Hoo, boy. Theme is a little…complicated. The theme of your story is the meaning behind it. In layman’s terms, it’s the idea underneath your masterful work of art.
A theme can be a moral, an underlying message, or a general exploration into the human mind and/or existence.
In this chapter, we’ll explore simple themes, mixed themes, and complex themes:
6a: Simple Themes:
Simple themes are themes that can be understood and explained without too much effort or trouble.
Some examples of simple themes are below:
6a1: Conflict of Forces:
In a conflict of forces theme, you have Good vs. Evil, Selfish vs. Altruistic, Order vs. Chaos, etc. The conflict of forces theme pits one group or individual against another group or individual to come to a resolution that you choose. Who will win? Only you can decide that. Conflict, obviously, is important here, but so is action most of the time.
An example of conflict of forces: Ortrak and his clan must fight off an invasion of undead warriors led by the infamous necromancer, Kintora, before their village is destroyed. The theme here is the struggle between good and evil, represented by Ortrak and his clan on one side and Kintora and her undead on the other.
6a2: The Redemption Arc:
The redemption arc is the journey toward becoming a better individual after falling from grace. As someone who has written a redemption novel that was over a thousand pages long, I can personally tell you that this theme is a worthwhile one. The main thing to remember when writing a redemption arc is: your character must be dynamic and change throughout the story. Your character has to learn, grow, and become better in order to redeem themselves. Remaining static and wooden won’t achieve this.
An example of the redemption arc is: Joanne has lost her friends and family because of her gambling addiction. Left with nothing, she must start her life again and win them back. The theme here is redemption through personal change, represented by Joanne’s journey to reconstruct her life and redeem herself in the eyes of her friends and family.
6a3: Love and Friendship:
The love and friendship theme revolves around the emotional ties between characters. This type of theme is what the romance genre is all about, but the best-friends-forever type of story also fits in this category. Dialogue and an exploration into the emotional side of your characters are key to this theme.
An example of the love and friendship theme is: Dahlia meets Reese and they fall in love, but Reese’s wealthy family already has him set to marry someone else. The theme here is love struggling against outside pressure, represented by Dahlia and Reese’s relationship being threatened by Reese’s family obligations.
6a4: Revenge and/or Justice:
This theme is either about getting even or about putting right what was wronged. Like the good vs. evil theme, conflict is key here, though action also has its place. The key difference between the good vs. evil theme and the revenge and/or justice theme is character motivation. In the good vs. evil theme, good is pitted against evil because the good side is forced into that conflict, or in some strange cases, vice versa. In the revenge and/or justice theme, the characters in question are actively seeking revenge and/or justice against that which wronged them.
An example of revenge and/or justice is: Mac was left for dead outside of Duggan’s Saloon, but the Red Ravine Outlaws made the mistake of leaving him alive. The theme here is revenge against those who wronged him, represented by Mac hunting down the Red Ravine Outlaws and killing them one by one.
6a5: Tenacity, Perseverance, and Courage:
This theme is about enduring through hardship and possibly overcoming it. This theme explores the will of the individual or group against impossible odds. Description, detail, situation, and the exploration of characters’ thought processes and emotions are key here.
An example of the tenacity, perseverance, and courage theme is: Barry and Sandra are a middle-aged couple who want to cross the Atlantic in their own sailing ship. The theme here is perseverance against hardship, represented by Barry and Sandra’s struggle to cross the Atlantic while tackling all hardships along the way, including conflict between each other.
6a6: Growing Up or Coming of Age:
This theme is all about learning how to be an adult, learning about how the real world works, going through a puberty ritual, etc. This theme relies heavily on situation, dialogue, character interaction, and the emotional processes of your characters. Your characters must make mistakes and then learn from them.
An example of growing up or coming of age: Lith, age fourteen, must go through a cleansing ritual with eight other boys his age in order to be considered an adult within his religion. The theme here is growth into adulthood, represented by Lith’s experience with the ritual, his relationship with the other boys his age, and what he and the other boys glean from the experience.
6a7: Dread:
This theme inspires a sense of fear and/or dread in the reader. It’s most commonly seen in horror. Suspense and good description of surroundings and events help convey this underlying theme. The main point to remember when writing a dread theme is: unnerve your readers. As someone who cut his teeth on horror, I can tell you that creating a sense of dread can easily make people remember your story. You want that feeling of unease to stick with them.
An example of dread is: Melana works in the library in her small town, but she was warned to never go into the old storage section of the building, especially at night. Due to peer pressure, Melana goes with her college friends into the old storage section of the library at night. The theme here is dread through anticipation, represented by Melana knowing something is wrong with the old storage section while the reader waits for something terrible to happen.
6a8: Lighthearted:
This theme is the opposite of dread. This theme inspires a sense of joy within the reader and is most often seen in feel-good stories or comedies. Situation, dialogue, and character relationships move this theme along. The main point to remember when writing lighthearted themes is: make your readers feel happy.
An example of lighthearted is: Jason and Calvin are two socially inept friends who want to find a club right for them, but they have no idea what they’re doing. Hilarity ensues as they do everything the wrong way before finally getting it right. The theme here is joy through comedic failure, represented by Jason and Calvin’s antics while looking for a club activity that matches their own form of ineptitude.
6a9: A Moral or Message:
If you write a story with a moral or message, then that moral or message can be the simple theme of the story. If the moral of your story is “be kind to others,” then your story will revolve around this. If you have a message such as “beware the dangers of unrestrained technology,” then your story will revolve around that. Just remember to structure your plot around this theme in order to achieve this outcome.
Remember that your stories do not have to have complicated themes. Any simple theme is good enough to relay the content of what you wish to write.
6b: Mixed Themes:
A mixed theme is, in essence, two or more simple themes used together. A mixed theme may convey two or more simple themes without difficulty, as long as a moral or message is not one of those themes. In other words, if you have star-crossed lovers mixed with revenge, you have the love and friendship theme mixed with the revenge and/or justice theme.
Here are some examples of mixed themes:
Young Tod must brave the cold wilderness of the Urlak Range in order to become an official warrior of his clan. The themes here are: growing up or coming of age mixed with tenacity, perseverance, and courage.
Basil is a washed-up detective who believes his mother was the victim of a murder. He sets out to find his mother’s killer while redeeming his own good name. The themes here are: the redemption arc and revenge and/or justice.
Esther, a reporter, and Joshua, a young priest, set out to stop cultists from summoning an elder god intent on destroying the world. Meanwhile, Esther has unrequited feelings for Joshua. The themes here are: conflict of forces, dread, and love and friendship.
You can mix themes all you want, but just remember that it’s your story. You should always write your story how you see fit. Only worry about themes if you’re truly set on emphasizing one.
6c: Complex Themes:
Complex themes involve one or more simple themes along with an underlying moral or message. I would suggest not starting out with a complex theme unless you’re willing to undergo that kind of stress.
As I’ve previously stated, I wrote two young-adult, science-fiction, teen romances. My first one, D-Shift, is a story about seventeen-year-old Nancy Clark, a typical high school student who witnesses the complete vaporization of a government research facility. Because of that accident, she shifts from one universe to the next along dimensional lines every time she falls asleep. Every day, people change into something new, such as part bird, part spider, and even part plant, but everything else—history, people, and places—stays the same. Nancy is the only person who can tell that anything has changed.
In the process of figuring out the mystery behind the accident, she starts falling in love with Danny Princeton, the biggest nerd and social outcast in school, because despite all of the changes day by day, she sees him for who he is, not what he is.
The complex theme behind this novel is: love and friendship, a warning against unrestrained technology, and the moral that real love is loving someone for who they are, not what they are.
Inserting an underlying message or moral into a story that has one or more themes is more difficult than it sounds, but it’s well worth the effort. Your story takes on a depth it didn’t previously have.
6d: In Closing:
Oftentimes while writing, you won’t have a theme in mind; you’ll just write your story. However, you’ll notice the theme sooner or later if you’re writing a novel or novella. Some themes will always be pretty closely tied with genre, such as if you’re writing a romance novel. The love and friendship theme is key there, for instance.
For short stories, your themes will often be closely tied with genre unless it’s something like one of Aesop’s Fables, in which case a moral or message is the underlying theme. For example, I’m well-versed in the horror genre, and I write short horror stories on a regular basis. Therefore, my theme for these stories will almost always be the simple theme of dread.
Once you have some experience under your belt, you’ll be able to insert complex themes into anything you write. However, this is not a guide for the literary elite. You’re a genre fiction writer, so themes are only as important as you want them to be.
The Quick and Easy Guide to Writing Genre Fiction Copyright 1st ed. © 2022 Matthew L. Marlott
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 6…Theme Copyright © 2026 bloodytwine.com Matthew L. Marlott
The image for Chapter 6 of TQ&EGtWGF was generated by artificial intelligence courtesy of OpenAI.
