1-9 What are Themes & How to Distinguish Them?

The Oxford Dictionary describes themes as:

theme /θiːm /
▸ noun

1 the subject of a talk, piece of writing, exhibition, etc.; a topic: the theme of the sermon was reverence, a show on the theme of waste and recycling.

2 an idea that recurs in or pervades a work of art or literature: love and honour are the pivotal themes of the Hornblower books.

– ORIGIN Middle English: via Old French from Latin thema, from Greek, literally ‘proposition’; related to tithenai ‘to set or place’.

The theme of a story is the underlying meaning, the big picture, the message or philosophy of the story that’s important to the characters and oftentimes, the reader. Theme is sometimes mixed up with plot and topic. For clarification, plot is the sequence of events while topic is what the story is about.

Let’s take the Lord of the Rings as an example:

The topic of LOTR is war, addiction, brotherhood, etc.

The plot of LOTR is a group of voluntary heroes sacrificing everything to take an evil ring to the only place they can destroy it and to stop an even greater evil from coming back.

The themes, and there are several because this is such a large story, are corruption within absolute power, friendship and the loyalty that comes from such bonds, mortality in the face of great harm to oneself and livelihood, and compassion and mercy when you are in a position of power.

Notice how topic, plot, and themes are three distinct features of a story?

How to distinguish your theme:

You can establish a theme by asking yourself one question: Why are you writing this story? Your characters and plot will entertain your readers but it is the unspoken theme that will emotionally move your readers.

Themes that you might have come across include: friendship is magic, absolute power corrupts, crime doesn’t pay, love is all you need, if there is a will there is a way, never mess with Mother Nature, the ruling class aren’t always the most moral, etc.

Once you have an idea, you can start asking other questions. How are the themes connected to the characters? Here is a hint: the themes are often directly connected to the protagonist’s trauma.

After answering why you are writing this story and what your themes are, you also need to ask yourself if there is a truth you wish to reveal or a lie you want to expose. Often, writers use fantasy and science fiction to expose hard truths or lies about the real world. For example, LOTR has themes of addiction and corruption that parallel things happening today.

When working with a theme, it has to be something you believe in and want to work with. Otherwise, writing will become a tedious chore. If the theme is important to you, it will become important to your characters and thus to your readers.

Advice for Plotters, Plantsers & Pantsers:

For plotters and plantsers, finding the theme at the start is a must. But for pantsers, the theme might not appear until much further down the line. This is okay, so be kind to yourself and follow the process that best suits you. I strongly believe writers need to understand themselves as writers first, before they work on their stories. If you are a pantser, just keep writing until the themes bloom from your work. If you’re a plotter, you know what to do. And if you’re a plantser, pen something down, but don’t be worried if your theme changes halfway through.