#writing theme

aah thank you so much!! <3

Many people in the writing community caution against writing with a theme in mind. They argue that if you do, your story will feel contrived, or worse, preachy. But this is only true if you don’t know what you are doing. And for many writers, unfortunately, that is exactly the case.

Setting, characters, and plot are much more concrete, and are—more or less—physical. Theme is the abstract component of story, but this doesn’t mean it’s less important or completely inaccessible. Theme can be controlled and understood just as setting, characters, plot, or even structure can. One of the primary problems, though, is that so few writers can identify, let alone understand and utilize, its components.

Hi all, September C. Fawkes here ( @septembercfawkes​ ), and I’m going to share the secret ingredients of theme.

The Abstract Components of Theme

First, I need to make sure we start on the same page by defining theme. Some define theme as an argument made through the story, while others define it as a recurring topic that is explored through the story. So, which is it?

The truth is, both viewpoints are critical to creating a strong theme; this is why I often prefer to break theme down into parts:

The thematic statement is what the story is arguing (and it should be able to fit a complete sentence)—this is proven true by the end of the story.

The theme topic is the subject the story explores, through the middle of the story. It will be included in the thematic statement.

For example, in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope the thematic statement is that “we should trust in faith” (as is illustrated through the Force). This is proven true at the end of the story when Luke chooses to rely on the Force instead of technology to destroy the Death Star.

The theme topic is “faith,” which is what the Force represents. The Force (i.e. “faith”) is explored through the story, particularly as Luke begins to learn about it, but also through others interacting with and voicing their opinions on it.

Beyond the thematic statement and the theme topic, I like to add what I personally call the anti-thematic statement and the anti-theme topic. After all, if a theme contains an argument, then your story needs a counterargument: You can’t really argue if no one is disagreeing.

In Star Wars, the anti-thematic statement is that “we should rely on technology.” And the anti-theme topic is “technology.” The anti-thematic statement is ultimately proven false when Luke turns off technology to blow up the Death Star (which is, itself, the most powerful form of technology in the story). And the topic is likewise explored through the characters’ experiences and voiced opinions on it.

The theme and anti-theme will essentially be opposites within the story.

Harry Potter: “Love is the most powerful force(magic) in the world.” vs. “Hatred is the most powerful force in the world.”

Les Misérables: “Mercy is more powerful than justice.” vs. “Justice is more powerful than mercy.”

The Hunger Games: “We should sacrifice ourselves to save others.” vs. “We must sacrifice others for our survival.”

In short, a strong theme has, at least, four critical (abstract) components: the thematic statement, the theme topic, the anti-thematic statement, the anti-theme topic. There are, admittedly, more, but because I don’t plan on writing a book-length article today, I’ll keep it simple. 😉

When you understand that a theme needs an anti-theme, you will be well on your way to writing with a theme without being contrived and preachy; one of the reasons those issues show up is because the author doesn’t fairly explore and argue (or even include) an opposing worldview.

That’s great and all, September—you may be thinking—but how do I actually create theme in a story?

I’m so glad you asked. 😉

Shaping Theme Through Story

Remember how I said that theme is the abstract component of story?

This makes it tricky to create. Personally, I like to think of theme as your story’s shadow—or perhaps more accurately, its shadow puppet.

The other pieces—setting, character, and plot—are essentially concrete. But theme comes out of them when an outside intelligence (writer or reader) shines light on them. This casts a shadow, or rather, a shadow puppet.

Working with theme can be tricky because you can’t hold and mold the shadow itself. In order to create the puppet you want, you have to rearrange the hands (the other story elements) in the proper way.

You can’t cast a blob on the wall and insist that it’s a rabbit. It’s ineffective, and the audience won’t believe you. (And yet so many writers try to do this when they attempt to slap a theme on their stories (often through long philosophical monologues).)

Instead, you must work with the concrete parts—the “hands”—to create the desired shape.

The Concrete Components of Theme

Critical Thematic Pieces 

1. The Protagonist

As the protagonist arcs through the story, he or she will arc in a way that taps into a worldview, belief system, or lifestyle. Often, the character has a dominant quality that will be challenged in the story. Harry flips from being hated by the Dursleys to learning he was so loved by his mother, he has a powerful protective magic. Jean Valjean offers mercy to others time and time again, despite being challenged by Javert.

How your protagonist changes or remains steadfast, and how your protagonist succeeds or fails, in the plot, conveys a value on those belief systems.

2. The Antagonistic Force

Because the antagonistic force is challenging the protagonist, it often embodies, represents, or taps into the opposing argument. If your protagonist has a positive arc (as is most common), this frequently means the antagonist will relate to the anti-theme. Voldemort doesn’t understand love, and mistakenly believes exercising hatred will lead to power. In The Hunger Games, the Capitol sacrifices innocent children for its own gain.

When it comes to writing stories there will be an underlying theme to it. Theme is the overall message of the story told by the author through the characters and the plot. Here are some helpful links to further understand the topic as well as some themes that you can write!

Links for developing a theme in your story:

Building Theme In Your Story (@ sunnydwrites on tumblr)

The Secret Ingredients For Writing Theme (@ davidfarland on tumblr)

What is a Theme? (Reedsy)

Themes that you can write in your story:

Pursuit of Love

Coming of age

Survival

Death

War

Found family

Friendship

Freedom / free will

Family

Finding a reason to live

Redemption

Prejudice

Good vs. Evil

Circle of Life

Loneliness

Loss of innocence

Rebirth

Courage

Revenge

Forgiveness

Justice

Betrayal

Fate vs. Doubt

Hubris / Pride

Sacrifice

Man vs. Self

Power

Corruption

Limits of Knowledge

Honor

Grief

Extras! Here's an extra link to a website with 101 themes if this list doesn't satisfy you. Happy writing!

Do you have multiple?

"Writing and literature classes can be annoyingly preoccupied by (and pretentious about) theme, approaching it as the most sacred of sacred cows, but (don't be shocked) it's really no big deal."

- Stephen King, On Writing.

A lot of writers feel intimidated by themes. We struggle with their lofty, abstract nature, with the conflicting definitions and examples found online, and to top it all off, we just don't feel like we understand how to write a theme into our work.

But really, themes aren’t as intimidating as they seem. Like every craft element, they're a tool for helping you tell better stories — elevating your work from the everyday, to the artful. Themes should excite you, because really, they're your friend. Your ally.

And they're not as hard to write as you think.

Finding your story’s themes

Your WIP, right now, has themes. They may not be fully developed, bubbling instead just beneath the surface of the narrative, but trust me — the themes are there. The trick is to identify those themes as you write and revise (hardly anyone knows what they are from the beginning), so you can polish them for the final draft.

But how do you do that? How do you know what to look for?

First, you need a clear definition: "Theme is the central idea(s) of a story — the universal truths you explore that provide insight into the human condition."

Second, you need to understand the two different types of theme at your disposal, Subjects and Messages:

Subjects are the broad topic of your story, like "love" or "power."

Messages are what you have to say about your subject, like "love is complex" or "power corrupts."

(For a much more in-depth discussion of the two types of theme and why everyone seems to disagree on their terminology, read this post.)

Third, read lists of themes, like this one, to get a better feel for the incredible variety of themes that are out there, including:

Experiences: Childhood, coming of age, loss, redemption, and tragedy.

Emotions: Apathy, compassion, loneliness, and regret.

Gender & Sexuality: Femininity, masculinity, androgyny, sexuality, and gender identity.

Religious & Philosophical: Ethics, faith, nature vs. nurture, and skepticism.

And many, many more.

If you do those three things (work with a clear definition, understand the two types of themes, and equip yourself with a variety of examples to stretch and expand your understanding of what a theme can be), you'll have a much easier time identifying themes in your own work.

And trust me: Your WIP does have themes. If you write stories you care about, stories that excite you and thrill you, I promise you've touched on something incredibly human and worth sharing.

You just need to find out what it is. :)

Trust me, you’ve got this. And if you have any doubts, reblog with questions or submit to my ask box. I’m always happy to help out.

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For writing advice and tips on crafting theme, meaning, and character-driven plots, check out the rest of my blog.

What is theme?

Think of the concept of something being greater than the sum of its parts. All the events in your story build to tell the story itself, but more often than not they circle one central idea. This can be something simply said, like love or death or loneliness, or it can also be a more complex idea that takes a few more words to describe.

Let’s build a quick story for this post, about a surgeon working in a hospital. If our story’s theme is something like “accepting things out of one’s control,” then the focus on this story can be the way she might make attempts on several severe cases and not quite making it. At its core, despite doing her best, this surgeon is dealing with things out of her control.

Of course, there are many, many more ways to go about building theme, but at it’s simplest these are some ways to establish a basic idea of a story’s theme.

Do all of my story points need to convey theme?

Short answer: no.

Longer answer: no, but they should be related - at least tangentially.

Let’s return to this surgeon’s story, shall we? Here are a couple of things that may happen in his story:

Surgeon loses a patient.

Surgeon comes to terms with the separation of his parents.

Surgeon’s husband has to go on a trip for their job for a month.

Notice that not all of these things are directly tied to the surgeon’s job in the hospital, but they’re all things at least somewhat out of her control. She can’t control the separation of her parents, and she can’t control her partner’s job, and so these tie to the theme.

Can my themes be accidental?

The answer is probably no. While your story should have a theme, it’s often something that has to be planned out in advance for it to have meaning and impact within the story. As you develop, think about your theme and how you can weave it into your story.

However, if you’re writing your story and you happen to notice a theme developing, make note of it so that you can develop it further in your editing process.

Can I have more than one theme?

Yes! Especially if your story is longer, you have more room and more time to cover multiple topics. If our surgeon story is a short story or even a novella, we may want to keep it to this initial theme of “accepting things out of one’s control.” However, if it’s a longer work, you can work in “love” like we mentioned before, and maybe one other one.

How complex should my theme be?

The complexity of your theme is completely up to you. Let’s take “love,” for example; it’s a pretty broad possibility. Here are just some of the ways you can describe this theme:

love.

falling in and out of love.

the danger of obsessive love, and learning to love others in a healthy way.

love between siblings.

coping with unrequited love.

And this is just a small list of ways to develop this theme. It all depends on how you want to portray the theme in your story, and from there it’s up to you.

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That’s all I have on theme today! If you have any follow-ups or other questions for me, my askbox is always open! Until next time, happy writing! <3