Tuesday's Tidbits

I finished my copyedits yesterday for RENEGADE WIFE and while reading through I discovered that I had 2 running themes in the story. Now, usually an author finds it hard getting one theme out of their story, but I seem to have two. And if you ask me to explain theme, I'd have to hesitate and pause and think, what exactly is "theme?". Well, to me it seems to be an underlying running thread in the story that takes you all the way through. It's not something I consciously do -- it's part of how I write. All good books MUST have a theme. I remember when a bestselling author gave a workshop about Theme -- and it's true. As she says, if you don't really know what your book is about, "theme-wise", then you haven't done your job.

Does that make sense?

And if you really think about all the good books you've read recently, haven't they all had one underlying running thread that tied the book together. Whether it be faith, truth, deception, redemption ... all of those things can play into the theme of the book. And any rate, theme is really hard to describe, but you'll find it when you read from your favorite authors. If you look hard enough. But that's the thing with theme - you don't have to consciously recognize it and say "Oh, so that's the theme", but it has to be there, the undercarriage of the story, whether the reader is aware or not. It makes all the difference.

Now, have I confused anyone?