The bit about theme naturally revealing itself through the author & uncovered by audiences whether it is intentional or not is very true. Stories have to have meaning. We all want it to matter in some shape or form. There's a reason everyone who's ever recommended a story to someone else has thereafter been asked "what's it about?"
Grayson, I'm very grateful to you for your creativity, and I adore your author determination so much! I asked myself what is the most important part of a story right before watching it, but I actually came up with nothing. So I clicked on the video. Thank you so much for making it! To me, it articulated everything that I needed to know about story themes and the importance of them. Best regards from a non-native English writer! Keep up the great work!
It kinda reminds me of the design principle, as expleained by John Truby. If premise is what your storty is about. Then desing principle is how it happens. You tie the rest of concepts like theme, moral, characters... to the DP and you'll have union and cohession.
Okay so .. to be honest, I want to write since a long time, begun around 10-12yo, and never managed to find what was wrong so I kind of ended up letting go of the matter since some years... But i'm drowned back to it! The question of theme never came to my mind and now, I feel like it somehow opened my mind, it was what was lacking in my writing, a theme! I feel like this simple piece of information unlocked something in me ❤ thank you so much for your videos !
Thank you, I found this video really helpful as I find theme to be one of if not the most essential aspect of storytelling and also one of the hardest to consider. Keep up the good work!
I starting my Dragon Ball GT fanfiction and your videos are really helping me figure everything out and execute them well. I just want to say I appreciate you
@@linhluu9114 thanks 😊. i rushed the first try, which i left on Webnovel, but I'm changing up a few things in this improved version which is why i so appreciate his videos.
8:08 I loved your fairness and your honesty .the conclusion was it really nice . It's really that the books or novels doesn't require a theam it's not wrong thing if we don't have general goal about the book . We can make a fun story or entertainment . But there a lot of famous authors whose books contain no fun or purpose.
I feel like theme is the destination but the tone, emotional, characters are the road to it and that journey is the important part in the end. In no country for old men the theme could have been faith, yes, but ultimately I love it because I like seeing two competent characters in the south play cat and mouse. Bloodborne may be a game with the theme of substance abuse and childbirth but I love it because I just really like the gothic asthetic and world building. These things do not seem to be possible without theme. I am still a novice that hasn’t even completed his second screenplay yet. But theme seems like a part of a story that is required mainly for the service of the previously mentioned tone, emotion, characters. But writing has little to nothing solid about it so that’s just my take on it
Another great video, thanks a lot for this "deep" message. I am Curious though, is it possible to hide your theme from the reader for it to be revealed at the end in some sort of Revelation? or is that possible only because of a slightly tilted view of the theme from the reader's perspective, and then the true theme being shown by the author? I know it's a confusing and very specific question, but I'm just wondering if that Big Reveal at the end of a detective novel is also possible with the theme,
I'd also love to know whether that's possible 'cause having writing a detective novel, I also ask myself this question. And the other one is "Do I need to literally explain the theme to my readers? Are they not intelligent to pick up on it themselves?
Maybe! If you can hide a deep emotional truth till the very end, you can cast the whole narrative in a new light. Also by using a framed narrative (it is being told by a character) you can close the work with a new perspective, or again new information that changes the readers perception. Great examples of this are The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai, and The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson (though the latter is a 10 book series, it's famous for this reframing).
What do you do when you started writing without a theme in mind? I've tried a lot to identify a statement/question I explore through my story, but I'm never quite able to pin-point it, and sometimes I feel like there could be a lot of options. One day, I've found a statement I believe resonates pretty well, but at the same time, it's kind of lacking. Any tips?
Whoa, your like me. Don’t know if that is a good or bad thing. No Theme? Don’t let it stop you. They always say start with a theme. Everything depends on it. They are not wrong, but what if you don’t have a theme, or at least a theme you are aware of. Theme is cold blooded and analytical. I never start there. Start with character. Imagine your character, live your character. Doesn’t matter if you don’t know what the story is about. Maybe that is exactly what your main character feels too: list and miserable. Letting your main character tell you what the theme is, is …exciting. Start with character. Logically does not make sense. Writing without knowing how it ends or even what the story is about is not a non-starter. Put your toe in the water. A character will form, a pathetic kid. He has no friends. He has no friends because he perceives he has a flaw. You’re already 10% into the book. Robert, a kid, moves in next door from Mississippi. He calls his Dad “Sir,” and his mom “Ma’am.” Wow this is different. Robert over looks the flaw in the main Character and they become friends. We see them going to a dog show and closeness of the boy’s bonding. Robert and his family move back to Mississippi. See, it looks like you have no theme, things just happen. And you will throw out half the manuscript. But you have the characters; they are interacting . You see them, you give them dialogue, and miraculously you discover the theme: its not “how to make friends , but the more important “how to pursue one’s patheticness: not live with it or defeat ignorance , but how to value it: the theme: this flaw is not a flaw, it is my super power and it’s me. I like me “. Live with your character for awhile, a powerful theme will evolve. Your brain, always searching for patterns, will find a theme for you. It will be a great theme, better that the cold blooded ones. Yours will have blood.
Hey man, can you help me? Im writing my first chapter but ive basically gone straight into the action, the inciting incident is at the end of it. Have i jumped headfirst and do need a chapter of his life before it? Its a high fantasy btw. Thanks!!!
You ain’t wrong but I personally prefer characters, and I think general audiences do too. Generations have tuned in to the antics of Bugs Bunny outwitting Elmer Fudd, and it’s probably not because of the underlying basic themes- it’s because people love these characters.
I disagree. Those are "iconic" characters who never change, like James Bond. People watch to see them in new environments with new challenges, usually purely for entertainment. Your experience may be different but those kinds of stories are usually fun but forgettable for me. The ones I remember have great characters who engage with big thematic questions, while also providing entertainment. Some of my favourite stories ever remain thematically quite nebulous, but I can feel the question in the room with me haha
There's a difference between story and media made purely for entertainment. You are right, it doesn't have a theme, nor does it need one. At most it will make us think about how hunters hunt animals, but most don't think of that. Some iconic characters are made for the purpose of entertaining. Still if you are writing a story, it will benefit from themes. That's if you are writing a story, and not a character.
I've never understood the need for 'theme'. What is the 'theme' of Lord of the Rings? You may be able to retrospectively invent one, but I don't think it needs it.
The power of friendship? What makes a great leader? Reverence for the mundane? These and more are themes Tolkien took great care to convey through his characters
It has several themes, but a central theme in the sense writing advice tends to use it is a central problem that the main character must decide on. Such as the choice to use the ring or not, or the choice to spare Gollum or not. Basically it’s a source of internal conflict.
What I take issue with is the idea promoted here that 'Theme' is somehow a precursor to the story. Tolkien did not sit down and think: 'I am going to write a story about friendship and about What Makes A Good Leader' Those ideas are part of the story for sure, as are a thousand others. There is no 'Theme' that gave birth to LotR.
Like I said, starting with a theme is not the 'right way' of writing a book, even if it's often my preferred way. But having a Unifying Idea, whether you have it in mind from the start or not, helps a story feel cohesive and meaningful. Even Tolkien believed The Lord of the Rings had a central theme-he said the core of the story was "Death and the desire for deathlessness." Readers are welcome to disagree with that, since theme is largely up to interpretation. But I think it's valuable to have that Unifying Idea in mind as the storyteller, a north star to guide you.
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What about a Villian?
The bit about theme naturally revealing itself through the author & uncovered by audiences whether it is intentional or not is very true.
Stories have to have meaning. We all want it to matter in some shape or form. There's a reason everyone who's ever recommended a story to someone else has thereafter been asked "what's it about?"
“Secondary characters exist to embody a range of different viewpoints on the theme”
Great advice! I subscribed to stick around for more :)
If you're working on something Macbeth oriented, check out
1990 movie Men of Respect
Starring John turturro.
Retelling of Macbeth with Mafia Hitman.
Also the brilliant Long Price Quarter by Daniel Abraham! Betrayal in Winter is beautiful and very Macbeth-ian.
Grayson, I'm very grateful to you for your creativity, and I adore your author determination so much!
I asked myself what is the most important part of a story right before watching it, but I actually came up with nothing. So I clicked on the video. Thank you so much for making it! To me, it articulated everything that I needed to know about story themes and the importance of them.
Best regards from a non-native English writer!
Keep up the great work!
It kinda reminds me of the design principle, as expleained by John Truby.
If premise is what your storty is about. Then desing principle is how it happens. You tie the rest of concepts like theme, moral, characters... to the DP and you'll have union and cohession.
Okay so .. to be honest, I want to write since a long time, begun around 10-12yo, and never managed to find what was wrong so I kind of ended up letting go of the matter since some years... But i'm drowned back to it! The question of theme never came to my mind and now, I feel like it somehow opened my mind, it was what was lacking in my writing, a theme! I feel like this simple piece of information unlocked something in me ❤ thank you so much for your videos !
Thank you, I found this video really helpful as I find theme to be one of if not the most essential aspect of storytelling and also one of the hardest to consider. Keep up the good work!
Great video! This channel has helped me a lot with my writing, keep up the good work!
I starting my Dragon Ball GT fanfiction and your videos are really helping me figure everything out and execute them well. I just want to say I appreciate you
i would love to read it
@@linhluu9114 thanks 😊. i rushed the first try, which i left on Webnovel, but I'm changing up a few things in this improved version which is why i so appreciate his videos.
@@DageetaDaWriter sounds cool, give me the link when everything done, thank u
@@linhluu9114 🙏will do.
8:08 I loved your fairness and your honesty .the conclusion was it really nice . It's really that the books or novels doesn't require a theam it's not wrong thing if we don't have general goal about the book . We can make a fun story or entertainment . But there a lot of famous authors whose
books contain no fun or purpose.
should be doing camera tips 🔥
Love your videos! Great work. Will definitely return and reference this!
I feel like theme is the destination but the tone, emotional, characters are the road to it and that journey is the important part in the end. In no country for old men the theme could have been faith, yes, but ultimately I love it because I like seeing two competent characters in the south play cat and mouse. Bloodborne may be a game with the theme of substance abuse and childbirth but I love it because I just really like the gothic asthetic and world building. These things do not seem to be possible without theme. I am still a novice that hasn’t even completed his second screenplay yet. But theme seems like a part of a story that is required mainly for the service of the previously mentioned tone, emotion, characters. But writing has little to nothing solid about it so that’s just my take on it
Great video as usual
Another great video, thanks a lot for this "deep" message.
I am Curious though, is it possible to hide your theme from the reader for it to be revealed at the end in some sort of Revelation? or is that possible only because of a slightly tilted view of the theme from the reader's perspective, and then the true theme being shown by the author?
I know it's a confusing and very specific question, but I'm just wondering if that Big Reveal at the end of a detective novel is also possible with the theme,
I'd also love to know whether that's possible 'cause having writing a detective novel, I also ask myself this question.
And the other one is "Do I need to literally explain the theme to my readers? Are they not intelligent to pick up on it themselves?
Maybe! If you can hide a deep emotional truth till the very end, you can cast the whole narrative in a new light. Also by using a framed narrative (it is being told by a character) you can close the work with a new perspective, or again new information that changes the readers perception.
Great examples of this are The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai, and The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson (though the latter is a 10 book series, it's famous for this reframing).
What do you do when you started writing without a theme in mind? I've tried a lot to identify a statement/question I explore through my story, but I'm never quite able to pin-point it, and sometimes I feel like there could be a lot of options. One day, I've found a statement I believe resonates pretty well, but at the same time, it's kind of lacking. Any tips?
Whoa, your like me. Don’t know if that is a good or bad thing. No Theme? Don’t let it stop you. They always say start with a theme. Everything depends on it. They are not wrong, but what if you don’t have a theme, or at least a theme you are aware of.
Theme is cold blooded and analytical. I never start there. Start with character. Imagine your character, live your character. Doesn’t matter if you don’t know what the story is about. Maybe that is exactly what your main character feels too: list and miserable. Letting your main character tell you what the theme is, is …exciting. Start with character. Logically does not make sense. Writing without knowing how it ends or even what the story is about is not a non-starter. Put your toe in the water. A character will form, a pathetic kid. He has no friends. He has no friends because he perceives he has a flaw. You’re already 10% into the book. Robert, a kid, moves in next door from Mississippi. He calls his Dad “Sir,” and his mom “Ma’am.”
Wow this is different. Robert over looks the flaw in the main Character and they become friends. We see them going to a dog show and closeness of the boy’s bonding. Robert and his family move back to Mississippi.
See, it looks like you have no theme, things just happen. And you will throw out half the manuscript. But you have the characters; they are interacting . You see them, you give them dialogue, and miraculously you discover the theme: its not “how to make friends , but the more important “how to pursue one’s patheticness: not live with it or defeat ignorance , but how to value it: the theme: this flaw is not a flaw, it is my super power and it’s me. I like me “. Live with your character for awhile, a powerful theme will evolve. Your brain, always searching for patterns, will find a theme for you. It will be a great theme, better that the cold blooded ones. Yours will have blood.
Hey man, can you help me? Im writing my first chapter but ive basically gone straight into the action, the inciting incident is at the end of it. Have i jumped headfirst and do need a chapter of his life before it? Its a high fantasy btw. Thanks!!!
I like the tip about framing it as a question to avoid preaching. Now can we push this to Feige’s socials??? 🤔
You ain’t wrong but I personally prefer characters, and I think general audiences do too. Generations have tuned in to the antics of Bugs Bunny outwitting Elmer Fudd, and it’s probably not because of the underlying basic themes- it’s because people love these characters.
I disagree. Those are "iconic" characters who never change, like James Bond. People watch to see them in new environments with new challenges, usually purely for entertainment.
Your experience may be different but those kinds of stories are usually fun but forgettable for me. The ones I remember have great characters who engage with big thematic questions, while also providing entertainment.
Some of my favourite stories ever remain thematically quite nebulous, but I can feel the question in the room with me haha
There's a difference between story and media made purely for entertainment. You are right, it doesn't have a theme, nor does it need one. At most it will make us think about how hunters hunt animals, but most don't think of that. Some iconic characters are made for the purpose of entertaining. Still if you are writing a story, it will benefit from themes. That's if you are writing a story, and not a character.
I've never understood the need for 'theme'. What is the 'theme' of Lord of the Rings? You may be able to retrospectively invent one, but I don't think it needs it.
The power of friendship? What makes a great leader? Reverence for the mundane? These and more are themes Tolkien took great care to convey through his characters
It has several themes, but a central theme in the sense writing advice tends to use it is a central problem that the main character must decide on. Such as the choice to use the ring or not, or the choice to spare Gollum or not. Basically it’s a source of internal conflict.
What I take issue with is the idea promoted here that 'Theme' is somehow a precursor to the story. Tolkien did not sit down and think: 'I am going to write a story about friendship and about What Makes A Good Leader'
Those ideas are part of the story for sure, as are a thousand others. There is no 'Theme' that gave birth to LotR.
Like I said, starting with a theme is not the 'right way' of writing a book, even if it's often my preferred way. But having a Unifying Idea, whether you have it in mind from the start or not, helps a story feel cohesive and meaningful. Even Tolkien believed The Lord of the Rings had a central theme-he said the core of the story was "Death and the desire for deathlessness." Readers are welcome to disagree with that, since theme is largely up to interpretation. But I think it's valuable to have that Unifying Idea in mind as the storyteller, a north star to guide you.