At the end of a book, readers frequently comment on their takeaway message, inferring story and themes are linked. Get these tips!
By: Grant P. Ferguson
Last Updated: January 24, 2024
If Story and Themes Are Linked, Which Comes First?
In Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, he wrote:
“Good fiction always begins with story and progresses to theme; it almost never begins with theme and progresses to story. The only possible exceptions to this rule that I can think of are allegories like George Orwell’s Animal Farm (and I have a sneaking suspicion that with Animal Farm the story idea may indeed have come first; if I see Orwell in the afterlife, I mean to ask him).”
Breaking down King’s writing principle:
- Complete story’s first draft.
- Then think about what it means to you and readers.
- Enrich the content with your thoughts on themes.
Given the story comes first, how do writers progress to include the themes?
Genres Link Story and Themes
Many times, your story’s primary genre establishes the external theme.
The external theme gives meaning to the overarching narrative relating to what your book is about. For example, a murder mystery is about bringing the killer to justice. A romance story is about falling in love.
When writers create a mashup of genres, the chief genre often drives the story and establishes the external theme.
Characters Link Story and Themes
The development of dynamic characters with flaws and traits suggests their reactions to conflicts arising from plot events.
The internal theme gives insight into the protagonist’s life, amplifying conflicts, experiences, discoveries, and emotions, including the change required for the lead character to solve the story problem. This playground of conflict and emotions highlights why good fiction begins with story and progresses to theme. However, if the writer gets heavy-handed with a preconceived (i.e., a blatant) message, readers notice, and they express their comments in Amazon reviews (e.g., “too preachy,” “author’s agenda overrode an otherwise good story”).
It’s okay to know what you would like for readers to takeaway from the story, but let the characters do their parts to convey the theme realistically with subtle tones and behavioral nuances.
Universal Truths Link Story and Themes
Despite the cultural minefields that suggest truth is what you want it to be, readers know which universal truths resonate with them.
For example, each of us knows widely accepted facts that don’t change.
- The sun emits light
- The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
- Human beings are born, live, and die.
The philosophical theme taps into the audience’s collective knowledge of a universal truth, and typically provides the lead character with the motivation to learn the internal theme’s life lesson. For instance:
- Honor results when a person lives values without compromise.
- Shame results when a person compromises personal values.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), the external theme emphasizes social justice. The philosophical theme highlights Atticus Finch’s willingness to live his personal values without compromise in his effort to overcome racial prejudice and attain social justice.
Lee’s novel serves as an excellent example of how the story progresses to theme.
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How do you go about linking your story and themes?
9 responses to “Tips to Link Story and Themes”
Excellent post, Grant. For me, the theme may lurk in the background at the start of the story, but it definitely takes greater shape and gains clarity as the story develops. That was true in my current WIP where the deeper theme emerged well into the write – like at the 80% mark! It makes moving into a second draft exciting. 🙂
Well said, Diana! I love those moments when it all comes together.
I’m finishing my first draft today, Grant, and then will begin evaluating the whole thing using the Trellis Method. I’m intensely interested in how it’s going to help me shape/rewrite the book.
Fantastic, Diana! In the Story Scene Development Workbook, you’ll find the questions and prompts that help you review and edit each scene. You can use multiple copies of the RTF file. Better yet, set up a spreadsheet with columns for the questions/prompts and rows for your responses to apply to the scenes. Yes, it’s work, but the results are worth it. Note: The Custom Metadata feature in Scrivener creates the equivalent of one huge spreadsheet. Best of all, you can literally edit the scene’s content as you apply the responses to questions and prompts. You do a similar thing (but not as elegant as Scrivener) using “comments” in MS Word.
Thanks, Grant. I’m actually very excited about the process.
A person or a small group vs society, we see it all the time in history at turns of events. That person makes a great protagonist!
Spot on, Priscilla. Audiences bond with those protagonists, serving as a writer’s foundation on which to build a tribe of loyal readers.
Good summary. Honor and shame–those are great in any story.
… and so relatable, the essence of the Philosophical Theme. Thanks for stopping by, Jacqui!