I've been asked a lot recently... what makes a good writer? Well, to most, it could be the author's style, word choice, plot, characters, voice, ability to capture the reader... But, shocker, my answer to that question of great writing would be none of the above. My idea of a good writer is theories.

But, wait, that's ridiculous. Theories equals science and data and graphs... Right? How could something that is used to label the idea of evolution tie into making a stunning author?

There's a quote, that I've found recently in a well known book: "Some infinities are bigger than other infinities." (John Green, The Fault in Our Stars) That, my friend, is a genuine writing theory.

I told my dad that quote, and keep in mind that my dad is a real math fanatic, and thus he shot me down immediately. "There's no number that will be bigger than infinity, Tatum."

It's math. Infinity is infinity. There's no greater infinities, or infinities at all. There's only one. But, in John Green's eyes, his theory was that there are infinite numbers between 0 and 1. But, there are even more numbers between 0 and 2! Imagine the possibilities! 0.052957, 0.135829... (I literally just pressed random numbers on my keyboard to get those.) So, the question is, are some infinities bigger than other infinities...?

Not to mention the outcomes with Science Fiction novels! You can provide anything in the futuristic plot of a sci-fi book, and the possible theories are endless. Take The Infinite Sea (Rick Yancey) for example. "Even the stars will wink out one by one and there will be no light or heat, and this is the war, the endless, futile war against the lightless, heatless void rushing toward us." Long quote right? But you have to think... what exactly is this author trying to convey...?

You guessed it! A THEORY OF COURSE! He's convinced that 'the endless war' against 'the lightless, heatless void' is 'futile' and that there's no escape. In other words, or at least what I picked up from it, "We're all gonna die at some point." (Including the stars...)

So, truly... what makes a good writer? But, truly, can't any writer come up with their own answer, and therefore a theory?