Theme and message are crucial to writing a story that sticks in a reader’s mind. Without it, a story falls flat and is easily forgotten, fading away until finally disappearing. Let’s quickly hop into why exactly theme and message are so important to fiction writing.
Theme vs. Message
Before I begin, I’d just like to clarify what I refer to when I say theme or message. These two terms are not interchangeable. People may say otherwise, but when I say theme, I mean a big overarching subject. Love. Friendship. Depression. A message is building off of a theme and making it into a statement (e.g. Love conquers everything, friendship survives no matter what, depression does not define you). It’s what you want to communicate to the audience – without being preachy, hopefully 😉
Strong messages bring hope to people.
It sounds cheesy, but your words have the ability to make the world a better place. Stories are powerful. There’s no denying that. Words can build someone up, or tear them down. So with this power in your hands, do something good with it! Weave a message that brings hope to your reader, ignites their soul, and encourages them.
Books that encourage me have a dear place to my heart and I’ll find it very hard to forget about them.
Don’t make people feel dead inside.
On the flip side, don’t write a story for the sake for making someone feel shocked/horrified/sad! There’s already enough in the world to make anyone feel that way. Many read to escape from real life, so why suck them into another terrible situation?
This is my personal opinion, but after I read something that actually makes me feel dead inside, I deduce it is not a good book. No matter how popular it is, if it affects my worldview or mental health for the worse, I’m probably not going to touch it anytime soon. I don’t want to keep losing faith in humanity (even though yeah, we can be pretty horrible sometimes).
(Also my mental health is generally very good, thanks for asking :D)
Don’t waste people’s time.
Sometimes I don’t want a light, fluffy read with no value. Books that have no strong, encouraging messages are the ones that are opened and closed for entertainment. Then I’m done. Occasionally, I’ll feel like I’ve wasted my time – what exactly do I get from this book apart from three hours of mild stimulation?
Books with powerful themes and messages are generally the ones that soar to the top of others’ favorite lists.
The Hate You Give, Angie Thomas.
The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins.
Watership Down, Richard Adams.
These titles can be found in many bookstores (with the exception of Watership Down as specific classics can be tricky to track down sometimes). And speaking of classics, the reason these books have managed to continue to delight people now is a brilliant combination of characters, plot points, and of course – themes and messages.
So if you don’t want to waste a reader’s time and energy, get in some quality themes and messages into your story. Make it cohesive. It’s already a work of art in your mind, but you can make it better with messages that EMPOWER YOUR READER.
Okay, I’m done now.
What do you think? Is theme and message something that confuses you? Would you like me to elaborate more on how to apply brilliant messages into your story? If you’re willing to put in the extra money, there’s a good online course that I would recommend by Josiah DeGraaf.
If you have any questions or suggestions for future posts, don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments section down below!
I’ll see you around!
All the best,
