Thinking Theme: The Heart of the Matter

by William Bernhardt

Overview

Why do some books linger in memory long after they are read? Why are some books reread, recommended, shared in the classroom? How can you add your book to this elite company? The key is theme, giving your story a dynamic idea that lends it power and purpose. William Bernhardt explains what theme is, how it is best revealed, and how to find the theme that, handled correctly, will distinguish your book from all the others. Plus, in the final chapter, Bernhardt explains how your book can have a positive impact on the world in which you live.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940154613382
Publisher:	Babylon Books
Publication date:	11/14/2017
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	454 KB

About the Author

William Bernhardt is the bestselling author of more than forty books, including the blockbuster Ben Kincaid series, the historical novel Nemesis: The Final Case of Eliot Ness, currently being adapted into a miniseries, two books of poetry (The White Bird, The Ocean’s Edge), and a series of books on fiction writing. In addition, Bernhardt founded the Red Sneaker Writing Center in 2005, hosting writing workshops and small-group seminars and becoming one of the most in-demand writing instructors in the nation. His monthly Red Sneaker Writers Newsletter reaches over twenty thousand people, and the Red Sneakers phone app reaches many more. He is the only writer to have received the Southern Writers Guild’s Gold Medal Award, the Royden B. Davis Distinguished Author Award (University of Pennsylvania) and the H. Louise Cobb Distinguished Author Award (Oklahoma State), which is given "in recognition of an outstanding body of work that has profoundly influenced the way in which we understand ourselves and American society at large." In addition to his novels, he has written plays, a musical (book and music), humor, nonfiction, children books, biography, poetry, and puzzles. OSU named him “Oklahoma’s Renaissance Man,” noting that in addition to writing novels, he can “write a sonnet, play a sonata, plant a garden, try a lawsuit, teach a class, cook a gourmet meal, prepare homemade ice cream, beat you at Scrabble, and work the New York Times crossword in under five minutes.”

Editorial Reviews

“One of the things I love about these books is that they are so accessible to every aspiring writer.”

Rick Ludwig, author of Mirrored

“I reread these books before I start each book I write.”

Callie Hutton, USA Today-bestselling author of For the Love of the Viscount

“Bernhardt shows you exactly what makes literary characters keep people interested and how to use those strengths when creating characters of your own.”

R.J. Johnson, author of The Twelve Stones

“Easy to read while delivering good material with some occasional humor.”

David Sullivan, author

“This book gives everything that it promises. And all the other writing books written by William Bernhardt are on my wish list.”

C.H. Scarlett, author

From the Publisher