All right, class. Who can define THEME?

In high school and college creative writing classes, I had no trouble with definitions of theme. When I write, however, I find myself concentrating more on character and plot in the first drafts. Theme comes later, and is more often discovered unconsciously rather than imposed as I write.

For the past weeks I have been focused on a revision of a book I have been writing for years. It's a work of historical fiction that I began when I did not have all the skills I needed to make the book come alive. So bit by bit, I continue to work on my craft and apply what I have learned to this work. This time, I've been using Martha Alderson's BLOCKBUSTER PLOT DVD. Alderson says much that is familiar to me, but her Plot Planner and Scene Tracker tools make sense for what I need to accomplish in this revision. So I have put my manuscript under the editing microscope, created charts, and in general, I am rethinking this book with more emphasis on how to layer its theme throughout the book.

Alderson shares information that has been said many times in many ways, but her approach is just what I need right now. I am methodically going through this book scene by scene. I prefer first draft writing to revision but following Alderson's process feels like doing archeological excavation. I'm discovering multiple layers in theme, scene by scene.

Now I'm going back to hole up with my charts to motor my way through this revision. Seeing this novel spread out scene by scene is like sitting down with a longtime, cherished friend. I look forward to our time together.