An unusual topic and one quite difficult to understand. It has enlightened me for my fiction writing. It should do the same for many others finding themselves puzzled by what theme actually is.
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I highly recommend this book. Craft of writing books sometimes discount a conscious approach to theme, I've found. This was inspiring.
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This book gives an excellent grounding and all you need to know on the importance of illustrating what your stories it’s really about i.e. the theme. Highly recommended to read and study before you attempt to write your first novel. There is a lot of technical and theoretical principles to grasp, but the author does manage to simplify it so it is easily understood. However, you do need to study it properly. The only fault I would say it’s the author should note principal bullet points at the end of each chapter which would greatly enhance remembering the facts.
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I'm a huge fan of KM Weiland's work in general and have read all her previous books on writing theory. This new book offers a different slant by focusing on theme rather than character or plot structure although the three are intrinsically linked and these links are explored in the book. This is another fantastic book for aspiring and published writers alike and I highly recommend both picking up Weiland's books on writing theory and checking out her "helping writers become authors" podcast which is available for free.
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Writing Your Story's Theme: The Writer's Guide to Plotting Stories That Matter: 9 (Helping Writers Become Authors) was the first book I've read about working on theme, and I found it beneficial. Theme isn't something I'd given a lot of thought to in my writing historically, being the pantser of all pantsers but having read the book, I see how it can be valuable. The book covers theme in-depth and how it relates to the other vital pieces of story plot and character. The theory is well explained and helpful, but what is great about this book is how the author ties everything back to examples from books or movies to reinforce the lesson. Like everything in writing, take it with a pinch of salt. When writing, the only thing that you need to do is what works for you. However, some great points here are worth at least surfacing for consideration. I'd be interested to see what other nuggets I can pick out of the rest of the author's books.
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what I learned I could have learned in two sides of A4. it was also surprisingly short. I wouldn't have minded if it was under kindle unlimited for costed at £0.99 or less, but this was no way worth almost £4.00
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If you are gathering information on how to write anything such a screenwriting or a book, this book will make a difference. It brings a lot of information covering every aspect on every genres. Greetings from Brazil 😀
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Her writing sets off the mind in too many, erratic directions. I've had my ADD under check but this book has challenged me in more ways than one. I wish I had found It much sooner! I will be reading the book a few more times to get true value hidden in such simply written lines... Thank you for writing this!
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Whereas Katie's "Structuring your Novel" and "Creating Character Arcs" serve as an introductory foundation, this book takes all of the concepts previous taught to a much deeper level by teaching you how to ensure all story elements binds together. For any new writers that have a gut feeling about something's amiss in their story, give this book a read. You'll be suprised to discover how important various aspects of theme plays on evey element of the story. Your story will be much more cohesive if you can apply the concepts taught in this book.
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In the interests of full disclosure, I received an early copy of this book to allow me to review it. It was so useful, I went ahead and bought the Kindle edition when it became available. One of the things that I find most attractive about Katie's books is that they are a wonderful mixture of the theoretical and the practical. She will explain the theoretical aspects of an aspect of the writing craft in sufficient detail that even the most inept of aspiring writers can figure it out. A lot of those who write about craft can do that. What distinguishes Katie's books is that she will add practical examples. I read these and often say, "Ah Ha! So that is what I have to do to master." Of course, it takes more than one (or even a few) readings of the material to be able to apply the new knowledge to one's current work in progress. This book covers one of the most difficult concepts of writing: the theme of the work. Theme is perhaps the most important part of the story: why does this story exist? I read a lot and more than a few of these stories fall into what a category I call, "travelogues through a strange and unfamiliar land". The journey may well be interesting and even enjoyable but it lacks purpose and meaning. The characters are largely unchanged, the resolution of the plot resolves nothing, and, a short time later, the story fades from memory. A story with a solid theme digs into the reader and refuses to let go. Even if the story is uncomfortable to read, it stays with the reader, challenging and perhaps enhancing the reader's understanding of the world. These are the stories that demand to be re-read and then re-read again. This book is straightforward handbook on how to get closer to writing stories that have a fighting chance to be more than travelogues. Hemingway wrote on the craft of writing, "Writing is something that you can never do as well as it can be done." And somewhere else he mused that no matter how much you had learned about writing, there was always more to learn. Read this book, try to apply the insights, rinse, repeat.
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Until now I only read a quarter of the book and often didn’t really understand how to apply the suggested ideas (strip the story to the bone?), but I feel that it already gave me so much inspiration and let me see flaws in my story with themes I didn’t want to show and just by tweaking those aspects made my work in progress so much better so I’m very thankful and very hopeful in what‘s yet to come. I think I already profited a great deal, a lot more than from most of the other books I read on writing and plotting and characters. Thank you!!
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