Theme
noun. The main character. The story’s beating heart. The one we follow, fret over, and occasionally yell at.
What is a theme?
A theme is what your story is really about — beneath the dragons, the dates, the detective work, or the doomed love triangle. It’s not the plot (what happens), and it’s not the message (what you’re trying to say). It’s the big idea your story explores by living it through characters, choices, conflict, and change.
In short, if your story were a question, the theme is the conversation it sparks in response.
Examples of themes in books
Themes can be broad, like love, power, betrayal, or freedom, or more specific, like the cost of ambition or the danger of forgetting the past. One book might explore what it means to belong. Another might wrestle with the line between justice and revenge. Same genre, different themes, totally different impact.
Some well-known examples
- The Hunger Games: survival, sacrifice, rebellion, media manipulation
- Pride and Prejudice: love, class, judgement, self-awareness
- The Handmaid’s Tale: power, control, resistance, the fragility of rights
- The Midnight Library: regret, choice, the meaning of a life well lived
And you don’t have to write a “serious” book to have a strong theme. Fantasy, romcoms, and thrillers can all hit hard when the theme is baked in.
How do you find the theme of your own story?
Sometimes you know the theme before you start writing. Other times, it sneaks up on you in revision. A good question to ask: What is my protagonist learning, or failing to learn, by the end of this story? That answer is often where your theme lives.
It’s less about what you want to say and more about what the story keeps coming back to. If every subplot seems to echo the same core struggle or question, you’re probably circling a theme.
Do readers care about theme?
Yes, but often in a subconscious way. Most readers won’t finish your book and say, “Ah, the central theme of identity in a fractured society was masterfully conveyed.” What they will say is, “That story stuck with me.” That’s theme doing its quiet, powerful job.
