Image result for dictionarys are our friends — **How many do you have? Me? 9**

thematic

adjective: of or relating to a theme.

(of a word or words) of, relating to, or producing a theme or themes.
(of a vowel) pertaining to the theme or stem: the thematic vowel ends the stem and precedes the inflectional ending of a word form, as i in Latin audiō “I hear.”

Image result for exercise — **Oops! Wrong exercise.**

You know you had no clue what all that meant…cuz I sure as heck didn’t. Let’s learn it together, shall we. Mr. Bell is giving us an exercise to do to learn what all these fancy words mean.

State the theme
- So, on a separate document or sheet of paper, have your MC declare the theme in a page long speech. Have them justify their stance when it relates to your theme. Have them argue for it. Prove it. ***Don’t worry- I have given you some examples at the bottom.

Image result for pineapple on pizza bad — ***Gordon agrees!***

This could be the ‘why pineapple on pizza is a great idea’ fight we have with our friends. Prove to me why on God’s green Earth this is a good idea.

Put the counterargument in the mouth of another character.
- They fight to remove the pineapple from the pizza. (The hero.)

Image result for elderberry jelly — **Heaven in a jar.**

I am making myself hungry with all this pizza talk. I’m gonna skip off to the kitchen for a fresh cuppa and a nibble. I’m thinking whole wheat toast with elderberry jelly. I told you I am addicted to that stuff. Elderberry is amaze-balls! While I am doing that, run along and find your copy of How to Write Dazzling Dialogue by James Scott Bell. Don’t forget to top off your cuppa and grab a nibble. Do you have elderberry jelly? You should. Go! Get some. I’ll wait…

What is taking them so long? Are they making it themselves? I’m gonna keep going. They can read the rest when they get back from the store. I will pick up where I left off above.

Now, turn this into a real argument between the two characters.

They were practicing before. Behind the curtain just waiting for their chance to let their truths fly. Now that we know, by writing out their arguments separately, it will allow the dialogue/argument to flow naturally.

Me: “I hate pineapple on pizza.”

Idiot: “I love it.”

Me: “You’re wrong.”

Idiot: “Um…ok.”

See? Easy-peasy.

Bonus tip: Ways to present the theme in an odd way would be to do it backwards. Think about The Wizard of Oz– Dorothy, in the very beginning, complained about life on the farm, and that no one hears or sees her. The only one she can talk to is Toto. As the story moves to Oz, her thoughts about home reverse. “There’s no place like home.”

It’s A Wonderful Life: In the beginning, George Bailey wants nothing more than to leave Bedford Falls but as the town changes so does George. He doesn’t see how willing he was to embrace his town until they had no idea who he was. He saw his value by being erased.

In your novel, if it works, have your MC argue the other way around to see from another character’s perspective.

Awesome, right? It’s cool to learn along side all of you. I may have to tweak a few scenes and twist my characters point of view a bit.