Interesting... I've been working my way through, 'On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft' by Stephen King, where he suggests ignoring the question of theme until your first draft is done. Then would be the time to see if the seeds of a theme are present - and worth developing - or not. If a theme isn't readily apparent, then leave it to the reader to glean whatever they will from the narrative. I don't know that I agree, but it's given me something to think about.
Readers are going to see what they want to see in a story, so if you don't need a theme to help you with the writing, I'm all for leaving it be. Everyone works a bit differently! I love it.
Stephen King is the most successful pantser, though. I personally find only some of his advice readily reproducible. IMHO, for an amateur like me, having a "theme" helps me make sure that the character cast is coherent. It also helps avoid including "cool" elements that might not necessarily belong in the novel.
Interesting... I've been working my way through, 'On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft' by Stephen King, where he suggests ignoring the question of theme until your first draft is done. Then would be the time to see if the seeds of a theme are present - and worth developing - or not. If a theme isn't readily apparent, then leave it to the reader to glean whatever they will from the narrative. I don't know that I agree, but it's given me something to think about.
Readers are going to see what they want to see in a story, so if you don't need a theme to help you with the writing, I'm all for leaving it be. Everyone works a bit differently! I love it.
Stephen King is the most successful pantser, though. I personally find only some of his advice readily reproducible. IMHO, for an amateur like me, having a "theme" helps me make sure that the character cast is coherent. It also helps avoid including "cool" elements that might not necessarily belong in the novel.
Makes sense. I'm glad you've found something that works for you!@@vitalysikorskiy5938