Story Development and Theme

Developing an idea into a novel takes work, and sometimes it's not easy knowing where to start. It can be even tougher if you aren't sure of your own writing process, or are struggling with a process that doesn't work for you. Here are some articles that cover premise and story development, theme, and the writing process.

A sampling of articles on premise, story development, and theme

• The Difference Between Idea, Premise, and Plot
• Look! It's An Idea: Going From Premise to Plot
• At the Core: How the Premise Ties the Plot Together
• Start Me Up: Planning and Writing a First Draft
• When You Can't Write What You Love to Read
• Theme Me Up: How to Develop Your Theme
• What Kind of Writer Are You? Career Themes
• (World) Building on a Theme

See all articles on premise and story development
See all articles on theme

A sampling of articles on the writing process

• What Sort of Writer Are You?
• Get Up and Get Out: Finding Your Writing Process
• What the Heck was I Thinking? Reevaluating Your Writing Process
• How Much Do You Understand About Your Writing Process?
• Dancing Out of Tune: Writing Scenes Out of Sequence to Enliven—and Maybe Even Finish—Your Novel
• Do You Really Need to Write an Hour Every Day?
• How Do You Teach Writer's Instinct?
• Put Baby in the Corner: Write Yourself Into a Corner
• Going Both Ways: Outlines for Plot, Pantser for Character
• One Writer’s Process
• Pantser and Proud of it
• How Do You Know if Your Writing is Getting Better?
• Wearing the Pants
• Under Development: Writing That First Novel
• Learning From Other Authors

See all articles on the writing process