This Is What Keeps Good Writers and Producers from Reaching the Next Level!

Are you frustrated that your scripts, films, or novels are not hitting at the level you would like them to?

In my first newsletter, noted that the single best way to create a better story and thus to lift your writing game and opportunities is to develop a stronger story concept. In this newsletter, I will focus on another key way to make your story more resonant with readers, producers, talents, publishers, and audiences.

Theme!

In my story consulting work, I’ve found that the biggest weakness and struggle for good writers is coming to grips with theme. It is this lack that very often holds these creatives back from reaching the next level in their story telling careers. To move to a higher level, storytellers need to create stronger emotions in readers, producers, publishers and audiences. A weak theme = weak emotions = being ignored or forgotten and staying stuck at the same level.

In this article, I will focus on a few strands of this knotty problem and give some advice of how to develop a better theme in your story to cause greater emotional reactions to the story and thus create more interest in you as a writer.

First, what is theme? Simply, theme is the abstract meaning or message of a story.

Let’s look briefly at four examples of themes. First, Aesop’s “The Tortoise and the Hare” short story: Slow and steady wins the race.

The theme of many thrillers and action films like Die Hard is: Justice over evil.

The theme of the feature film drama Saving Mr. Banks is: The importance of dealing with childhood psychological issues to fully enjoy one’s adult life.

The theme of the classic film Casablanca is: The rightness of involving yourself in World War Two and life.

Theme is vital to a story for many reasons but arguably the most important is that it is through thematic ideas that a writer most creates resonance and emotion in an audience. The dramatization of ideas to cause emotions is especially effective through character arcs.

Let’s consider the dramatic power of theme in Casablanca, one of the most popular and influential films of all time.

As noted, the theme of Casablanca is the rightness of involving yourself in World War Two and life (Or more simply: Americans must join the war). This theme is especially dramatized through the protagonist Rick Blaine and his character arc. Once a freedom fighter against fascism and the enthusiastic lover of Ilsa, Rick has become, after being “betrayed” by her, a bitter and cynical man who has isolated himself from the world, especially the war against the Nazis. The deeper story of Casablanca is Rick’s character arc change from cynical isolationist to an individual idealistically involved in the war (and love/life). It is Rick’s struggle with this change and its beautifully written climax, where he makes his final choice between isolation and involvement, that creates the strongest audience emotion. It is this clash of thematic ideas that makes the climax of Casablanca one of most memorable scenes in the history of film.

To create deep emotion in your audience, you must develop and concretize abstract but value laden ideas in your story. That is, you must have a big and important theme. If your story has no meaning, it won’t induce any emotions in your (small!) audience. If your generally well written stories have not been resonating, that is most probably because you have no real theme, or it is inconsistent, shallow, or uninteresting to a broad audience. Great and popular stories have universal themes that dramatize value laden principles of life applicable to everyone.

On the practical level to apply a strong theme to your story, I recommend starting with these three simple steps:

1. Work out what is your theme. Ask yourself: What is the big idea I want my audience to walk away with at the end of my story? What idea are my events expressing? How is this idea universal, important, and personal?

2. Apply that theme to the motivations and arcs of your lead characters.

3. Work out how this theme is answered in the climax?

There are of course many other issues and tips related to creating a strong theme in a story, but the above three should start you along a good path to develop ideas in your story that will interest and move an audience.

If you are stuck re theme for your story, I strongly recommend that you hire a professional story expert to help you identify the theme, make it universal and meaningful, and apply it to the characters and events of your story. Doing this is extremely hard and takes much thinking, training, and practise. But that is much better than the alternative….

Two of the main niches of my story editing and coaching work are Developing a Premise, and Developing and Applying a Theme. The two mottos I often use regarding these niches are: Concept is King, and Theme is Emotion. Nuff said!

Learning to apply theme to your story can deepen the skills in your writing toolbox, add meaningful layers and drama to your story, and create stronger emotions in your audiences. Theme could very well be the best way for you to lift your stories and storytelling career to the next level. Stronger theme = stronger emotions = more resonance and attention! Now there’s an idea to consider!

To learn more about theme, read my article about it at Creative Screenwriting.

And listen to my interview about theme with Brooks Elms.

Stories are ideas in action!

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