Lets talk about theme and controlling idea, shall we?

Many aspiring authors, literary critics, and High School English teachers conflate a book’s “theme” and “controlling idea” into the same concept, implying both terms essentially mean the message of the book.

I prefer to differentiate the two concepts.

I see theme as something that can emerge (often unconsciously) in the drafting of a manuscript, whereas a controlling idea is something an author will benefit greatly from having thought out prior to drafting.

In today's article, we explore in detail the difference between the two concepts and how you can use them both in your drafting.

Your pal in writing, 

Kevin T. Johns, writing coach

P.S. I'm hosting a free live webinar Friday night. The training is called 8 Techniques for Writing Better Dialogue and you can save your spot here.