Message, Moral, Meaning: The Theme by Chris Eboch

This essay is adapted from Advanced Plotting, available at Amazon (paperback or Kindle, free in KU) or Barnes & Noble (paperback).

Most writers focus on characters, plot, or both as they write. Setting may play a small or large role. But one element that is sometimes neglected is theme.

Writers shouldn’t “preach” in their fiction, of course. Readers generally want an entertaining story, not a lecture. But every work of fiction does include a theme. (Really. I’ve led workshops where we try to come up with an example that doesn’t, but if you think about it, everything seems to have some kind of theme. Even a simple haiku may have a theme about the beauty of nature, while a newspaper report might point out the dangers of our modern world.)

Yet many writers, even advanced ones, suffer from a thematic challenge: the theme may be unclear, perhaps even to the writer herself.

Author Holly Cupala says, “Throughout the writing of Tell Me A Secret, I would hit on something and think, This is the theme! Then a little later, No, this is the theme. It seems to be an evolving — or perhaps devolving — process, getting to the heart of the story, layer by layer. I even found an old blog of mine where I thought I’d hit on the theme and had the same experience — the chills, the thunderous weight of the moment you realize, ‘Wait, wait, wait. This is the theme.’ I think on some level I’ve been right every time, chipping away at the complex layers of what it means to write something as truthfully as possible.”

As this successful novelist shows, you don’t always have to know your theme before you start. Sometimes you may discover your message as you write the story. Or you may start with one idea in mind and change it as you go. You may even realize that you don’t quite believe your original theme — writing the story may help you explore new aspects of that idea, uncovering complexities and contradictions. This can result in a deeper, more meaningful story, so let that process unfold.

Uma Krishnaswami says, “I did not know the theme of Naming Maya until I was through the fifth draft. I never thought of it as theme, even then, because words like ‘theme’ that come from literary criticism rather than craft tend to shut me down. Instead I spent a lot of time asking myself, ‘What is this story really about? What does Maya long for?’ She thinks she wants her father back but that wasn’t the want that drove the book. I wrote myself fake jacket blurbs, trying to get at that elusive heart. By that time I was well into my sixth draft. The thematic through-line of identity emerged quite suddenly one day.”

She adds, “Truthfully, I am not sure that we should be thinking too much, too soon, about theme. It’s a fragile concept, and we need to allow it to come out of the subconscious mind, which is where the best writing takes place. In my opinion, when themes are planted in place too intentionally, stories come across as heavy-handed and with the author’s stamp far too clearly imprinted.”

Focusing too much on a specific theme at the beginning can result in stiff characters, a clunky plot, and that dreaded preachiness. But you should definitely know your theme before you finish your final draft. That way you can edit to make sure your story best supports your theme.

My World View

When trying to identify your theme, start big and then narrow your focus. Can you define your theme in one word? Is it about love, hope, courage, sacrifice? Once you’ve identified that word, try to state your theme as a single, clear sentence. What do you want to say about that word? For example, if your novel is about sacrifice, what about it? Is your character making sacrifices for her own future, for a loved one, for her country, for an ideal? What does she have to sacrifice? Narrowing in on the specifics can help you pinpoint your theme.

Once you’ve clarified your theme, work backward. Does your novel truly support it? Maybe you’ve decided that your theme is “The greater good is more important than the individual’s desire.” In that case, your main character should be giving up a desire in order to help a larger group. But perhaps you liked your character so much that you ended with her helping the group and getting what she wanted as well. That weakens your message, and suggests a different theme, “Good will be rewarded.” You might want to reconsider your ending.

Try to envision all the different messages someone could get from your story. I’ve read several unpublished children’s stories about young animal characters who are ostracized because of some physical flaw. Then something happens that requires their particular abilities. These writers are trying to say that everyone has special qualities or that a perceived flaw can turn out to be a strength. But on the other hand, these stories could suggest that you won’t be accepted unless you prove yourself through heroic action. That might encourage kids to look for ways to show off, rather than to accept themselves as they are.

Having readers miss your intended theme can become a big problem, if they are seeing messages that go against your beliefs. Find a few people to read your story — ideally people among your target audience — and ask them what message they take away. Make sure their response is in line with your ideals.

Don’t expect your readers to pick out your theme exactly, however. If they do, you’re probably not being subtle enough. Just make sure they find a valuable message. In my Mayan historical adventure, The Well of Sacrifice, I knew my main theme: make your own decisions and stand on your own. My heroine, Eveningstar, learns that she can’t depend on her heroic older brother, her parents, the government, or religion to solve the city’s problems. When they all fail her, she has to act by herself.

One young reader wrote me and said, “The book…helped me think to never give up, even in the worst of times, just like what happened to Eveningstar.” I’m happy to inspire a reader to “never give up,” even if that wasn’t my main theme. And perhaps readers will be subtly influenced by my primary message, even if they don’t recognize it while reading.

Too Many Messages?

For younger readers and short stories, you need to keep the theme simple. The longer the story or novel, and the older the reader, the more complex you can be. At first a book may appear to be a humorous romance, but as the story unfolds, it may reveal a theme about honesty in relationships.

Your theme doesn’t have to be obvious from your first paragraph, and probably shouldn’t be. In fact, the theme may only be clear from the final twist in the story. The theme can be revealed through what the main character learns, how she changes, what she gains or loses. In my mystery in ancient Egypt, The Eyes of Pharaoh, the main character initially wants to win a dance contest. When a friend disappears, she must choose between preparing for the contest or searching for her friend. The decision she makes, and its repercussions, reveal the theme in the last chapter of the book.

As part of your revisions (or in the planning stage, if you are really organized), work on your character in order to set up your theme. Use her virtues and vices. How will her strengths help her? What weaknesses does she have to overcome? Make sure these tie into the theme. If your character must learn about honesty, make sure that it will be possible but difficult for her. Maybe she craves intimacy but is afraid no one will like her if she shows her true self.

For longer works, think about how you can use other characters or subplots to support or expand on your theme. Maybe your main character learns to be honest in her relationships, and so develops a loving connection with her boyfriend. In contrast, her friend might keep lying in order to make a good impression, and get dumped or wind up with a shallow, dissatisfying relationship. A subplot with the main character’s divorced parents could explore the theme in yet another way.

Although you should be able to clearly identify a single main theme, you may have additional themes. Holly Cupala says, “The theme I seem to be writing is that you can’t find yourself in other people. It’s very much there in Tell Me A Secret as well as Don’t Breathe a Word. Then there are the peripheral themes — looking to the past for meaning versus looking to the future for purpose, wanting to be loved for who you are, trading blame for hope.”

Multiple themes can give a novel extra depth and power. However, don’t let your story get cluttered with too many themes, especially wildly different ones. If you try to share everything you believe about life in one story, it will just feel cluttered and confusing. Focus on one primary theme, and save the others for different works.

Do you think about theme in your writing? At what stage?

Advanced Plotting is designed for the intermediate and advanced writer: you’ve finished a few manuscripts, read books and articles on writing, taken some classes, attended conferences. But you still struggle with plot, or suspect that your plotting needs work.

This really is helping me a lot. It's written beautifully and to-the-point. The essays really help you zero in on your own problems in your manuscript. The Plot Outline Exercise is a great tool!

I just read and—dissected—your well written  book: Advanced Plotting. It's now highlighted in bright orange and littered with many of those little 3M sticky labels.  GOOD JOB. There are too many just-for-beginners books out there. Yours was a delight.

Advanced Plotting is helping me to be more focused, to stop and ask the right questions, to dig deeper.

Advanced Plotting is available at Amazon (paperback or Kindle, free in KU) or Barnes & Noble (paperback).

Chris Eboch is the author of over 40 books for children, including nonfiction and fiction, early reader through teen. Her novels for ages nine and up include The Eyes of Pharaoh, a mystery in ancient Egypt; The Well of Sacrifice, a Mayan adventure; The Genie’s Gift, a middle eastern fantasy; and the Haunted series, about kids who travel with a ghost hunter TV show, which starts with The Ghost on the Stairs. Her writing craft books include You Can Write for Children: How to Write Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers, and Advanced Plotting.

Learn more at https://chriseboch.com/ or her Amazon page, or check out her writing tips at her Write Like a Pro! blog.

The Allure of Arthur by Dianne K. Salerni

It’s EIGHT days until the release of The Morrigan’s Curse, the third book in my Eighth Day series, described by Kirkus as “an exciting blend of Arthurian legend and organized crime.” In honor of this release, today I'm highlighting King Arthur as an icon in middle grade fiction.

Why King Arthur? Why does he hold such long-lasting allure? One of the best places to look for an answer is with author Jane Yolen, who has written numerous Arthurian based children’s literature ranging from picture books, through middle grade, and up to young adult. In an interview at the back of her YA novel, Sword of the Rightful King, Yolen calls herself an Arthurholic and says, “Quite simply, I think it is the greatest story ever told, or more accurately, the greatest collection of stories ever told.”

Professor Sarah Peverley, medievalist and book historian, explains it further: “Arthur is a touchstone for strong leadership and accord, showing what society could achieve, but never does.” Children, with their natural affinity for justice, are drawn to Arthur because he is honest, honorable, and good-hearted. In Arthur’s kingdom, the strong and powerful dedicate themselves to protecting the weak and powerless. What an inspiring change from today’s society in which even children know that the strong and powerful mostly take care of themselves!

Revisit Arthur, Merlin, the Knights of the Round Table, and Camelot in some of these middle grade works:

The Invisible Tower by Nils Johnson-Shelton – Artie Kingfisher’s favorite video game comes to life when Artie learns that he’s King Arthur reborn and that, along with his sister Kay, he must save the realm of Otherworld. (Goodreads)

Passager by Jane Yolen – In this first book of her Young Merlin trilogy, Yolen explores the childhood of Merlin as an abandoned, feral boy who is taken in by a falconer and re-taught the ways of humans. (Goodreads)

The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper – Drawing on Arthurian legend and Celtic mythology, this five-book series relates the adventures of 20^th century children who join an eternal battle between Light and Dark. (Goodreads)

King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green – An excellent choice for middle grade readers wanting to explore the original legends.  (Goodreads)

The Squire Tales by Gerald Morris – A series of ten novels that start out following the lively and humorous adventures of Sir Gawaine’s squire, Terrance, then branch into an exploration of other characters, many of whom are drawn from obscure mentions in Arthurian literature. (Goodreads)

The Camelot Code by Mari Mancusi – A magical line of game code accidentally brings a young Arthur into the present day world. When he Googles himself and learns his fate, he decides he’d rather play football than be king. (Goodreads)

The Eighth Day by Dianne K. Salerni – A boy discovers a secret day of the week hidden between Wednesday and Thursday that originates from a 1500-year-old spell cast by Merlin to contain the enemy Kin race. (Goodreads)

And if you’re looking for a King Arthur worth swooning over, try this MG-friendly Young Adult novel:

Sword of the Rightful King by Jane Yolen – What if someone other than Arthur pulled the sword out of the stone? Merlin’s plan to bolster the newly crowned Arthur backfires. (Goodreads)

To Believe or Not to Believe: A Guest Post by Krystalyn Drown

TRACY TAM: SANTA COMMAND is about a ten-year old’s search for the truth about Santa, but tackling the legend of Santa Claus can be tough when writing for middle grade readers. Among those eight to twelve-year-olds, there are a wide variety of beliefs and experiences. Some look to the skies every December 24^th to see if they can spot a flying sleigh while others, for whom the magic has faded, only look for stars. How could I write about Santa without ruining the magic for some and eliciting eye rolls from the others? The answer was to take on the idea of magic itself.

From the very first draft, Tracy never doubts the existence of Santa. She knows that he is real, but she doesn’t believe he has magic. Her scientific brain doesn’t have room for flying reindeer or sliding down chimneys. She believes in jet engines and DNA samples. Her goal is never to disprove Santa. Instead, she wants to create a science project showing that he uses science instead of magic to make his deliveries.

With Tracy’s goal in place, the question then became, “Why would a smart, savvy ten-year-old believe in Santa in the first place?” To answer that, I had to set the novel in a slightly different world than ours. In Tracy’s world, Santa Claus absolutely 100% exists. Throughout the novel, there are little clues that show this.

Krystalyn Drown

Santa has his very own advertising agency, the Santa Commission.

It wasn’t until (Tracy) saw a magazine ad from the Santa Commission that she had her project. It reminded kids to have their lists in no later than November 20^th so Santa’s elves had time to organize.

Adults in Tracy’s world also believe in Santa. In this excerpt, Tracy’s parents hear a noise in the hallway.

“It’s probably Santa.” It was her father’s voice this time. “He usually comes about now.”

“Yeah,” her mother said. “I bet you’re right. I hope he brings her that microscope Tracy’s been asking for. I couldn’t find it online.”

“Mm,” her father said. “Go back to sleep. We’ll see in the morning.”

Once the belief system had been established, I wanted to toy with it a little bit. What if Tracy was right? What if Santa does have help from science? What if Santa isn’t who everyone thinks he is? When Tracy arrives at Santa Command, she finds computers, holograms, and … a magical portal to the North Pole?

Yes, even in a world ruled by science, there is still room for the magic of Santa Claus. And this is where Tracy’s world is much like ours. Santa doesn’t exist to deliver presents. That is just one of the benefits. Santa, and his legacy, are there to inspire kindness, hope, and the joy of giving to others. You don’t need to see a flying sleigh to believe in that type of magic.

To Tracy, magic means disappearing from one place and reappearing in another. She soon learns that magic has many other definitions. What does magic mean to you and where have you seen it in our world?

Considering Common Themes in Middle-Grade Books

So there I was, reclining in my favorite recliner, kicked back, drinking coconut milk straight of the coconut while my rare albino lemur purred gently from her perch on my shoulder. 

My ten-year-old strode right up to me and he was like: Dad...
And I said: Yes? 
And he said: I finished that book you gave me.
And I was like: Well? Did you like it?
And he was like: I did. The characters rocked. I liked Benjamin Winklesauce the best. He was pretty funny.
I laughed. My rare albino lemur laughed. And then my son said: But I really enjoyed the theme of the story.
I sat right up, he had my attention.
"Go on," I said.
"Yeah," he said, "the characters never gave up, even when things were super hard."
"So what was the theme? What was that story about?" I took a nice long sip of coconut milk, right out my crazy straw. 
"Perseverance, Dad."
I spit coconut milk all over him. All over the wall. All over my rare albino lemur. He'd nailed it. He'd boiled down the story to one word, to the driving theme, to that question writers get asked all the time: what's your story about?

LOYALTY

And while our stories have more elaborate pitches, or layers, involved, they are often just components of the theme that sits at the heart of our story. Boil it down...WHAT is your story about?

Now, while my son is very smart (straight A student, EXCEL program...yes, I'm bragging), turns out he was cheating. Kind of. ;) In his reading/writing class, the students were learning about common themes in books. They were even given a handout. And, since we're in the business of writing FOR middle-grade readers, I thought I'd share with you those themes our audience is learning about and receptive to. While we should never resort to becoming didactic, it IS important to understand WHAT you are writing about.

In fact, author David G. Allen says it best: "For me, not knowing your theme until you're finished is like using a scalpel to turn a kangaroo into Miss Universe - there will be a lot of deep cuts, and there's a high chance it won't work."

So, here are the themes from the handout:

• Acceptance  - "These books have characters who respect & accept others' differences and beliefs."
• Courage - "These books have brave characters who have the strength to overcome a fear or accept a risk."
• Perseverance - "These books have characters who never give up, even when facing difficult times."
• Cooperation - "These books have characters who work together to solve a problem or achieve a goal."
• Compassion - "These books have characters who want to make those who are suffering feel better."
• Honesty - "These books have characters who find that it is best to always tell the truth."
• Kindness - "These books have friendly characters who are generous and considerate of others."
• Loyalty - "These books have characters who trust each other and never turn their backs on their friends."

COURAGE

So, what do you think? Are there any themes missing? Anything to add to this list? I think Love is missing (yes, even for middle-grade...maybe especially for middle-grade; discovering young love). What else? And what's YOUR story about? Can you boil it down to a theme? Can you think what that milk-sopped ten-year-old boy might say about YOUR book?

 Let's hear what you have to say. Don't be shy...I'm out of coconut milk. You're safe.

It's Old, and it's New

Tomorrow I start a ten day period where I will be living in the home I grew up in, and with some of the people I grew up with—my mom and dad. My dad just had a kidney removed, he’s 85 years old, and will take some time to recover. I’m traveling to Indiana help with his recovery.

Life is a mixing of the familiar with the new. The oak tree in our backyard still stands, but the cottonwood, honey locust, and weeping willow (the one I used to climb as a kid) are all long gone.

In the living room my mom’s piano, which she’s had for almost 60 years, occupies one wall. When their grandsons come over sometimes they use sheet music on an Ipad while playing.

With the exception of two, the other houses on my parents’ street have changed owners several times. Most of the backyards which used to provide short cuts have all been fenced in but I can still remember taking them.

In our stories we’ve got a couple hundred pages to create a meaningful and engaging, and hopefully page-turning, arc of growth. It doesn’t matter whether your story takes place over 24 hours or 24 months or 24 years. You take a life-cycle and you sort of compress it and expand it at the same time. You take an old theme, because there are no new ones, and shine a light on it from your experience and you see something new.

It’s old, and it’s new.