Last week we talked about why your book needs a theme. (You can catch up here. But short version? It's so your book actually means something, instead of just being a long list of stuff you did or said.) So how the hell do you actually find this magical theme?
You're gunna need one pen, one piece of paper, and five plays of Ed Sheeran and Elton John's new Christmas tune.
(Okay, fine, you can use any song you want. But I highly recommend this one. I'll listen to anything Ed wants to sing to me, Mr Piano himself is a total legend, and the video is hilarious. Plus jingle bells. Nuff said.)
Now, their tune, imaginatively titled Merry Christmas, is 3 minutes and 28 seconds. Five plays gives us 17 minutes and 20 seconds of Christmassy joy and time to find the theme of your book.
Doesn't matter what type of book you're writing—17 minutes and 20 seconds will get you there.
Here's what you do:
Hit play. Set the song to repeat.
Draw two columns on your piece of paper. Name the first "Stuff that happened" and the second "Key takeaway."
Make a long-ass list of all the stuff that happened in your life that you feel drawn to share. Don't question or doubt. Just write every single thing that comes to mind.
If you're writing memoir, it'll be all the events that contributed to your experience.
If you're writing how-to or self-help or business stuff, it'll be all the moments that taught you what you want to share.
Bob your head to the jingle bells chorus.
For every item in the first column, consider the ONE key takeaway from that moment and write it in the second column. Here are some questions to help you find the key takeaway:
What did that moment teach you?
Looking back, what do you realize about that event?
Why did it stay with you all these years?
What would you tell your kids/someone you're mentoring about that moment?
Why was it so problematic/revealing/momentous/memorable?
Sing along with Ed and Elton. You probably know the words by now.
Look through your long list of Key Takeaways. You'll probably see either one that pops up over and over again or a bunch that follow along one idea. Ta daaa! Whatever keeps coming up is your theme.
Hit play one more to celebrate finding your theme.
Maybe your Key Takeaways list starts with a few about having no confidence. Then you have one about seeing confidence in another person. Then there are some about finding confidence. Finding confidence is your theme.
Perhaps you have the same Key Takeaways repeating exactly. "I don't want to be like my mother." Ta daaa! Becoming someone different to your mother is your theme.
That's it
Seriously, that's it. Most people find they have either the same thing cropping up again and again or variations on the same thing occurring.
Your theme might sound simplistic or cheesy. You might wish you had a better theme.
But I promise yours is good.
All themes sound cheesy as shit when you spell them out like this. Cheesy = on the mark.
Email me and let me know if you find your theme. And if you love Ed and Elton as much as me. (Probably not.)
Also hit me up if this DOESN'T work for you. I want to know. And I'll help you. Pinky promise.
Here's to jingle bells choruses and cheesy themes.
Thanks,
Liz "Love Me Some Ed" Green
Editor, Book Coach, and Ghostwriter
Green Goose Writing
You might also like…
How do I make my memoir a great story?
You want your book to be more than just a series of events, right? You know people who tell those kinds of stories. "One time... at band camp... blah, blah, blah, blaaaaaaah." You want a story that means something. But how do you do that? You ensure your book has a point of view, a lesson, a thought, a concern, a wish, or a wonder. Read more…
Why your non-fiction book needs a theme
I just finished reading Becoming, the new best selling memoir by Michelle Obama. (When I say reading, I mean listening. Audiobooks for life. Fist bump.) Being a memoir, it’s quite different from the self-help, how-to books I usually work on, but it taught me something about theme in non-fiction. Read more…