10: Developing a Theme

So What?

Whenever you are prepping, in the process of, or finishing your piece, a constant question to ask is “So what?” The 'So What?' clause is a very useful tool for determining the point of the whole piece that you are writing.

If you wanted to write a story about your summer vacation, you should start with a ‘So What?’ clause. That is, you should ask yourself why you should even write this in the first place. If you can’t come up with a good answer, then maybe you should come up with a better answer or reconsider if it is worth telling at all. Let’s look at some bad answers, some mediocre answers, and some great answers to this question:

Imagine these questions and answers as a conversation with a real person. If someone were to ask you “Why should I listen to you about your summer vacation?” it would be difficult to engage interest with them if you replied “Because it was fun,” or “I met someone there,” or “something dangerous happened.” These replies are vague and may not be enough to ask for you to continue. However, if you were to revise your answers with “I want to tell you how fun it was,” or “I met an interesting person,” or “Something dangerous happened when I went swimming,” this may pique their interest. The best response is to provide clear and interesting statements like “I want to tell you how fun can happen in unexpected places,” or “I met someone who made me rethink how I view life,” or “I learned the importance of swimming with a friend.”

This question-and-answer method is very useful in determining the theme of your story or a section of your story. How you answer the “So What?” clause will more than likely determine how you are going to theme your story:

A theme is an overarching way to connect everything that you have written. It’s a clear answer to the question: why are you even writing this? Surprisingly, this section was placed at the very end of this guide because it is perhaps one of the hardest things to do when writing. Anyone can write a story, but it is much harder to write a story with a clear purpose, and it is even harder to write a story with a clear purpose that is interesting and engaging.

Designing a Good Theme

A good theme is overarching, connecting other parts of a story to one unifying purpose.

You should be able to express a good theme in roughly one sentence. If you cannot answer the “So What?” clause in a clear sentence, it will have cascading effects on the story as a whole. Keep in mind that a theme is not a plot or a summary of the story, but the central focus of why it is even written in the first place. Again, this seems easy, but can be difficult when actually trying to design one. However, once you are satisfied with a selected theme, it can be a lot easier writing the story because there is one driving force that is pushing you in a direction.

Let’s design a scene with a purpose first. Suppose there’s a woman waiting for a subway. Let’s avoid thinking plot questions for now, like why she is there, and instead ask So What?: Why are we writing about a woman waiting for a subway? There can be a thousand different responses to this question—some good, some bad— but let’s respond with, I want to write about loneliness. Now, this is a good start, but this is still a bit too vague. Instead, we’ll rework it to be more precise and clearer. Perhaps, Loneliness is an intense emotion that can appear out of nowhere. While this is better, let’s try to tie it to humanity somehow—a statement on what it’s like to be human. Let’s tweak it a bit more so it reads, Loneliness is an intense emotion that can appear out of nowhere, which often forces people to confront it or to be consumed by it.

Let’s see all versions of developing that theme side-by-side:

Our well-developed theme is not only clear but also an interesting and engaging statement. People reading that statement may be inclined to ask, “How so? How is loneliness an intense emotion that can appear out of nowhere, which often forces people to confront it or to be consumed by it?”

Let’s respond by writing a story about it:

This example was easy to write because our theme was present in the moment. The paragraph, as well as each sentence, somehow connected to that theme. Oftentimes, people who claim that they “found their purpose or calling in life” have a sense of energy and drive about them. Instead of dawdling about what to do, they now know what is needed and seek to accomplish it. That is the same with developing a good theme—it is a way for the author to orient themselves into what needs to be written.

Don’t Worry About Perfecting the Theme Yet, Just Write

While coming up with a powerful theme utilized throughout your story will ultimately make it a better piece, it is also difficult to do. For many, coming up with a theme out of thin air is hard. Asking yourself “Why should I write about X” could lead to existential questions, and you could question why you are writing at all in the first place. The point is you don’t need a good answer immediately. Instead, it is important to work off ideas and concepts and see if it is interesting. For example, suppose you wanted to write on an idea about a librarian who was too afraid to tell someone to be quiet in the library. This isn’t a good theme, but it’s an interesting concept. You could spend time trying to come up with a theme regarding a shy librarian, but unless a good theme emerges naturally, that valuable time could just be spent writing. Let’s develop the concept and see if a theme naturally emerges by crafting a rough concept:

Out of this free writing, I was able to develop Dale: a timid librarian clearly not interested in addressing the students. Here, I can apply the “So What?” clause to see if we can get some interesting answers when brainstorming responses:

Question: So What? Why should I care about Dale, the timid librarian?

• Possible Answers:
  • Dale needs to stand up for himself.
  • Someone needs to be the responsible one.
  • Obnoxious students need to be held accountable

Out of the responses, a theme appears to naturally emerge: responsibility. A theme about responsibility is a good start, but it is a bit too vague. Perhaps I can develop it to be, everyone needs to be responsible, or something better like people must be responsible in the roles they represent. Let’s go setting with something more refined like: People must be responsible in the roles they represent, because neglecting these roles and lead to consequences. With that, let’s metaphorically tape it in front of our keyboard. Now, with our theme present, let’s rework our story with our overarching theme:

Once the theme was established, it was not only easier to visualize the plot but also the roles of the protagonist and the additional characters. In this scenario, the theme extended beyond Dale and to the three students as well as the rest of the students. Dale wanted to defer responsibility to his boss, but ultimately took responsibility. The students who stood idly by also realized that they too had a responsibility to support the librarian. Finally, the three students begrudgingly complied with the rules. In some way, the theme is pervasive throughout.

However, what’s important to note is that my “Well Developed” theme wasn’t established at first. Instead, it eventually emerged by just some freestyle writing. It’s perfectly acceptable to even write a first or second draft before finally crafting a solid theme. Sometimes, it takes a while to figure out exactly what the whole point of your story is. That’s okay. However, once you have developed a good theme, be sure to focus on developing and reinforcing it in subsequent drafts (we’ll talk more about that in Drafting and Revising).

Remember, completing a story without a good theme will eventually have the readers asking: “So what?”

Check In: Selecting the Right Theme