Discovering the Theme of the Novel

Your first job as a reader is to enjoy the story as a story. But noticing a theme as it weaves through the tale enriches your reading experience. It’s one way to rise to a higher level of reading. As you seek out theme in the novels you read, notice that the author rarely comes right out and tells you what it is. Theme is often one of the puzzle parts of the novel. You solve the puzzle with that “aha” moment of discovery. “This book is all about forgiveness.”

How do writer’s decide on a theme? Some authors start with a theme in mind. Others discover it the same way you do. As they write the novel, they begin to see recurring elements that in the end point to a certain theme. When this happens, the author will go back in the editing process and rework the story to bring out the theme more. A strong theme enriches the story, makes for a more interesting plot, and gives the reader a more satisfying story experience.

Have you had a chance to read my new horror thriller, Hags. You may read a healthy chunk of Hags free by clicking on the book cover icon after you click over to the Kindle version on Amazon. Available for your Kindle reader by clicking here.  The paperback version is available by clicking here.

Don’t have a Kindle reader? Download the free version for your computer, tablet or smart phone from Amazon by clicking here.

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Is the Location Appropriate to the Story?

You’re reading a fast-paced action novel when you find a disconnect with the scene you are currently reading and the action that came before it. There can be a lot of reasons for this. One of them is the location of the scene itself.

How does an author choose the “right” location for a scene? One way is to select a place that has some special significance for the plot or the characters. I start with a spot that feels right for the story. Later, I consider the symbolic value or the importance of the locale. My thinking process revolves around asking why the location “feels” good to me. Usually, if it works for me, it will work for my readers as well.

For scenes set in the Chicago area, consider my new horror thriller, Hags. You may read a healthy chunk of Hags free by clicking on the book cover icon after you click over to the Kindle version on Amazon. Available for your Kindle reader by clicking here.  The paperback version is available by clicking here.

Don’t have a Kindle reader? Download the free version for your computer, tablet or smart phone from Amazon by clicking here.

Here’s another novel idea…
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Does the scene reveal something new about one of the characters?

That’s one of the questions an author asks when reviewing their draft copy. When you’re reading a fast-paced horror thriller like my new novel, Hags, you can expect to learn something new about at least one of the characters in every scene. The scene might reveal a character flaw as the young lady swipes a few dollars from the bartender's tip glass. Or you may discover a new suspect in the behavior of one of the characters. You may find that the guy you thought was evil isn’t such a bad person after all. Maybe you misjudged him. You might even learn that the girl the guy thinks he loves is actually a royal pain in the left elbow.

The author should be giving you something in every scene to move the story forward and move the characters forward through their individual character arcs. Each major character goes through an arc of self-discovery or revelation. The character learns something. The character grows. The character is a different person at the end of the story then at the beginning. The way the characters change is through a series of incidents that take place in the scenes and chapters of the novel.

The thriller genre involves some sort of monster, human or otherwise. As the characters experience the intensity of the action involving the horrors committed by the monster, they grow from the experience. You can’t enter the dark world of evil doers and expect to come out the same person on the other side of the experience. Identifying character changes as you read a scene enriches your enjoyment of the story.

Read a healthy chunk of Hags free by clicking on the book cover icon after you click over to the Kindle version on Amazon. Available for your Kindle reader by clicking here.  The paperback version is available by clicking here.

Don’t have a Kindle reader? Download the free version for your computer, tablet or smart phone from Amazon by clicking here.

Here’s another novel idea…
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What Should a Reader Find in a Scene or Chapter?

When you read a chapter or a scene of a novel, look for the opening hook. Does the author grab your attention in some way that raises the stakes for the characters? Do the opening sentences and paragraphs hold your interest?

The different genres hook you in their own ways. A romance might hook you through the beauty of the narrative description of the location, or it might start with a surprising kiss from a stranger. These are considered soft hooks. They grab your attention, but they don’t put you on the edge of your seat like a good thriller does. That’s because romance isn’t about the edge of your seat. It’s about the depths of your heart.

In a horror thriller, like my new novel Hags, each scene and chapter opens with a grabber. Something happens to set the stage for action. The best hooks do what the name implies – they grab your attention like a fish hook and pull you into the murky depths of the story.

As you move into the chapter, you’ll find the author revealing more of the secrets of the tale. In the early going for a horror, something is happening but you’re not sure what. Then, BAM, out of nowhere you catch a glimpse out of the corner of your eye. What was that? Well, that’s all you’re going to learn in this scene, but you have moved the story forward and you learned some other stuff, like the girl really does like the guy even if she does give him a hard time and doesn’t believe him about the events in the cave a few chapters back.

But you can’t rest on a few new facts and quick peek at the monster. The author has to move you forward into the next scene or chapter. And the means of moving you on is the hook. Oh, my gosh, Cecilia just fell through that hole in the floor we didn’t see before. I think she was about to kiss the guy. Can the hero find a way to save her? (BTW, none of these examples are in Hags.)

Read a healthy chunk of Hags free by clicking on the book cover icon after you click over to the Kindle version on Amazon. Available for your Kindle reader by clicking here.  The paperback version is available by clicking here.

Don’t have a Kindle reader? Download the free version for your computer, tablet or smart phone from Amazon by clicking here.

Here’s another novel idea…
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What Genre Do You Like to Read?

Each genre of fiction has its own set of rules. In a horror or thriller like Hags, you spend a portion of the book figuring out what’s wrong and who or what is causing the problem. The second part of the plot is about how you destroy the monster causing the problem. The key questions are: What’s Happening? And how do we kill it? Such stories usually move quickly, especially the thriller.

Where monsters are involved, the story often starts slower and then speeds up as you progress through the story. The genre or type of story you enjoy reading has basic rules like these.

A mystery story is always about a crime that happened either in the past or at the beginning of the story. Otherwise, it’s a thriller if the crimes are still happening.

Romance novels always have a happy ending. Otherwise it’s a literary story or love story, but not a romance.

Genre rules exist for two reasons. They give you, the reader, a platform for understanding and enjoying the novel. And they give the author rules to break. When you catch an author breaking the rules, consider how it adds to the story?

Read a healthy chunk of Hags free by clicking on the book cover icon after you click over to the Kindle version on Amazon. Available for your Kindle reader by clicking here.  The paperback version is available by clicking here.

Don’t have a Kindle reader? Download the free version for your computer, tablet or smart phone from Amazon by clicking here.

Here’s another novel idea…
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Meet Micah Probert

As a young man, Micah Probert is found guilty of committing a horrible crime for which he is sentenced to a lengthy prison term. Like many prisoners, he protests his innocence to no avail. After his release, he cares for his dying father. Micah inherits his father’s fortune and returns to his home town on a quest to clear his name and discover his purpose in life. My new novel, Hags, begins on Micah’s first night back in Naperville, Illinois.

From the outset, life works against Micah in his quest of self-discovery. He confronts evil forces beyond his imagining. The dark horror thriller pits Micah and his new-found friends against these evil powers in a battle for the heart, soul and mind of a city.

The evil cabal arrayed against Micah includes a serial killer, a hag who keeps her youth by means of human sacrifice, a demon masquerading as a philanthropist, and a bunch of minor horrors.

As if the evil mounted against him isn’t bad enough, a hidden danger lurks in Micah’s life in the form of a second hag. Can Micah discover her existence before it’s too late?

Read a healthy chunk of Hags free by clicking on the book cover icon after you click over to the Kindle version on Amazon. Available for your Kindle reader by clicking here.  The paperback version is available by clicking here.

Don’t have a Kindle reader? Download the free version for your computer, tablet or smart phone from Amazon by clicking here.

Here’s another novel idea…
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It’s a Horror

One of my first readers for Hags emailed that he had completed the novel in about four hours. He found he couldn’t put it down once he began. Hearing that makes me feel good, of course. But more importantly, it tells me the story is doing what it’s supposed to do.

Hags is a horror story. It’s a fast moving story like my suspense/thriller stories. Horror stories involve monsters or evil-doers so the action is often unpleasant, immoral and illegal. The good news is I try to avoid detailed descriptions of criminal activity. I like to have the bad stuff happen “off stage” with the reader jumping in immediately after the event. The dastardly villain may have his way with the young maiden off camera or off stage, but you find out about it when you figure out that the hole the villain is digging is intended to be a secret grave.

If you also like to read an occasional romance novel, you’ll find a love story in the midst of the action.

Quest is a genre unto itself with specific rules and required character archetypes. Hags follows the quest model for those who love such tales. If you think about it, demons and hags are characters you would expect to find in a medieval tale so it makes sense to include a quest in the story. Like any good quest story, Hags is about spiritual warfare in the age old battle of good versus evil.

You can read a healthy chunk of Hags free by clicking on the book cover icon after you click over to the Kindle version on Amazon. Available for your Kindle reader by clicking here.  The paperback version is available by clicking here.

Don’t have a Kindle reader? Download the free version for your computer, tablet or smart phone from Amazon by clicking here.

Here’s another novel idea…
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