Save the Cat! Writes a Novel

by Jessica Brody

And this is what I love about the Theme Stated. The hero often ignores it! So, there’s your flawed hero. They’re traipsing around the Act 1 world, being flawed, making stupid decisions, generally leading an imperfect life, and then someone (usually a secondary character) comes up to them and says, “You know what would really fix your life? This!” Your hero is essentially presented with the answer to all of their problems right there at the beginning of the book. But do they listen? Of course not! They completely, 100-percent ignore this person. Because at the start of the novel, your hero is resistant to change. They hear the theme stated and they go, “What the heck does he know? He doesn’t know me.” That’s why it’s often best to have the theme stated by a secondary character—a passerby, a fellow traveler on the bus, a nemesis—as opposed to someone close to your hero. This is by no means a hard-and-fast rule, but it’s easier for a reader to believe that the hero would ignore the theme if it’s stated by a stranger or someone the hero doesn’t necessarily know or trust.