Theme

Theme is the larger, deeper meaning of a story, the part that underlies (or transcends) the literal plot. Interestingly, I don't have much luck starting with a theme and building a story around it; the "lesson" seems to stick out like a horse pill in a scoop of ice cream. ("What is THIS?" one can imagine the reader saying, spitting out said pill.) For me, theme evolves naturally from the choices the character makes, and those choices evolve naturally from his starting characteristics and the ...