What do you find hardest?

[prizzley]

I'm current stuck on writing a theme. I didn't write with a theme in mind, but I have to concoct one for a agent to sell it!

 

[Tecdavid]

I've got another little something to add: Portrayal.
I'm learning that my opening chapter is confusing, despite myself thinking it was okay (I thought I had some decent mysteriousness going, while also having it easy enough to follow), but I don't think I've been able to portray every element the way I wanted to. Some seem unclear, whereas others are misinterpreted.
I think I'm bad at remembering readers wont have the exact same scene in mind as I do.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I'm current stuck on writing a theme. I didn't write with a theme in mind, but I have to concoct one for a agent to sell it!

Why? Have they asked specifically for it?. They don't normally.

 

[allmywires]

Tec, in your case I'm reminded of some writing advice I saw a couple of days ago: writing isn't about what you say, it's about what you don't say. One of the hardest things I had to learn was how to stop shovelling what you see down your reader's throats. Reading between the lines is one of the best joys of reading, after all.

 

[Tecdavid]

I think I see what you mean, Wires. Do you know where I could find a good example of that being put to practice, actually?

 

[allmywires]

In short, no.

I guess, just off the top of my head, it's the difference between saying, 'she was tattooed all over' and lovingly describing every single tattoo. I think you have to trust the reader's mind to be able to fill in the blanks.

 

[Hex]

TD -- the opening of Diana Wynne Jones' book Dogsbody:

The Dog Star stood beneath the Judgement Seats and raged. The green light of his fury fired the assembled faces viridian. It lit the underside of the rooftrees and turned their moist blue fruit to emerald.

"None of this is true!" he shouted. "Why can't you believe me, instead of listening to him?" He blazed on the chief witness, a blue luminary from the Castor complex, firing him turquoise. The witness backed hastily out of range.

I've seen it praised for expecting the reader to cope and not explaining all the details of who is who and what is happening, if that helps.

(It's a fabulous book, too. Especially if you like dogs).

 

[prizzley]

Why? Have they asked specifically for it?. They don't normally.

No, but . . .

The latest agent specifically said I'm lacking a theme. This was from a 1st 3 chapters and synopsis.

Another agent's guidelines say the synopsis must include the theme.

And Mslexia includes it in the query letter - see
http://www.mslexia.co.uk/shop/goodies.php#

So I'm going to include it in all future queries. If I can write somehing I'm happy with.

 

[HareBrain]

I don't think you can concoct a theme. You can only identify (and emphasise) what's already there. (And chances are there is a theme already there, even if you didn't have one in mind when you wrote it.) Nigel Watts, in his book Writing a Novel, has a very interesting chapter on thread, theme and thesis. Well worth a read.

 

[prizzley]

I don't think you can concoct a theme.

Well, there you go, that's why I'm struggling. I meant - it's the wording that defeats me, not the theme.