Eureka! I finally nailed down the theme for my YA. You're probably thinking that it's about time, since I'm almost (oh so close) to finishing the first draft. Knowing my theme early on in the writing of my story probably would have given the first draft more focus. Last year during the Desire pitch, Diana asked me what the theme for my book was. It was a classic deer in the headlights moment. Fingers poised over the keyboard, clock ticking down the precious seconds of my ten minute pitch, I had nothing.
So, what is my theme for the YA?
No one is exactly who they appear to be.
I went through a dozen ideas before this one popped into my head this morning. The last one I felt pretty good about was: Doing the right thing, versus doing the easy thing. That states the book's moral, but as a theme, it didn't completely resonate for me.
The story is about a girl who can tell when people are lying. Early on, I decided that her new ability lets her glimpse what's hidden behind everyone's public face. Her perceptions are turned on their head about her parents and her classmates. She's got a pretty simple view of the world in the beginning of the book. By the end, she sees that there's a lot more layers.
I'm not sure why it took me so long to determine what is now a pretty obvious theme. Maybe because I didn't have Blake Snyder's Save The Cat Goes To The Movies helping me out.
Today's goal: 500 words
Yesterday's achievement: Tossed entries into IGO and Golden Gateway
What I'm grateful for: When friends sell. It gives me hope that my time will come
Quote: I take the view, and always have, that if you cannot say what you are going to say in twenty minutes you ought to go away and write a book about it." -Lord Brabazon (1884 - 1964)
