A writer I love working with (if you’re reading this, you’ll know who you are) has been working on the Golden Thread of her story. It’s a concept of Jennie Nash’s, of Author Accelerator.
Imagine that your manuscript is a tapestry with a pattern. The golden thread is your awareness of what your story is really about. That is the theme of your book. The main character carries the theme, the antagonist carries a variant of theme.
If you weave the golden thread throughout your tapestry, it’s going to shine at odd moments.
‘Anchor it at the start,’ Jennie says, ‘so the reader can see it. Weave it in and out of the story so the reader catches the light.’
Sometimes it will sparkle when we see the main character. Other times, we may get a glimpse in the antics of the antagonist.
That’s why it is so, so, so important to know why you writing the book and what point you want to make by it. Only that way will you be able to name your theme.