Theme, Anyone?

One of the things I haven’t done yet in this book is to identify the overall theme. Until I identify that, I’m going to flounder. I always do. Finding the theme is part of the delight in writing—all of a sudden things start to gel and I know where I’m going. (Usually around P. 100)

So what is the theme for this book? I know the setting: a small village in Northern France during WWI. I know the main character: a woman who is blessed with an authentic, unshakable faith. And I know during the course of my plot the villagers will misplace their own faith—from God to my heroine. Will there be a reflection of Joan of Arc here? I recently read she was popular around the turn of that century, as the movement to make her a saint was in full force. Hmm…

What about the hero realizing he’s put his faith in the wrong place, too—like in himself, for example? And he loses even his misplaced faith because here he is, in hiding since he’s caught behind the German line before reaching home to enlist. He likes the idea of fighting for his country the way other men his age are doing, but after seeing first hand what a battle really looks like he begins to doubt the whole glory thing. Still, observing bravery in others is a hard contrast while he’s forced to sit out. An easy scenario to lose faith in himself. Maybe all he’ll be left with is faith in something bigger. Like a Creator.

What about the greater picture? WWI was one of those horrid wars in history (are there any other kind?). How did people misplace their faith in more general terms at that time? In Europe, had they been depending on their leaders—most of whom were related, one way or another?

Hey…I think I’m seeing a theme here. Hmmm…. Misplaced faith…

It could work. Let me ponder that a while.

As you can see, defining the theme that’s naturally developing within a story comes from looking at the project from almost a bird’s eye view, seeing the bigger picture rather than specific plot points. It can be intertwined within goals and motivations and obstacles and reactions to those obstacles, revealed in an overall sense that might apply in more than one way to the story or to more than one character. What’s reflected in the story? What will a reader take away, even subtly?

Knowing what my theme is helps me to stay on track, not to take those tempting rabbit trails our most interesting characters might invite us to follow. For a seat-of-the-pants writer, this comes in handy. Throughout the course of writing this project, I’ll come back to my understanding of its theme and see if I’m still connected.

One more thing before I close for today. This morning I drew the name of the contest winner for one of my free books. Congratulations to Virginia Smith! I’ll be contacting her this morning to ask which book she’s chosen and announce her choice on the comment section later today.

Thanks to everyone who left a comment—and don’t despair if you didn’t win this time. I plan to start another contest on Monday, September 1st. So keep checking back!