Themes

All good novels have a few things in common. Strong characters, strong language, strong stories... but there is one ingredient that many aspiring writers do not try to incorporate into their work, and even if they do, many do it intrinsically, without thinking about it. The best novels have powerful, overarching themes that resonate within readers at a deep level. There are many different types of themes that you can write about, and there are many different ways to introduce these themes into your writing. Honestly, the topic of themes and their use in writing can fill a book all by itself - and has. This is just a brief introduction.

Many writers use some simple, tried-and-true themes already without realizing it. To start in a very general way, good triumphing over evil can be seen as a classic theme that countless stories and novels have made use of for centuries. It has stayed popular because it is a powerful theme, rooted to something deep within our psyche. Also, turning this theme on its head and exploring the shades of gray in between good and evil can be a good way to keep readers (and yourself) engaged. Another common theme is love. True love, sexual love, sacrificial love, romantic love, familial love, destructive love, relationships and how they change people... love has many different faces.

Themes can also become very specific. For example, 'The Wizard of Oz' is supposedly based (this is argued by different groups in literary circles) on the nineteenth century debate on government monetary policy, with the Wicked Witch of the West representing the railroads, the monkeys representing the Native Americans, the scarecrow representing farmers, the tin man representing factory workers, and the Cowardly Lion representing William Jennings Bryan. James Joyce used Ireland, its relationship with England and the Church, and its self-destructive tendencies as the overarching theme for his entire body of work.

Themes can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be. They may be unique and original, or they may have already been used thousands of times because they speak to us as humans. They can be about characters, about death, about life, about a place or time, about the future, about apocalyptic societies, about money, about sex, about social customs and stigmas... basically, themes can be about anything.

How do you weave a theme in to your work? First, you have to find out what those themes are. Writing them out before you start a project, in the middle of the project, and after a project can be useful and insightful. Themes might change as your story grows and develops, and that's okay, but having a list to refer back to can help remind you what you were thinking of before you clacked out those opening lines on your keyboard.

You can introduce themes with a character's thoughts, speech, or mere presence, with an image, with a setting, with an object, with plot... If you look for opportunities to include your theme, you will find them.

Pick themes that are meaningful to you. For example, some of the themes I have used are very general: the idea of soul-mates and love, LGBT themes, themes of self-hatred, the transition from adolescence to adulthood, good conquering evil. Some of my other themes are highly specific: questioning God's existence and His actions as a gay teenager; exploring futuristic dystopias; mirrors, dance classes, and their relationship with body image and self confidence; the future of the human race and their tendency to alienate anyone physically or mentally dissimilar; white suburbia and its tendency to hold young people from means to a ridiculously high standard while completely blocking out people from other cultures... the list goes on and on.

The point is, there are tons of themes out there. They can be anything from "LotR has a theme about heroes struggling to beat the bad guys" (a vast oversimplification) to "Joyce's use of the silver bracelet on the wrist of the unnamed female character on page three draws to mind the image of handcuffs, because the female represents Ireland and her current imprisonment and destitution."

... I suggest starting with something a little simpler before using numerology, Biblical references, and animology to build on your theme, but if you feel up to it, go ahead and try. It can be very fun, almost like using a secret code. Even my Law and Order: SVU fanfic has some color symbolism in it to add a dash of, well, color. But maybe that is because my brain is always on overdrive...

PS: Random fact - color symbolism is my favorite type of symbolism to use when developing a theme! =D