The Main theme of your novel

[senefer91]

I often suggest to young writers who ask me how to start a story to choose a main theme. The main purpose of the entire story since it is easier to center your story around that.
For example, My main theme if Primalcraft: Scourge of the Wolf, is to stop running away from who you are.
While Ascendants: Tides of the morns, main theme is to finding your way.

What is your stories or comics Main theme? Do you have one? Do you have several?

[Swamp]

I try not to be too didactic when I write, but as Left for Rot is about ghosts, it's also a lot about trauma and anger.
And, because I am a morbid optimist, also about the redemptive power of kindness and empathy in the face of horror.
Both Reid and Allie are at interesting places for me at the start of the story. They've both been through the worst of their trauma and found a way to turn it into kindness, something I've explored before. But they've also both chosen a small area of kindness and cut themselves off from others, Allie by being cold and abrasive, Reid by being polite and inoffensive.
Rather than finding purpose, their arcs are more about facing their distrust of the world and humanity and finding a place in a world they both see as unforgivably hostile.

Left to Rot | Tapas

[senefer91]

It's good to be flexible. The main theme does not have to be written in stone, but when you have a ten to fifteen year old writer trying to figure how how to write their first story. I do think a more solid theme is a good way to center their story as their stories often tend to be a tad… Chaotic. They just write what comes into mind and when you ask what they wanted to say with their story they often draws a blank.

I think the more experience a writer has the more layers a main themes has, often complimented with sub themes.

[Tamachii]

Family.

Particularly found family over blood.

[racheldenucci]

... I was going to say family for my one story too. RomaMates is about four guys who hadn't met before moving into an apartment together. They very quickly develop a strong, family-like bond. It follows them growing closer, coming across things that challenge them and their connections, and learning to trust each other. They all have secrets and reasons they think the others won't accept them despite being accepting of the other roommates.... So, in other words, just like how real people are worried about their friends thinking badly of them even though they don't fault those friends for their negative traits. Side note; it's widely accepted by the group that Luce is the 'mom' of the group, despite claiming title of 'eldest brother'.

The Black Robin is more about accepting yourself. Arai is running from her past and hides that part of who she is (bad idea to bring it up with her if you're in the know). Zephaniah was raised to be ashamed by a whole part of his identity and had trouble developing his own sense of self since most of the decisions in his life were made by other people. Finny and Tara are actually farther along in terms of self acceptance, Tara slightly more than Finny, despite both being younger. This is probably due to those who raised them being more accepting and nurturing of their abilities (in Tara's case, the unprepared style of raising is why she has abilities). As for the two... darker characters... um.... I think it's better I don't get into that whole mess and where they fit on the "I like myself" scale.

[pressmykeys]

A lot of my work focuses around self acceptance and coping with traumatic experiences. My story up on Tapas is a mix of those two being a coming of age story that takes place after a tragic life event that sees all the main characters coping in different ways.

[NovaSapien]

To be honest, I don't really care about theming in my stories. I feel like writing a story just to convey a theme comes across as really ham-fisted. I just want to tell interesting stories, not force a moral. I'm not writing a Pixar or Disney movie, you know?

[WriterLinXiaolong]

Themes... not sure how to explain this.

For The Emperor and His Thief:
Arc 1 - Betrayal, Separation then Reunite?
Arc 2 - Lost, Identity Crisis, Acceptance?
Arc 3 - War, Rebellion, Undercover, Peace
Arc 4 - Palace Drama
Arc 5 - Cults, Misunderstanding, Betrayal (different from arc 1)
Arc 6 - Conclusion, Transitioning to Book 2

For To Rise Again in the Apocalypse:
Arc 1 - Family bonding, trust building, apocalypse preparation
Arc 2 to Arc 9 - Survival, Betrayal, Lies, Deceit, idk... lol
Arc 10 - Finding way back home (for MC) and transition to book 2

[rmdooley]

Main theme of my comic:

Hope.

[ivanskilling]

The main theme for my novel Shackles would be:
Duty to the country over personal interest, and breaking the shackles of your past.

Shackles | Tapas

For my recently posted zombie story, it would be:
The destructive nature of humans, and finding meaning in life.

Dark Bytes :: Not Living Not Dead I | Tapas

[senefer91]

Though I think theme's isn't about morals to be honest, I have some young artist tell me the same and I always tell the thing. Would you speak without having something to say? Without having a goal in mind. Even a greeting has a goal.
Writing is a conversation, you, the writer, is conversing with the reader. Why should the reader "listen" to you if you haven't anything to say?

And it isn't just Disney and pixar movies who has themes, the Lord of the Ring's also had a theme. Even the smallest person can make a change. While the hobbit was about greed. Star wars is about hope and growing up. Even writers like Kafka has themes, though theirs are often philosophical.
Well, I find that most writer saying that they don't want to convey a message often do so just unconsciously. It's one of those thing when people say that they are not political because they don't vote but not voting is a political statement. It's saying that you don't trust in the political system or politicians

[senefer91]

Sounds like the main theme of your two books is finding yourself. Finding out what is important and what to fight for. Or do you feel like the two books have different goals? I often switches between books. My first Primalcraft is about stop running and facing who you are, while the second book will be to stand strong and hold on to who you are. It's an evolution of the first theme. What happens after you stop running, so to speak.

[senefer91]

Sounds like both your books has a lot of personal sacrifice as theme. I see a pattern. Could it possibly be that you strongly believe that people should help other before helping themselves?

[WriterLinXiaolong]

I guess the first book is more of this:

Finding out what is important and what to fight for.

While the other one... still doesn't seem right
Maybe finding a sense of belongings while also finding a way home?

Though I'm really not sure what the themes really are, at the very least, I know what the characters want throughout the story

[ivanskilling]

That's an interesting point you bring up but it's quite the opposite actually! I believe people should help themselves first before they can help others.

I agree though that the first book involves the Empress Dowager sacrificing her happiness for the sake of her country and people. But her strong desire for that power stemmed partly from revenge, and it also involved her killing her own baby (among dozens of other casualties). So I guess you could say it's kind of a gray line for her maybe?

For the zombie story, I don't see much of sacrifice. It's more about the play between the frailty and strength of humankind.

[senefer91]

Well, often the theme are intertwined with the main characters since it's their journey the reader follows, so if you know what your character wants then you most likely have a theme even though you haven't really thought about it

[Mari]

Uh. Overcoming your fears and becoming true to yourself? I don't even know.

[senefer91]

Ah, a twist. Normally a zombie story is about self sacrifice and working together to be able to survive. Betrayal and selfishness is often common in those stories because they act as a contrast to the unselfish main character who survives in the end while the selfish one dies. Often alone.

Yikes, the Empress sounds a lot like the historical Chinese Empresses. Is the story perhaps inspired by Empress Lu Shi or Empress Wu Zetian?

[senefer91]

I think that tend to happen when you go on too long in a series. It's hard to keep the same theme in a story or comics (in your case) for over 200 chapters, or pages. Sooner or later, you will have to change or evolve what the story is about to make it interested. That is one of the difference between physical comics/novels compared to online ones that seem to never be finished. Theme is often connected to the end goal but if your story doesn't have an end...

[Drewbie]

If i had to say a theme for mine I'd probably pick something between coming to terms with who you are and accepting the past and moving forward.

God's Vessel | Tapas