Secret Fire

I heard a great talk on Saturday at a meeting hosted by the Heart of Carolina Writer’s Group. Claudia Dain talked about theme. “Theme is one of those things you learn about in your high school English class,” she said, “and then tend to forget.” I was intrigued by her talk about the layers of theme. There are three. The first is specific to the book. For example, the theme of a particular book might be: Don’t ever, ever give up in what you believe. The next layer is the overall theme the author carries through multiple books which you might notice as a reader (but probably not—often the author doesn’t even realize it.) Perhaps the author tends to write books which have a smart, capable heroine who triumphs against all odds and the theme is female empowerment. 

But the third layer was the most captivating. The third layer is the secret fire that makes the author HAVE to write; it’s what she has to tell the world or she’ll just shrivel up and die. Ms. Dain said it can be summed up in one word and one word only. Since I heard the talk I’ve been trying to figure out what my secret fire is. I think I know. I think it’s …

Oh, did you think I would just tell you?

Sorry. You’re gonna have to read my books to figure it out.

If you know me and think you can guess, leave a comment!