The River of Story Always Flows Forward

By Dinty W. Moore

I have always recoiled at the idea that stories are written with a theme. The word “theme” seems retroactive, something awarded to the writer by an English professor somewhere, not an essential part of the writing process. Even more troubling to me as a teacher is when students say, “The meaning the author wants us to grasp is ….” — as if a story, poem, or memoir is simply a puzzle to be solved.

The word that works for me when discussing the greater, richer aspects of...