“Write about small, self-contained incidents that are still vivid in your memory. If you remember them, it's because they contain a larger truth that your readers will recognize in their own lives. Think small and you'll wind up finding the big themes in your family saga.” IfsThinkingWritingStillsSelfBigsRememberMemoriesWindReaderFindingsOur FamilyThemeVividIncidentsOur MemoriesSagaSelf Contained Book:Writing about Your Life: A Journey Into the Past Source: Writing about Your Life: A Journey Into the Past
“Many readers share their stories with me and if one speaks to me (or if the same theme keeps coming at me), I will research it and decide if it would make a good book. But, straight down to it, people inspire me.” PeopleIfsBookStoriesSpeakShareInspireReaderResearchThemeGood Book Author:Ellen Hopkins
“Southern writing is regional: it includes dialect, settings, and cultural traditions from that region. However the themes and story conflicts are universal. My challenge is to write regional fiction without falling into the trap of nostalgia. There are important issues facing the south that I believe should be raised in the stories to make them contemporary, believable, and relevant to today's readers.” ShouldWritingBelieveImportantStoriesTodayFallI BelieveChallengesFictionIssuesReaderConflictTraditionUniversalSouthRaisedNostalgiaSettingContemporarySettingsThemeRegionsSouthernRelevantTrapsBelievableDialectImportant Issues Author:Mary Alice Monroe
“The book is about zombies, in that it is the over-arching theme, but what's going on is the story of these people and how these survivors deal. I think that's so much more of an interesting story, and that's what really gets and hooks these readers into the book and the show. It's a mix of fans of drama, fans of AMC, fans of horror and fans of Frank [Darabont]. It's a lot of people just coming together and realizing a genre doesn't have to be fixed in one specific detail.” PeopleThinkingBookStoriesShowsTogetherRealizingInterestingDealsFansReaderDramaHorrorDetailsGenreFixedThemeSurvivorFrankHookZombieComing TogetherInteresting Stories Author:Steven Yeun
“It's better to emphasize biblical theology, partly because there are fine Study Bibles already available that lean into systematic theology, and partly because biblical theology is particularly strong at helping readers see how the Bible hangs together in its own categories: that is, God in his infinite wisdom chose to give us his Word in the 66 canonical books, with all of their variations in theme, emphasis, vocabulary, literary form, and distinctive contributions across time.” GivingBookHelpingTogetherFormStrongStudyFineReaderInfiniteAvailableTheologyThemeContributionCategoriesBiblicalVocabularyEmphasisVariationSystematicDistinctive Author:D. A. Carson
“It is hard for me to speak of themes. I like the reader to do that. Otherwise it feels like writing a 3rd grade essay on someone else's work.” FeelsWritingHardSpeakReaderThemeGradesEssays Author:Tim Winton
“A novel must work as a story because no one's going to get to the other themes if you don't entertain the reader. But I like to have another layer of meaning, although you can read the book on one level and not bother with that other layer.” IfsBookStoriesLevelsNovelReaderBotherThemeLayers Author:Robert Cormier
“Wherever my story takes me, however dark and difficult the theme, there is always some hope and redemption, not because readers like happy endings, but because I am an optimist at heart.” HeartStoriesDifficultDarkReaderRedemptionThemeTake MeOptimistHappy Endings Author:Michael Morpurgo
“Wherever my story takes me, however dark and difficult the theme, there is always some hope and redemption, not because readers like happy endings, but because I am an optimist at heart. I know the sun will rise in the morning, that there is a light at the end of every tunnel.” KnowsHeartEndsStoriesLightDifficultDarkMorningSunReaderRedemptionThemeTake MeOptimistHappy EndingsTunnels Author:Michael Morpurgo