On Writing: Theme

What is theme?

• Is it something the author must consciously include?
• Is it something the reader must successfully identify?
• How can writing to a particular theme help your work?
• How can it hurt?
• How can writers avoid thematic pitfalls?

What are your thoughts?

I'll start...

I have a few stories up but consider myself an unschooled rank novice, so take my comments with a grain of salt.

The theme is the central message of the story, usually implied (a novel may have several)

I think some authors grab a thematic idea - love conquers, redemption, preservation of innocence, etc and go from there.

But I doubt a theme is something the writer must consciously include unless they are writing to it. In fact, I suspect a lot, maybe even most authors, don't even consider a theme and just come up with a plotline, or even an idea (like, what would happen if a repressed soccer mom got hold of the perfect vibrator, or how does suicide and family secrets affect lives) and build a story. And then are surprised by the evolving theme.

I'd like to summarize what Stephen King said in On Writing. He says he does most of his first-draft-ing without even bothering to think about theme; he just lets the story come out. He only starts wondering about theme when revising for his second draft, but at that point he starts considering it strongly and wondering how he can shape the story around it. He says he did this after writing The Stand, because about 2/3rds into the book he hit a writer's block the size of Mt. Everest, and contemplating the book's theme was what eventually enabled him to blow the obstruction away (using, of course, a couple of bombs).

So, for those who prefer to just write and go for it and not care about things like resonance and repercussions and "but what's it MEEEEAN," you totally totally can. And those who like to weave theme through your story and have a "moral" at the end of it, you can do that too. It's completely up to you. And for those who need it to get around writer's block, it's there for you too. (That's me; I find myself needing theme almost from the get-go. ...That's probably a bad sign.)

I usually don't know what a story's about until I've written it, and sometimes not even then. In other words, I don't know what the underlying theme is when I'm writing it. I don't see very deeply into the piece. I'm just writing a story.

On the other hand, I think any writer who's amassed a dozen or so pieces of fiction can probably go through his or her stuff and pick out a theme that's common to all of them, whether it's a sex act or character type or emotional tone. It's like your fingerprint. Not your style, that's different. That has to do with the way you write. Theme has to do with the style of your content.

My theme seems to be transformative sex: sex that changes a character's life. I find it again and again in my stories, in all sorts of situations, among all sorts of characters, in romantic settings or in BDSM.

Porn is different from other types of fiction in that porn doesn't really need a plot. All porn needs is a description of sex, so porn can get by without theme. Even so, the better stories will have it, because the better stories are more than mere descriptions of sex.

Hi there. I think a central theme is really important as it keeps a thread throughout the story. There's always got to be some kind of direction for the reader. That's the beauty of the writer - reader relationship

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CrimsonMaiden said:

What is theme?

• Is it something the author must consciously include?
• Is it something the reader must successfully identify?
• How can writing to a particular theme help your work?
• How can it hurt?
• How can writers avoid thematic pitfalls?

What are your thoughts?

Click to expand...

Theme can be something very simple. Eroticism itself is a theme, and your story might not have any theme beyond that.

The biggest ways that a theme can hurt is if you-

A) Beat your reader over the head with it
B) Let it displace your story's logic to too large a degree.

Honestly, I suggest not to try to force deep. meaningful, serious themes. I've seen/read stories from authors who were desperately trying to say something, but didn't have anything to really say, and it can choke the fun out of a story.

dr_mabeuse said:

On the other hand, I think any writer who's amassed a dozen or so pieces of fiction can probably go through his or her stuff and pick out a theme that's common to all of them, whether it's a sex act or character type or emotional tone. It's like your fingerprint. Not your style, that's different. That has to do with the way you write. Theme has to do with the style of your content.

Click to expand...

Fingerprint, I like that description.

On Lit, I find that in most of the stories the theme seems to be that the characters are all incredibly horny.

In "Writing Short Stories," Flannery O'Connor says, "I prefer to talk about the meaning in a story rather than the theme of a story. People talk about the theme of a story as if the theme were like the string that a sack of chicken feed is tied with. They think that if you can pick out the theme, the way you pick the right thread in the chicken-feed sack, you can rip the story open and feed the chickens. But this is not the way meaning works in fiction.

"When you can state the theme of a story, when you can separate it from the story itself, then you can be sure the story is not a very good one. The meaning of a story has to be embodied in it, has to be made concrete in it. A story is a way to say something that can't be said any other way, and it takes every word in the story to say what the meaning is. You tell a story because a statement would be inadequate. When anybody asks what a story is about, the only proper thing is to tell him to read the story. The meaning of fiction is not abstract meaning but experienced meaning, and the purpose of making statements about the meaning of a story is only to help you to experience that meaning more fully."

SO THE THEME IS THE DRAMATIZATION OF THE PREMISE. Your premise is abstract, the theme isnt.

CrimsonMaiden said:

What is theme?

• Is it something the author must consciously include?
• Is it something the reader must successfully identify?
• How can writing to a particular theme help your work?
• How can it hurt?
• How can writers avoid thematic pitfalls?

What are your thoughts?

Click to expand...

1. I think some writers do think about it. They use it in their outlines. They make sure each scene or chapter relates to it. This is especially true of Travel Essays. That's why they always quote things in the beginning of the chapter - to underlie the theme. But, you also have writers, like King, that don't concern themselves with it. I think an appropriate analogy would be two quarterbacks; one relies on natural talent and the other studies and studies and studies. Both can be great. Both can win. (And yes, I know. I should never use a sport's analogy. )

2. I think so. It helps the reader identify the motivation of the piece.

3. I wrote a few novellas and two short stories that all tied into one theme: control. One dealt with the protagonist trying to control external components, the other used internal factors. The short stories helped introduce the themes of the novellas. I think, and this is just one writer's humble opinion, that it helped me greatly. It enabled me to move the story forward, kept the motivation of my characters in check, and allowed me to use the settings more appropriately.

4. It also didn't let me go "outside the box." This can hurt a story. I'm sure there are other ways it hurt me too, such as not letting me expand my characters the way I would have liked.

5. Rewrites are the only way I know of. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

On a side note about themes: I've often noticed that some people are thematically oriented (not just in writing but in everything) and others are not. For example, if I'm cooking dinner for several people I like to have a theme. My friend who's a much better cook never cares. And somehow his dinners always turn out better. Thematic learning studies in elementary aged children show that they learn more when there is a common theme. High school students - not so much. It may have to do with the type of learner one is?

Hope this helps.

What is the theme?

Yes, include the theme or a brief of the story

Is it something the author must consciously include?

Yes, you must state the age of eighteen or or older for
participants in sexual activity.

Is it something the reader must successfully identify?

Yes, you must be alive.

How can writing to a particular theme help your work?

It does not. You have to write in peculiar ways and
with different themes to be a good writer.

How can it hurt?

Yes, you will make a few people be pissed off at you if
you write the wrong type of stories, but fuck them.

How can writers avoid thematic pitfalls?

You have to change your writing style and start talking
about different shit. Don't dwell on one subject because
it is like a tar pit that slowly lets you downward.

What are your thoughts?

Love you honey!

I write characters first and foremost. Story comes second. Theme plays no part in it. Usually, there is a kind of truth to be extracted from the story, but I don't write to "theme."

Ah heck I feel like less of a writer now. I never have a theme, I never have a plan or chart or whatever. I simply take a basic idea, tailor a gal to fit into the basic idea and toss stuff at her.

Theme?

Well, I could never really build up great 'affection' for the concept of theme. Theme -- and further what? I think 'theme' just doesn't hold much of meaning and that's the problem for me: missing meaning. Alike to O'Connor I, too, prefer talking of meaning of a story than its nebulous 'theme'.

You know, the primary theme of any erotic story has to be per se 'eroticism/sex/pornography'. OK, but does this insight give me any advantages or even new possibilities of understanding? No.

That's why I think what a good writer strives to do is to incorporate 'meaning' into the respective story because 'meaning' not 'theme' is what prevents your story from falling flat like the used printing paper. Theme alone does nothing for the story...

Personally I think that the only theme that's necessary in storytelling is 'honesty'. You don't have to have any kind of theme in mind when you write your story. All you need to do is make your story honest. Make it feel true. Make it feel like these are real people. Either have them act in ways that are congruent with who they are, or change who they are to make it congruent with the way you want them to act. Tell the story you want to tell, but make sure it makes sense, both logically and emotionally. Themes are great and a lot of fun to take note of, but I don't think they need to be planned ahead of time. They will appear in your story inherently. You won't even realize it; it will just happen. Then, if you want, you can rewrite your story to tie the themes together a little more deliberately.

I don't like the idea of too much planning for a story before I try to write it. I could just be lazy or missing the point but I don't want to know where the story will go until I sit down and write and see what happens. The whole idea of plotting and themes fills me with horror.

Perhaps I don't feel strongly enough about anything to wish to try to incorporate any particular theme in a given story. I like to just think of an idea or situation, something hopefully within the realms of possibility, and then see where it goes.

The good thing about writing is that there's no cut and dried right or wrong way to approach it. You can plan every scene or plan nothing. Jump right in or take as long as you want to get the idea worked out beforehand. Whatever works for the individual.

I just get the idea in my head of what i want to write about and write it. As i go along i make changes but i always go back and re-read everything. To me its boring to edit my work and try to make parts fit better. Going back and making the pieces fit just right is all a part of it though. Having a theme i go for is subconcious for me, i keep it in the back of my head as i write and it all works out.

Never let your brain get in the way, this is writing, not math. In several of my classes the professor would take a single sentence or paragraph, disect it and then rearrange it on the board like it was algebra, it was just confusing to me. Yet when writing my essays i always got a B or better.

Whether an author plans a story around a theme or lets the story plan the theme is irrevelant. Both ways bring out great things. Writing is like a woman giving birth...does it really matter whether a baby comes from c-section or natural childbirth...either way you get a baby.

dr_mabeuse said:

I usually don't know what a story's about until I've written it, and sometimes not even then. In other words, I don't know what the underlying theme is when I'm writing it. I don't see very deeply into the piece. I'm just writing a story..

Click to expand...

Let me ask you this, Doc .... when reading stories, are you more engaged by those that have a theme, or by those that are aimless?

JAMESBJOHNSON said:

In "Writing Short Stories," Flannery O'Connor says, "I prefer to talk about the meaning in a story rather than the theme of a story. People talk about the theme of a story as if the theme were like the string that a sack of chicken feed is tied with. They think that if you can pick out the theme, the way you pick the right thread in the chicken-feed sack, you can rip the story open and feed the chickens. But this is not the way meaning works in fiction.

"When you can state the theme of a story, when you can separate it from the story itself, then you can be sure the story is not a very good one. The meaning of a story has to be embodied in it, has to be made concrete in it. A story is a way to say something that can't be said any other way, and it takes every word in the story to say what the meaning is. You tell a story because a statement would be inadequate. When anybody asks what a story is about, the only proper thing is to tell him to read the story. The meaning of fiction is not abstract meaning but experienced meaning, and the purpose of making statements about the meaning of a story is only to help you to experience that meaning more fully."

SO THE THEME IS THE DRAMATIZATION OF THE PREMISE. Your premise is abstract, the theme isnt.

Click to expand...

You are correct. Great post.

My Thoughts on Good Writing

I think a good writer knows the characters before the theme. It is good idea to have vague idea of your theme. I am currently working on story with Sinful_Whisper. it is called the Blindfold and the Whip Sorrority. I know to read the title you might think that is story about a bunch of wild sex crazed domantrix coeds. that would be the furthest thing from the truth. It a good example of developing your setting and characters. Anything I write I always set it up for any potential co-writers by telling a little bit about characrter. One thing that Sinful_Whisper has showed me is how important especially in our story that we know a little more of characters background. Personally before the story ever goes in print I walk it through in my head. I think it important to take your time to develop the story and not rush. I would appreciate honest feedback on my stories from anyone who wants to pm me. I would also be willing to give you feedback on any of your stories.
Last thing i have to say on good writer. A good writer draws you into the story and you live the story with the characters till the climax.

does depend on the story for me... in some there are themes that just appear while writing - maybe not even as the main element in the story, but they are there... like, some kind of betrayal was something that i noticed appearing in several of my stories... and of course something like a general fear of the world (mainly in my horror stories i guess)...

as for theme vs. characters, as that has been mentioned here a few times, that depends a lot - sometimes i leave the characters very vague on purpose - not necessarily one-dimensional, more like something that is a bit hard to pin-point. i suppose in those cases theme becomes more important... in other stories, it's the characters that are more important...

which of those it will be, is usually something that happens sometime while writing. i very rarely decided to write a story to a certain theme. usually the stories appear, and with them, the theme appears...

JAMESBJOHNSON said:

SO THE THEME IS THE DRAMATIZATION OF THE PREMISE. Your premise is abstract, the theme isnt.

Click to expand...

Yeah, this probably hits the nail on the head. Also, I've heard writers describe theme as incorporeal signposts or indicators that help us gauge the story's atmosphere.

I think Characters are equally as important though. Theme-heavy and character-weak stories just don't seem to cut it. You need your characters to be multi-dimensional for them to lead the story, and in turn, build the theme.

I might be wrong (as I have no formal training) but I like character driven stories.

Plot can sometimes be suborned to the cast's motives and desires.