#WeWriteBooks, Post 9: Adding a Theme

Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms. She writes weird books in lots of weird genres like fantasy (Blood of Kings and Kinsman Chronicles), science fiction (Replication), and dystopian (The Safe Lands trilogy). She's currently writing a post-apocalyptic book with all of you called THIRST in conjunction with the #WeWriteBooks series. 

Find Jill on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or on her author website, where you can read THIRST. You can also try two of her fantasy novels for free here and here.

This is week nine of #WeWriteBooks Wednesdays, where we are writing books together. I posted Chapter 7 of THIRST yesterday over on my author website. Click here to read it.

  

Recap

In case you're just joining us, or if you missed a week or two, here is a recap of what we've done so far:

Week one was genre (THIRST is post-apocalyptic YA). Week two was premise. Here's my premise:

A waterborne disease has sprung up in every corner of the globe, decimating the human race. Young survivors Eli McShane and his friends journey toward Colorado and the rumored location of a safe water source.

Week three was Storyworld. Week four: maps and floorplans. Week five: protagonists and main characters. Week six: side characters. Week seven: prewriting. Week eight: plot structures.

Today's topic: Adding a theme

Simply put, theme is what your story says about life and the human condition. It's what your story means to the reader. It can be powerful and life-changing or just plain fun. There are many different ways theme can be used in a novel. It can be obvious or subtle, leave readers with a question or some kind of feeling, reveal a universal truth, or inspire readers to a higher level of humanity.

Theme is a tricky beast. A lot of people will tell you that you can't choose your theme before your write your book or it will come off as preachy. And while I'll agree that it certainly could come through as too preachy, that's not always the case. I think it's a good idea to at least have some sort of plan as to what you're trying to say in your story. You might know exactly. Or you might think you don't have a theme because you are just trying to write an entertaining story. But even in the most entertaining blockbuster story, the hero has an inner need, a lie he or she believes. And that in itself can be a theme. Here are some other ways theme can rise out of a story:

1. Reveals the human condition: Themes show people as they are. Real people. Flawed people. Stuck in the trenches and doing life as best they can. Think of the cast of Les Miserables, A Christmas Carol, or Sense and Sensibility, all classics that are still popular today. These are books that reveal the human condition at its best and worst.

2. Illustrates a universal truth: Themes can be presented as adages or proverbs. For example: "After sunshine comes the storm," "a man is known by the company he keeps," or "what goes around, comes around."

3. Inspires readers to a higher level of humanity: In Les Miserables, Jean Valjean continually does more and more to help everyone he meets. At the end of A Christmas Carol, Ebeneezer Scrooge wants to make the most of his life. And in Sense and Sensibility, Marianne Dashwood's brush with death helped her understand much about life and her sister Elinor's behavior as she admits in this scene from the movie:

MARIANNE: [Speaking of Willoughby] If his present regrets are half as painful as mine, he will suffer enough.
ELINOR: Do you compare your conduct with his?
MARIANNE: No. I compare it with what it ought to have been. I compare it with yours.

4. Allegory: An allegory is a story that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning. Many themes can be found in allegories. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis is one of the most well-known allegories in fiction. It tells the biblical story of creation, Christ's crucifixion, and his resurrection all in the character of Aslan and how he interacts with the children in the story.

5. Issues-based: I meet a lot of writers who tell me they are writing a novel about ________. (Fill in the blank with any hot button issue.) This is one of the more dangerous ways to go about theme because authors who write these types of stories are setting out (usually passionately) to give their argument on this chosen "theme." And that argument can often come across as preachy. Still, this can be a great way to start a story. Just make sure that you work extra hard to weave this theme in organically with the plot and character arcs so that it feels natural. This is the difference between making your reader cry and making your reader throw the book across the room. One is good. One is not.

6. Asks a question: A theme can simply pose a question to the reader, for example: "Are angels real?" Then, through the story, that very question is explored. These types of stories work best when the author doesn't answer the question but gets the reader thinking about what the answer might be.

Ways to Work in Theme

When you have an idea of what your theme is, how do you work it into your story? My short answer is: don't. Have it simmering in the back of your mind. And you might also have a few scenes in which the theme will be discussed of faced. But theme works best when it happens naturally through the actions of the character. Write your story and see what your character does. Here are some ways themes might manifest:

1. Plot: Your theme can come out in the action of the story. In The Hunger Games, the plot forces Katniss to fight and kill. Killing and war are not her ideas. The plot forces her into those events.

2. Character Growth: Every character should have a lie he or she believes. Helping your character get past that lie is a great way of working in a theme. You can also use Blake Snyder's Six Things That Need Fixing to show your character grow and change. Going back to Katniss in The Hunger Games, themes rise naturally out of how she responds to the action of the story. She sacrifices herself to protect her sister Rue. She wears the mockingjay pin, which the viewers turn into a symbol of opposition against the government.

3. Symbolism: This is when you use symbols to represent your theme. Symbolism can be shown in word choice, description (colors, light and darkness, temperature, size, etc), animals, broken things, letters, characters, nature, or whatever you choose to fashion into a symbol. In The Hunger Games, the mockingjay is a symbol of independence, of something that has broken free from the control of the Capitol. When Katniss wears the mockingjay pin, she is saying without words that she is all about the things that the bird symbolizes.

4. Title: Pride and Prejudice says it all. Working your theme into your title can be a clever way to make it plain to the reader.

5. Wait and see: I've often been surprised to finish a story and be able to see a theme that has come out in the pages. A theme I didn't plan. No matter what themes I might set out to get the reader thinking about, when I write the actual story, they change, morph. Sometimes totally new themes emerge. So don't stress too much about nailing down one strong theme for your story. It will come.

Archived posts related to theme

Here are some posts I found in the Go Teen Writers archives that might help you as you consider potential themes for your story:

Symbolism and Themes

Using Nature to Enhance Your Theme

What Makes a Book a Classic?

The Moral Premise by Stanley D. Williams

The Art of Subtlety

What Stories Changed Your Life?

36 Plot Ideas for Your Novel (If you chose a plot from this list, that plot type can help you with your theme. But keep in mind. A theme is not one word. (My meme below is a bad example!) A theme says something about that word. "War" is not a theme. "War is bad" is a theme. Or "war is a necessary evil," etc. What are you trying to say in your story?)

My initial thoughts on the theme of THIRST

This is what I planned out for the themes in THIRST back when I was in the brainstorming stages. It's not much, but it's a start. And as I write, I will continually be watching for other themes to emerge.

In matters of life or death, what do you thirst for? Survival? Freedom? Water? 

Water makes life possible. People can't live without it. But is water a right or a possession?

When Eli and his friends reach The Safe Lands compound, the landowners make a list of rules, withholding water for disobedience. Eli feels strongly that withholding water violates people's "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and that thirsty people will never be peaceful.

Assignment time

Think about the theme of your story. Do you know it right away? What are you trying to say in your novel? Can you find a subject that shows up again and again? Does your character face a particular evil?

Once you’ve figured out the theme, ask yourself the following questions:

Does your theme mesh well with your plot and character arcs?

Is your theme the best fit for the story you're trying to tell?

Is there any way you could tweak the theme, plot, or character arcs to strengthen the impact of your theme?

A Warning

Whatever you plan in advance before you write your story should be kept in the back of your mind. Don't force it into the story where it doesn't fit. Don't force it into your character's journey. To write a good story, you have to stay true to your characters and let the story's action unfold organically. There will be plenty of time to tweak your theme during the rewrite stage so that it becomes more prominent. One of the biggest problems in storytelling is lack of subtlety, so don't forget that less is always more.

Also note, I try to keep up with all the questions in the comments section of each week's blog post, but I sometimes get behind and miss some, and I don't want to! If you've asked me a question over a week ago and I still haven't answered, please email me your question at jill@jillwilliamson.com so I can answer it.