Implementing Theme

Story Engineering, by Larry Brooks, offers six core competencies of a great story. In my last post, I started discussing theme. I’d like to finish it off now and move on. Like I’ve said before, theme is difficult for me to understand, so I’m going… Continue reading →

Defining Theme

Larry Brooks’s book, Story Engineering, offers six core competencies of a great story. I’ve covered the first two (concept and character). In my last post, I said my next post was going to be more about character. I’ve changed my mind. I’m skippin… Continue reading →

Six Core Competencies

Larry Brooks at Storyfix.com ran a holiday special last December that I took advantage of, and I thought I’d share (over the course of the next umpteen posts) some of the details I learned from him and his book. I’ll talk more later about what I l… Continue reading →

Finding Your Theme

Randy Ingermanson’s book, Writing Fiction For Dummies, has an excellent chapter on Theme. My favorite part was the section of twenty examples. Seeing a theme statement in the book is much easier than trying to envision one myself. I offered some o… Continue reading →

Randy Ingermanson Knows Theme

I’m eight posts into my study on theme. I’ve grasped the concept of what theme is. I cannot, yet, identify theme easily in other’s works (or my own), but I understand the concept. I’ve studied writing books by Larry Brooks, James Scott Bell, and D… Continue reading →

Theme Through Symbol

I’m examining the chapter on Theme from Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass. He starts the chapter with a definition of theme, then gives a quick overview of how to build theme into your story. Then he breaks off into a discussion on symbol… Continue reading →

Donald Maass Weighs In On Theme

I’m still studying theme. If you’re bored, just remember that this is probably good for you. If you totally understand theme and can’t figure out why I’m struggling, give me a call and straighten me out. But until the phone rings, I’m forging ahea… Continue reading →

What Does James Scott Bell Have To Say About Theme?

I’ve been studying a book by Larry Brooks called Story Engineering: Mastering the Six Core Competencies of Successful Writing. When I got to the chapter on theme, I found my eyes glazing over as I read. I didn’t get it. Theme isn’t tangible, like … Continue reading →

The Theme Continuum

In his book Story Engineering: Mastering the Six Core Competencies of Successful Writing, Larry Brooks attempts to teach writers how to build theme into stories to make them successful and profitable. He asks us to picture a line in the form of a … Continue reading →

Implementing Theme

Larry Brooks, in his book Story Engineering: Mastering the Six Core Competencies of Successful Writing, attempted to teach me about theme. Thankfully, building a theme into my story is a skill that can be taught. Unfortunately, I’m a slow learner … Continue reading →