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AnnaLandin
Sep '15

Most stories have a theme of some sort - but it doesn't have to be a super-serious one.

It's like... think about having a theme as having an answer to WHY you wrote the story. Why did you write this story, instead of some other story? Say you write a story about a girl who makes friends with her next-door neighbour, and they go have imaginary adventures in their backyard - your theme there is friendship, and possibly childhood and the power of imagination. You don't have to push the theme - it can be there in the background.

And you don't always have to be aware of it - I wrote, like, five half-finished novels before I stopped in the middle of a scene, stared at the text, and realised that one of the things that seemed central in all of my stories was responsibility. So that was one of my themes - but it's not like I sat down at the beginning of each project and wrote down a list of themes I had to include. It just sort of happened - and that's okay too.

It's perfectly fine to write a bunch of stuff, read through it and then discover what your theme is. Likewise, it's perfectly fine to have stories that don't have very deep or significant themes - fun is a perfectly acceptable theme to pick.

Just... write what you like writing. Themes happen along the way - or they don't.

ghostnxs
Sep '15

Thanks. I think I'm making writing more complicated than it should be.

kazukitakamura126
Sep '15

I believe you should have a theme to a story but, you have to write something interesting first then work a theme into it.

Delete
Sep '15

Most stories I write have this common theme of being mediocre. It's usually about people that wish they were larger than life and learn to cope with being average. I also like to focus on this idea of the beauty in mundane situations.

sarahrebecca58
Sep '15
AnnaLandin

Is it a sign of a lesser work, if you can easily spot why you wrote it at the time?

Even when I go back to revise Episodic Life Of Nadine Melville (the current version of Voreth's Promise Saga), it feels like the theme is a bit heavy handed but didn't really notice it to much when I had wrote the first draft.

Before my venture into magic realism. Way before.

JigokuNeko
Sep '15

It certainly doesn't have to be about some grand theme, you can have a very entertaining story of interconnected yet random vignettes. However, by writing it all out you begin to see that some elements run throughout the story and you can tease them out so to say. Highlighting these elements so they form a theme (friendship, loss, sacrifice etc) is like an extra cool decoration on the house you built.

AnnaLandin
Sep '15
sarahrebecca58

I'm not exactly an authority on the subject, but no, I don't think so? Any flaws in older works that you spot are because you've improved and grown as a storyteller.

Also, clumy mistakes, heavy-handedness and bad stuff is what first drafts are for. You clean that up in editing.

shazzbaa
Sep '15

I feel like more important than "your story should have a theme" is "it's good for your story to have a point," ...which mean kinda the same thing, theme is just more Official Sounding. It's good for characters to grow or reveal themselves in some way -- a naive character who must learn to be more discerning vs. a naive character who succeeds because they never lose hope say very different things about the world. I think it can be helpful to think about the point of your story, in the back of your mind, so you don't contradict yourself, but I don't think you Have To Know Your Theme And Write Intentionally Towards It Or Else Your Story Won't Work.

Nah, I don't think so. For example, Chronicles of Narnia is beloved, but it's also a very obvious allegory. Some people don't like it for that reason, but that's a preference rather than a sign of a lesser work. I think there are ways this can be a problem, if characters feel like mouthpieces rather than real people, or if the world contorts itself unbelievably to reward your ideology and punish its opponents, but those things are separate problems - being able to easily see the point that the story is trying to make isn't by definition a bad thing, imo. ;u;

sarahrebecca58
Sep '15

I think that's part of what made revising so weird, like I was trying to write hardcore cyberpunk back then. But I've coming at it with a slightly older perspective whose writing is more like P.L. Travers, Milne, or Barrie.

And so I'm like, the hell, what was I thinking giving teens lost childhoods.

And so rather than it being purely an action piece, it becomes more a story about the contrast between the childhood of the early 20th century and slow decline of the concept of childhood in the future.

I can definitely tell I wrote it in my late teens and early twenties.

ghostnxs
Sep '15

Does everyone have a reason to create a story? I don't really have a strong drive to make a certain story. This is how I come up with a story idea
1. Find vague concept that's interesting. For example people living under water.
2. Give reason for living under water. Create conflict.
3. Think of resolution, based on main characters evolution through the story.
There is no why. Should j have a reason? It's not that I love this topic, I just think it would make a good story so I write jt

shazzbaa
Sep '15

I mean, I would see "I think this would be interesting and a cool story" as your reason to create a story. I don't see anything wrong with that reason, tbh! "This idea is interesting to me and I want to explore it" is the reason I invent most of my story ideas.

I don't look at it as a "should." Do you have any interest in looking for themes in your work? Then, like, go for it! If you don't have interest in looking for themes in your work, then, don't! Are you enjoying writing stories that you just think would make a good story? Then by all means, keep doing that!!
If you're looking for how to make a story better, I really think most of the time it'll be more effective to look into more tangible aspects of storytelling -- things like character arcs, and whether the resolution rings true, whether the conflict is believable, etc -- than to despair over whether there's a GOOD REASON or a DEEP THEME behind it.

Theme rises out of every other element working together -- like ingredients in cooking. You're basically asking "do I have to make a specific flavour?" and the truth is that whether you're working with a recipe, or throwing ingredients together as you go and seeing what tastes good, in the end, you WILL have a specific flavour. If it tastes good, you win! Now, knowing ahead of time that you're making a sweet dish, or a tangy dish, may help make sure that you choose ingredients that don't conflict or compete with each other. But if you find your flavour isn't working, it's less helpful to say "make a better flavour" and more helpful to look at what ingredients are conflicting with each other.

ashriott
Sep '15
ghostnxs

I too start off with an idea or concept which may potentially be an interesting story. When I first begin writing a story, sometimes themes are the least of my worries. However, I notice themes sneakily slip into stories the more you write them, which is the case for me anyway. Well, using your underwater idea as an example:

  1. Find vague concept that's interesting. For example people living under water.
    What kind of people live under water? How is life and culture differed from living there as opposed to on land. Themes may include learning different cultures/lifestyle, racism, and even environment maybe.

  2. Give reason for living under water. Create conflict.
    Is there a stigma between living underwater or on land? Themes can be home, migration, war, piracy, love and loss.

  3. Think of resolution, based on main characters evolution through the story.
    The resolution will probably be reflective of the overall themes introduced, and ties them together into one big blob of meaningful. Granted, they don't have to be overly meaningful or essential to the plot. It starts to get a bit preferential.

Now I'm just touching on very basic and broad themes with the above examples. The rest depends on your content and characters' storyline. I'm not saying you have to include themes, or come up with one before you start the story... But I believe our stories are bound to have recurring themes whether you like it or not.

TheLemmaLlama
Sep '15

I guess a theme can draw new readers to something that otherwise has zero connection to what they're interested in sweat_smile Without a theme, it's just another "X happens to Y and then Z happens" scenario as far as a stranger is concerned, which sounds about as interesting as watching the news frowning Reading about "truth" or "love", on the other hand, seems more meaningful stuck_out_tongue

I don't advocate shoehorning a theme in just for the sake of a theme though; if you have no idea and interest about the theme, it shows sweat_smile You can definitely write a good story without a theme in mind, it's just a bit harder to describe it in a way that appears interesting to new readers wink

ghostnxs
Sep '15

After thinking about it I don't think theme is that important, especially when I don't hear people talking about themes when they read a story. If you asked me what the theme was for the book "And Then There Were None"(My favorite book) I wouldn't be able to tell you. Nor do I care that I don't. Thank you all for your input.

eagle1
Sep '15

Sorry I'm late, I had a busy day yesterday.

Theme is VERY important to your story, but it's also something that you don't need to spend a lot of time on originally. Sounds contrary, but let me explain.

The theme is the underlying sense of what the story is ABOUT. It's the skeleton that the whole story hangs on. The plot of Spider-Man is a high-school nerd that gets bit by a radioactive spider. The theme is "with great power, comes great responsibility". I'm stealing that example from Peter David, by the way. Note that all of the best Spider-Man stories follow that theme. Showing the problems with Peter's life, and the bad things that happen when he tries to shirk his responsibilities. Either to himself, Mary Jane, Aunt May, or even Uncle Ben. The plots, conflicts, characters, and such all vary, but the theme remains constant throughout all of the best stories told about Spider-man.
A theme is not about a moral (though it can be) or a political message (though it can be) or something deep (though it can be) but rather what the story is about.

As a writer/storyteller this means that you need to be able to identify your theme and write to it. Once the initial draft is done, it's time to do several things. You have to figure out what your conflict is, what your theme is, and what your plot is, and eliminate the dead weight from your script that does not advance one or more of those items. This is the hard part of writing, and just about every professional writer does this, in one way or another as part of the editing process.

I am a planner, so most of the time, I have my theme figured out before I start the actual script, but there's no requirement to do it that way.

In the end, though, knowing what the theme of the work is becomes essential in producing the best story that you can write. It's as important to the writing as the Gesture Line is to drawing. It's the single word, phrase, or sentence that your entire work hangs on.

Eagle
(Art references....Neat!)

ghostnxs
Sep '15

Thème just seems like a reason why you are writing the book or some aspect of a message. Which I don't really have or care for. Even though a story may unconsciously have a theme, that is up to reader interpretation. That's what I want. I always hated English class's because when we were asked about meanings there was one right answer. I have no interest in putting stuff into my story just to fit a theme. If I was trying to share a thought with the world then I'd have a theme, but I don't so I don't see the point.

starlightcityentert
Sep '15

As a writer, I'd rather include a mix of several themes that interest me or that I would like to convey through my story. But I don't sit down to write a story with the intent to pigeon hole it into a theme, I'd rather come up with the general idea/plot/characters first and then the themes will develop themselves the further I flesh out the story and build the world...themes should be organic imo, unless you are hellbent on writing a story about a particular theme then by all means.

To me, the story comes first, any "themes" or commentary about something is secondary. Like if I'm developing character A's personality and that character is say...a nihilist, once its all said and done, I may want to explore aspects of nihilism and include it in the story regarding that character's arc, but not in a heavy handed way either. I believe that the mantra "keep it simple, stupid" has merit, especially in the medium of comics. I tend to write with the agenda of having a story that can be followed easily by most readers, while having stuff for readers that tend dive deeper into a story's themes.

starlightcityentert
Sep '15
eagle1

Good example, that theme itself is the core of the character, and it's apart of what humanizes him and makes him the character that anyone could identify with, because he was not a god among men, or a rich billionaire, but an everyman with common problems that had to balance that with suddenly having incredible powers.

I'd tend to think though as Lee/Ditko began shaping the character, that theme presented itself once they took a step back and looked at how the story was unfolding.