theme. It is the over-all lesson or idea that guides the plot and characters throughout the story. Writers love to return to specific themes in their works because they have a certain attraction to them as either readers or writers. You know these... The Cinderella story, The Horatio Alger Rags to Riches stories, Beauty and The Beast themes, Revenge... I almost said the list was endless but in this case, these deal with human emotions so it is not that endless. We will often find combinations of these story themes though which tends to increase the numbers.

But let me return to the mistake most writers often make. They believe the plots are limitless. This is in no way the case. We can come up with a ton of different plot lines that are unique and have characters and ideas that we haven't seen before. The themes may be the same but the stories are truly different. This is what gets us running after hot stories that we believe to be so unique.

Let me explain another way. The themes to the Twilight stories are the same we have seen time and time again in other teen level books. The twist is that Ms. Myers was finally able to do what people had struggled with for so long. She brought that paranormal vampire twist in. I should note that when we were in Dallas for the RWA Conference (the one with the Mary Kay conference going on), one editor that I respect a great deal was begging for a vampire teen book just like that. Hmmmmm, was Ms. Myers in the room? (another reason for listening to those spotlights).

So, work with theme. Don't just tell the same story over again. Please.

Do you have a Theme?

Time and time again, I see stories come across my desk that are full of plot but no direction. How can this be you ask? It all comes down to a theme (or lack thereof).

First of all, remember that I am a literature major. This means that I have spent countless hours reviewing and studying literature trying to understand the characters and the plots, but also the themes of books. What I have been seeing lately, however, are books with no theme. Apparently, writers lately believe that all you need is a great couple of characters, or a great plot line and you are off and running.

This is far from the truth. To find a story that has depth, you have to have a theme. In other words, what is it that you want the reader to get out of the book.

No, this does not mean that every story should have a moral. And no, I don't want to hear from all of you complaining that it is good to have a story that is there for just entertainment purposes. You can have that, but you still need to have an over-all theme that ties the whole thing together.

Now, once you establish that theme, it is up to you to build a story with realistic characters around it that have the single purpose of driving home that theme to the reader. So, what are those themes? They can be as simple as understanding loss, or learning independence. Even the Stephanie Myers books have themes to them (and no it isn't simply about teenage love). These books are about self discovery. They are about learning to grow and deal with differences.

Your homework now is to sit down and figure out exactly what you want the people reading your book to walk away with. Oh, and by the way, you can't just create this after the fact. You have to see it from the beginning and if it isn't there, you might want to reconsider this book before you send it off in my direction (or any agent for that matter).

Scott