Theme

Themes in fiction are something that tend to happen all by themselves. Theme in fiction isn’t the moral of the story; it is more like an outlook on life, or on the interaction of people, of culture.

The author may not be aware they are constructing a theme. The author’s preconceived ideas with how characters interact with each other and their environment add to theme. The choice of the hero’s background and outlook on life, of the challenges s/he faces, all add to theme. Usually, theme is something best identified after a story has already been written.

The theme of Inevitable is: No man is an island.

To me, theme is the lasting impression you want your book to have on the reader. My main character Samantha, is quite stubborn and determined to do things on her own, but no man is an island. We all need people from time to time.

Personally, I love strong heroines and read paranormal books fanatically, but the overly strong heroines refusing any help, and successfully defeating the bad guys on her own strikes me as a bit unrealistic. Granted, we're dealing with paranormal books, but the best fantasy incorporates reality to make it believable. I wanted to tell a story where the heroine is strong, but still needs others to help her on her path, whether she wants them to or not, she needs them. Part of her journey is learning to trust people. We all need people and some of the strongest people in the world know that. A true leader surrounds him or herself with people who are strong where they are weak. I wanted to show this in my book--that a hero can be strong and still have help. That is where the theme of Inevitable came from.

A few links to help you identify the theme in your work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_%28literature%29

http://homeworktips.about.com/od/writingabookreport/a/theme.htm?once=true

http://www.learner.org/interactives/literature/read/theme1.html