Theme Part II: Sting in The Hobbit
Dear Writer, Last week, I started talking to you about including themes in your stories. If you’re reading this, I’ll assume you’ve already bought into why that’s important, so I can skip that lecture and launch into more strategies for developing themes. Let’s talk about symbols. I can hear you rolling your eyes (don’t ask…
Writing Theme through Character
Dear Writer, My students keep asking me great questions about writing. This week, I was asked how to write themes into stories. That’s an important question. Themes give literature relevance and weight beyond mere enjoyment. They teach life lessons and ask soul-searching questions. When I was a full-time English teacher, I loved teaching theme because…
Leadership in “The Hobbit”
I wrote this essay a few years ago as an example for my 8th-graders. Please forgive the formulaic writing; it was meant to show basic essay structure. Caring Leadership in The Hobbit What makes a good leader? What qualities are important for them to have? J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit is an excellent source to…