: Re: Struggling with the number of themes in my work So, I'm a big picture person. What I like best, in life, and when I write, is bringing a lot of very different elements together. But as

@Pierce369

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It sounds like what you want to create is literature rather than just a work that might soon be forgotten. The degree of skill and talent required because of the difficulty of your task is considerable, but don’t oversimplify.

If you have a story with complexity, compelling characters and quality - write it. Readers might wonder where you are going, but as long as they enjoy the ride those pages will turn.

Imagine Les Miserables if it were on one theme only, hitting only one note - it might have been a case of Victor who? It has a main theme, but digresses and philosophizes and regrets.

War and Peace would have been a much shorter work had it only been about a cunning general doing the unthinkable and being believed to be utterly incompetent because he was luring an overconfident emperor to his destruction.

There are enough readers out there who enjoy complexity - there must be. I know that I am thrilled when I discover that an author is doing more than just telling the story promised.

I suppose the question boils down to must one simplify things and pander to the broadest possible audience or, to paraphrase Murrow, educate and elevate as well as entertain. Take the high road and take pride in your work. You cannot be alone up there.

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