do authors think up the theme first?

[cameron333]

Hello.

So I have been wondering, is there anyone here that thinks up the theme of their story and then thinks up the storyline based on that theme?

It just seems to me as, if you write a story just from something that you see or think is fun and rely on themes coming out themselves, that the book will be too jumpy or something. I dont know.

Thanks in advance.

[LauraH]

I usually let a story fester inside of me until I have a whole bunch of scenes coming out of everywhere.

I will come up with the ending first, usually- maybe a life lesson that I need to address. Then, I work on the beginning and the building of the characters... and then fill in the middle. Sometimes the ending changes slightly than what I originally thought of, but it stays within the same IDEA.

[The Mythwriter]

That's certainly one way to go about it. I personally just try to tell a story and impart to it themes I think important and relevant to both our world and that world along the way. It does come out a bit jumpy, but editing is mandatory anyway and usually smooths it out just fine.

[Moore]

I think it's a kind of more difficult process. You think about the theme of the story. Then you start writing and modify your theme. After finishing you understand that you need to improve the article. You start thinking about more details or even another theme...

[SoggyPeanutPatrol]

If you start with a theme, and then write a story over it, it's not really a story. Its evidence for your theme. Stories don't have theses, they have plots. A theme is something that just is. It comes out of you because you're the writer and you're writing. A theme is a subtext, not a guiding principle for your writing. Don't pay any attention to themes. If you're a real, live, interesting human being and a good writer, your story will have a theme, whether you like it or not.

Here's Flannery O'Connor: "A story is a way to say something that can’t be said any other way, and it takes every word in the story to say what the meaning is."

I like this very similar quote from Isadora Duncan, famous ballet dancer: "If I could say it, I wouldn't have to dance it." (I'm not sure of the exact wording, I found a few versions)

[alimena]

I don't think so.
The theme just come by itself as you are writing.
If you choose a theme first then you will have many limits to write and the story won't look natural in any way.

[AdamWest]

I think sometimes they do

[jamilamosi]

I usually get an idea, and write a synopsis of the story I want to write before I start writing, or I write the story, and write down the names and everything so I can just get everything outlined while I'm writing. I think most authors create background stories for the characters and all that stuff...like i do...so we can havea better idea and stay on track while reading the book and you dont get a book that is totally flip flop and all over the place with a characters whose life does not make any sense. LOl

[Oapinie]

Aiseesoft DVD Ripper help you to rip your home-made DVDs, DVD Movies to all popular video formats, and works pergectly with all portable media players.

1. Rip DVDs to MP4, H.264, AVI, MP3, WMV, WMA, FLV, MKV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, 3GP, 3GPP, VOB, DivX, Mov, RM, RMVB, M4A, AAC, WAV, etc

2. Work perfectly with PSP, iPod Classic, iPod Touch, iPod Nano, iPhone (3G), iPhone, Zune, Zune 2, Blackberry, Nokia, Creative Zen, Sony Walkman, iRiver PMP, Archos, PS3, Apple TV, Xbox, iPAQ, Pocket PC, Mobile Phone

3. Provide the fastest conversion speed (>300%), completely support dual core CPU.

4. Do trim, crop, merge and extract audio file from DVD movies.

Aiseesoft Total Video Converter help you to convert all your videos from internet, camera and so on to the right video format you want.

1. Convert MP4, H.264, AVI, MP3, WMV, WMA, FLV, MKV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, 3GP, 3GPP, VOB, DivX, Mov, RM, RMVB, M4A, AAC, WAV

2. Work perfectly with PSP, iPod Classic, iPod Touch, iPod Nano, iPhone (3G), iPhone, Zune, Zune 2, Blackberry, Nokia, Creative Zen, Sony Walkman, iRiver PMP, Archos, PS3, Apple TV, Xbox, iPAQ, Pocket PC, Mobile Phone

3. Provide the fastest conversion speed (>300%), completely support dual core CPU

[ResearchScholar]

Having a broad theme is a starting point. Then conceptualising the them into separate ideas that relate well to each other is the next step.

[Perrywinkle47]

I would say topic is an after-story. The idea comes first and then it expands and then in the end you come up with the relevant topic.

[StonesQuest]

I like to come up with the character and let them tell me where we are going. My protagonist was a powerful white Stones that influences people's lives. Is it good or evil? That is what the reader needs to figure out. Now, if that is a theme, I do not know. The four Stones make up one character and I had them take me on a ride that was really fun for me to write.

[Perrywinkle47]

Yeah that's more professional I suppose..