How to Write a Theme for your Story - The Art of Narrative

What is a Theme?

In the simplest terms, a theme is an idea. It's not what your story is about. That would be the plot. The theme is what you, the writer, are trying to say about life, and the human condition. It's the moral of your story, or the lesson that you want readers to take away.

A theme can usually be distilled to a single, sometimes wordy, sentence. A simple theme would be, "love conquers all." However, a theme cannot be expressed in one word. "Love" is not a theme because you need to actually say something about love.

Your plot answers the who, what, where, and when. A well-developed theme answers the most important question- Why? As in why are you writing this story? And, why should a reader care?