Write Your Novel
Step by Step


By Melanie Anne Phillips
Creator of StoryWeaver

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For Story

Structure


Story Structure

Library


Videos on

Structure



For Story

Development


Writing

Tips

Library


Articles on Writing






Read the Science Fiction Thriller

From the founder of Storymind

Man Made follows a mysterious force as it sweeps around the globe erasing anything man made - from buildings, vehicles, and technology to medicines, clothing, and dental work.

Governments stagger under the panic, religions are at a loss for an explanation, scientists strive for any means to stop or divert the phenomenon, and the world’s population from families to individuals struggle to prepare for The Event, which will drive humanity back beyond the stone age.

The Event is coming.

Are you prepared?

Copyright Melanie Anne Phillips


Storymind

Free Writing Resources

~ Step 133 ~



Theme - Act One Beginning


Theme is intriguing because it is the most emotionally powerful part of your story, but also the least structured.  Previously, you have determined which aspects of your Thematic Topic, Message Issue, Counterpoint, and Main Character dilemma you wish to explore in acts one, two, and three.


Now it is time to get a bit more specific and divide each act's exploration of theme into Beginning, Middle, and End.


Act one is where you establish your theme.  It must be done clearly, but gently, so as not to appear to ham-handed.


Don't forget that the thematic message issue and the counterpoint should never appear together in the same scene or at the same dramatic moment.  If they do, it make your theme appear preachy as it seems you are telling your readers what to think, rather than letting them make their own decisions.


In this step, list the illustrations of your theme you developed for the first act that you wish to present in the beginning of act one to establish the method of development you selected from the three approaches (small to large, large to small, mixed).