janedoe0018
Dreamer
TLDR: How important is it to have the theme of your plot (and subplots) nailed down prior to writing?
As I have started down this path to write my first novel I’ve heard a lot of good advice when it comes to the importance of an overarching theme. Most will say having a theme is important, obviously, but do you need to know what it is before you start writing?
Some of the people on the internet that I follow for writing advice will claim that understanding the theme, the why of your story, is a critical step that should happen early on. They say that it helps you craft a story in a way that feels consistent, and that you will be less likely to go off into unnecessary tangents unrelated to the why of your story.
Now to be clear, I don’t disagree with this advice, I simply have an exceptionally hard time implementing it. Being very green in the writing sphere, these words may come back to haunt me, but as my writing process stands right now I am keen on coming up with general plot points and just pantsing the rest, theme be damned. It is most natural for me to focus on writing in a way that feels good both to get onto paper and to read back, and I’m trusting that this process will lead me to a story that has a recognizable message. Placing any kind of non-critical limitation on my ability to write freely earns me a quick ticket to overthinking.
How do you all approach themes in your writing? Is it something you define in outlining or is it more of an exploratory process?
As I have started down this path to write my first novel I’ve heard a lot of good advice when it comes to the importance of an overarching theme. Most will say having a theme is important, obviously, but do you need to know what it is before you start writing?
Some of the people on the internet that I follow for writing advice will claim that understanding the theme, the why of your story, is a critical step that should happen early on. They say that it helps you craft a story in a way that feels consistent, and that you will be less likely to go off into unnecessary tangents unrelated to the why of your story.
Now to be clear, I don’t disagree with this advice, I simply have an exceptionally hard time implementing it. Being very green in the writing sphere, these words may come back to haunt me, but as my writing process stands right now I am keen on coming up with general plot points and just pantsing the rest, theme be damned. It is most natural for me to focus on writing in a way that feels good both to get onto paper and to read back, and I’m trusting that this process will lead me to a story that has a recognizable message. Placing any kind of non-critical limitation on my ability to write freely earns me a quick ticket to overthinking.
How do you all approach themes in your writing? Is it something you define in outlining or is it more of an exploratory process?