: Re: Decide on a theme/overarching meaning before writing a short story? I want my short story to have a specific point, to highlight a certain truth. But I wonder in which order I should proceed:

@Megan928

Vote Up Vote Down

Two things:

I prefer to read stories where there are no overt themes being highlighted by the author (or else they're so subtle I can't tell, or not noticeable because the characters and what's going on are too interesting). Choosing themes first then constructing a story to illustrate them will probably end up sounding contrived.
I find that when I focus on coming up with characters, plots and settings that I think are interesting, and then just write about them, the themes emerge by themselves. These organically-grown themes seem to usually end up working better than deliberately pre-chosen themes (and, as @foggyone said, I can usually then improve the story by identifying and working with those themes from that point).

(0)

Login to post a comment!