Does Your Story Have A Theme?

Creative Writing Tips –

It should.

A theme is a one-line explanation of your story.. Every story should have one because our stories are just about something.

When I say should, I mean that this isn’t always the case. Especially so for beginner writers, who may not know, that the theme carries the story. Or even as those who’ve been writing for years may not be aware of the importance of a theme.

And a theme is important.

A theme is what wish support you on track as you write the story.

What happens if you write without a theme in mind? Two things…

1. You stray from the subject

or

2. You write more than one story.

Let me give you an example of a story written with a theme in mind…

The theme to a story I once wrote was, ‘Vanity Leads To Destruction.’

Very briefly, this story is just about a female character that believed herself to be so beautiful, in the end she lost everything.

Writing this theme on a post-it note and projecting it on my computer, I was always reminded that my story had to revolve about this theme. Having a theme helped me stick to the story I had intended on writing and not stray from it – not even as a little. It likewise helped me to focus only on what was essential to my story.

So according to my theme, ‘Vanity Leads To Destruction’… Every action my character performed was to show her vanity Her goals sprung from her vanity What impelled her was her vanity Her words (dialogue) showed her vanity How she handled situations showed her vanity The interaction with else characters showed her vanity The conflict was a result of her vanity The highest peak in my story, the climax, showed an intense moment of whether her goal would-be be met (whether her vanity would-be activity for, or against her) And the ending? The ending showed how she was led to destruction because of her vanity

By following my theme, everything in my story was precise.

If I showed my character not being vain in any instance, then I would’ve strayed from my theme.

Does your story have a theme?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you didn’t consciously write with a theme in mind, then your story won’t have one. Chances are, your story isn’t focused. But then over again there is the else possibility… At times we fluke things.

Perhaps without consciously knowing, a theme is running through your story.

Check your story to see if this is the case. If it is, are you projecting to the theme?

If you find that several parts of your story are lost from the theme, those parts wish need to be changed to accommodate the theme.

Now the else possibility…

You don’t have a theme and none is running through your story. That’s okay. We can still save it. See through your story and see what it’s about. Then move up with the most appropriate theme to it - A theme that does sense yet won’t mean too more activity to change the story.

Rewrite those parts that don’t accommodate the theme.

It is easier if we move up with a theme spell we are at the plotting stage. It saves all that redaction but not to worry… You won’t do the same error over again in your next story!

About The Author

Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site wherever you wish find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com

This article was announce on August 24, 2004