Theme’s the Thing: 5 Points
Themes are the universal lessons and abstract ideas that we draw from our own experiences when writing and creating art, as well as when we read, and interpret art. If a friend asks you, “What’s your novel about?” you can tell them about the plot, or you can describe the theme. Theme is the main idea, the concept or message in the story.
I recently found my notes from a workshop given by Steven Piziks, who writes under the pen name of Steven Harper:
- Themes will always show up in your work regardless of what you’re writing.
- Keep your theme under control.
- A powerful theme will stay in the editor’s or agent’s head.
- You can write about a theme that you disagree with.
- Your themes will outlive you. They touch people and move them and pull them into new places, and make them remember your story.
I would add that you may not know the theme of your story or novel until you’ve finished writing it.
The experience of feeling like an outsider
The theme that most influences my work is that of someone who feels like an outsider trying to find a sense of belonging. Many struggles in life come from the idea that our lives would be better if we joined this or that club, if we were accepted by our in-laws, if we had a particular job, if we lived like our neighbors, if we hadn’t suffered trauma. It’s closely tied to the theme of self-identity.
My first novel, In the Context of Love, is about a woman who describes her wreckage of a life as she careens from disaster to disaster that ends in a destructive marriage. As she tells the story of how her life fell apart, two generations of her dysfunctional family unfold, along with early scenes of a forbidden high school romance to revelations of dark secrets that rock her world. Interestingly, in reviews and book clubs, readers talk about the theme being a journey to truth; fated soul mates; a redemption story; and a coming-of-age story. Others also mention the importance of family.
In my children’s picture book, Gordy and the Ghost Crab, a young boy is afraid of ghost crabs after his brother tells him they will snip off his toes and drag them deep into their holes in the sand to eat. Everyone else seems to be enjoying the beach except for poor Gordy, who’s now terrified. Then he’s called upon to protect a little ghost crab from a girl who wants to catch it and take it far from the beach. What will Gordy do? Run away, or be brave and stand up for the crab?
In my forthcoming novel, Love and Other Incurable Ailments, an anxiety-prone hypochondriac wants to be accepted and loved for who she is. She hides her shame over her disorder as she struggles to find love and community in a world that doesn’t understand her. The story reinforces the fact that a mental health disorder is not a character flaw, like conceit, greed, or selfishness. That’s what I have in mind–I wonder if future readers will interpret the same thing.
Intent and interpretation
I didn’t consciously identify the themes before I started each of these stories. Like most writers, the themes emerged naturally through the writing process.
Once you understand the overarching themes, you can edit with that in mind. Every scene, every chapter, can serve to advance your theme.
As an author, however, I understand that readers will make their own conclusions based on their life experiences. And that’s okay.
The subjective experience that readers bring to interpreting a work’s themes is part of what makes literature so powerful: reading a book isn’t simply a one-directional experience, in which the writer imparts their thoughts on life to the reader, already distilled into clear thematic statements. Rather, the process of reading and interpreting a work to discover its themes is an exchange in which readers parse the text to tease out the themes they find most relevant to their personal experience and interests. – from LitCharts.com
An excellent post on themes and how they can help define and expand the universality of your writing is What is Theme: A look 20 common themes in literature
What themes have emerged in your work? Has a reader every surprised you when they shared their big take-away from your writing, and it was different from what you intended?
Thank you for visiting.
Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist
Books: In the Context of Love | Gordy and the Ghost Crab | Sleepwalker
New novel, Love and Other Incurable Ailments, coming fall 2026 from Regal House Publishing
Connect with Linda on social media: LinkTree