Thematic Elements in Stories—Wielding Your Writing: A Guide Series for Writers

#theme #stories #writers #writingtips #thatweirdwriter #wieldingyourwriting

In the bookish world, there are certain things people talk about a lot--Characters, dramatic fight scenes, cool worlds, their ships, (AKA cheering for the romances) and freaking out when their ships sail (AKA when they get loved up)

All of these things are great, and I love talking about and freaking out over all of them too. But there is an element in stories that is often overlooked, and not because it's boring, but because it brings out a different feeling or a new perspective than the other and not only in the story, but in the readers.

Thematic elements, or the themes of a story, are how the writer uses real world feelings like love, sorrow, anger, etc. or concepts like death, survival, good vs. evil, or coming of age.

These are things you add to your story to evoke emotion and make your readers emotionally invested in your story. They also help add conflict and can help you as the writer further express your voice.

If you need some examples of themes, or just want to get inspired--Here are 10 common themes in literature.

Some of these themes can be very deep, but they can also be controversial. Not everyone thinks about things the same way.

Writing them is both a blessing and a curse--It's a blessing because writing allows us to portray and explore many different themes in many different ways. It also lets us be super whimsical and abstract with theme or very serious.

A lot of times the author's view on the theme of topic will show through. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a bad thing when all of your character have all of your opinions and beliefs, and they are all versions of you.

Writers cannot be arrogant. We must expose ourselves to new ideas and different views on real world situations in order to grow as authors and as people. Everyone has their own beliefs and you do not need to believe everything you hear. You just need to be open and look at it in the sense of, "How can knowing this about people help me create more realistic and diverse characters? How can knowing about this topic help me approach it in an accurate, but interesting manner?"

The bottom line is this: Your work is going reflect you, but be humble enough to realize when you need to do research and look at things from a different perspective, and be aware of the message your story is putting into the world. It might not be a life-changing one. It might just be the perseverance your characters show, or why people should wear blue shoes. I don't know, but I do think all stories have valuable lessons that readers can take away and apply to their real lives.

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Not all stories are real, but you can learn a real lesson from every story.

- Alexandra Lee

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I absolutely love writing theme into my books and discussing it with other writers, soulfully because, it is what connects stories to real life. There aren't dragons in our world. There aren't unicorns or magic or crazy and elaborate worlds.

Most of the stuff in fiction is fake and does not exist in this world, but war and love and courage, survival, death--all of these things do.

These are the very things that tie us to stories. We love stories because they make us feel a certain way--Happy, sad, lonely, scared, excited.

What I love most about theme in stories is the freedom writers have to attack these topics. Themes can be used to bring messages to the surface of our society that have been overlooked. We can learn from other writers and expand our skills by studying how they present them vs. how we might present them.

Themes give writers the chance not to just get their story out there, but to get their voice out there.

What is most important to you? What is something in your life--a moral, a belief, a topic that you're so passionate about? Perhaps it's something others are passionate about too, or maybe you feel like you're alone, and that this thing isn't heard, that it doesn't have someone to give it a voice and to speak out about the issues it brings or eliminates from the world.

Just because you write fiction does not mean your story cannot have an impact on real life problems, and just because you write non-fiction does not mean you have to hide your personal voice.

There are a lot of hard things you have to decide when writing a book--Characters, plot, setting. If you're writing non-fiction then you have to pick a topic and do research. But the hardest, the hardest thing, in my opinion, is deciding how much of yourself are you going to allow your readers to see.

There is so much judgment. There are so many opinions that people will have about your work, the topics you chose to write about, and how you execute your book.

This is why writers live in fear. It's why creators live in fear.

I'm not going to tell you that your story can be perfect, or that you will ever be able to please everyone and write the perfect, noncontroversial book because I hate that word! I hate the word perfect because perfection does not exist in this universe. Not just in writing, but in this universe!

That's a controversial statement right there, and I think most of you will agree with me that people need to stop going after perfection, in writing, in life, and start going after true fulfillment and happiness, and encourage and help the people around them to do the same, but there is someone out there who disagrees with this statement.

I don't know who it is. I don't know why they disagree, and frankly, I don't care. I don't care, not because I'm a jerk, but because I realize that I can't please everyone, and I never will.

The quicker you realize that as a writer, the better off your are because a giant weigh will be lifted off of your shoulders. You won't hold yourself back, and that will reflect in your writing. Words will flow and appear on the page--Your deepest thoughts and feelings and beliefs will come to the surface. They will stare you in the face.

Those moments are the ones where I have to pause and really take a step back to just thank God that I have the opportunity to do what I do. That I have the passion for it, and that he is revealing parts of myself to me that I never even knew existed. He uses words to speak to me just like I use words to speak to others, and that is a beautiful thing. It's also quite funny because it's a cycle, and some days that cycle feels like it's going around and around, and you have all of these ideas and feel super pumped up. Then there are those days when the cycle seems to freeze.

But the truth is...it never stops.

A Summary

Writers, like all people, fear rejection and judgment which can lead to us not taking the initiative to write the stories we really want to write.

A big part of that fear is the reaction we're going to get about the themes we use and how we portray those themes.

I don't think we should ignore criticism, but I do think we need to know what is an opinion and what is a valuable piece of feedback.

We should research people and opinions and beliefs that differ from our own even if we never use them in our writing.

We should be able and willing to look at ideas and situations from a different perspective even if in the end, we're still holding firm to our original belief.

We should know the balance.

But we don't.

No one really does.

My final piece of advise for you is to practice. Practice writing and get feedback on your work. Get people who are different from you to read it.

But at the end of the day, write the story you want to write, and as long as it doesn't hurt someone on purpose, (aside from the hysterical crying, characters dying, and complete and utter emotional trauma) write it.

Don't be scared, but I know you are. I'm scared too.

But I'm more scared of what will happen if I don't write. I know not everyone will like my work, but I believe that someone out there will, and I believe that God will use those words to change their life.

That's what makes all of the fear worth while.

Some of the topics discussed in this blog are really heavy, but it's meant to get you thinking and get your imagination moving. So use theme! Don't be afraid to be controversial and stand up for what you believe in. If your beliefs tie in with your story or a certain character, show them. If they don't then, take that as an opportunity to grow and learn. Maybe that's not the story you're meant to write and that's okay, but you've learned something about yourself, and that self-awareness is beyond valuable.

Thank you for reading this post! What are some of your favorite themes in stories, and how do you compete with negativity and self-doubt? Leave your words in the comments.

It's been a pleasure writing for you, and until next time--stay weird and stay writing. - Lexi