Do Themes Matter?

 by Tim Edwards

If you are writing a novel, you likely know what the story and plot of your work are.  But do you know what the theme is?  The theme in your work goes deeper than the story (what happens) and the plot (the sequence of events).  The theme is what you are trying to say.

Think of it this way:  why are you writing this novel?  Hopefully not just to become rich and famous!  Generally, when people write, it is because they have something to say.  In fiction there are often themes about gender discrimination, sexuality, generation gaps and so on.  In speculative fiction, the themes can be just as big and topical – don’t think that just because your novel features wizards, monsters or space ships that the theme becomes less important!  You can spend a lot of time building those elements, but they will mean very little if they don’t all come together to convey your message to the reader.

The plot that you create and the characters that you build should all be done with your theme in mind.  For example, if your theme is “love conquers all” then you would build two characters who are destined to be together, and then throw some heavy obstacles in their way for them to overcome.  At the end of the story, of course, their love will prevail and there will be a happy ending.

Knowing your theme is important.  When somebody reads your novel, you want them to be affected by it, and it is generally your theme that allows this.  Your characters might be well-written and your plot might be action-packed, but this is not enough to make an emotional impact on your reader.  If you want them to take something away from your novel, then you need to think more about the underlying issues. 

You have probably heard that you should write what you know, and this is helpful to keep in mind when you are thinking about themes.  We mentioned love as a theme, and this is a good place to start.  Love is something that most people relate to, either because they are experiencing it, or they WANT to be experiencing it.  Love and romance have the capacity to really affect people on an emotional level.  Relating something specific about love from your own experiences will help you to create a larger impact.

You might prefer your theme to be something a little more hard-hitting, such as racism.  If you have experienced racism yourself, then it will make your work all the more realistic if you work your own experiences into the story, through your characters eyes.  You might even want to explore the theme from the opposite side, by writing from the point of view of the racist.  As long as you have a message about what racism means in the world that you are writing, then this should come across in your novel.

So, if you are already well into writing your novel and you don’t think you have a theme, does that mean you will have to stop and start over?  Thankfully not!  The good news is that you probably already have a theme – you just need to find it and develop it.  Try the exercise at the end of this article.  You will  probably find that the plot you have devised and the characters you have placed in it are saying more than you realise!

Make a list of what is important to you in life, and the issues that you are passionate about.  Write down anything that you can think of, regardless of whether you think it will be relevant or not.

 
Next, write down a summary of the major things that happen to your characters in your story. 

Now compare the lists.  Can you see any correlations between the two?  Perhaps one of the things that irks you in life is gender discrimination, and in your novel you have a main female character amongst a slew of males.  Is she currently facing some discrimination?  Is she not able to join the wizards guild or be a space captain simply because she is female?  If she is not facing some discrimination already, work it into your story!  If she is, then try to play it up.  Make it MATTER that she is treated badly because of her gender.  Make it something that she is aware of and that she cares about, and that she ultimately fights to overcome.  By making this issue a thread in your novel, you are developing an interesting theme that will hook your reader in and really make them cheer for your character!