Writing for a certain theme or about a specific theme can be challenging. How do you do it? I asked some other authors for their tips and advice, and I’ll be sharing my own too. So hopefully something in this post helps you next time you have to write a story for a theme.

Auntie Rebekah:
When you write for a theme, especially if it’s a short story, think small. If you have a word limit, trying to fit a big complicated plot can often make the theme become watered down and hard to find. Think in terms of scenes or a few days. If you must do a longer time, be willing to jump forward and then recap.
Some themes are easier to write for than others. This is where you must get creative. If you can take the theme out of the story and it doesn’t affect it, you don’t have a theme.
Think of it as you should with a well written essay. You want your readers to know at the beginning what the theme is, and then tell them about the theme during the story, and at the end make sure they are reminded of the theme by a good ending that wraps things up. Or perhaps you’d rather think in musical terms. A musical theme often repeats itself and has slight variations but they keep coming back to the same theme. You don’t have to mention the theme 100 times, but dropping hints, mentioning it, having the character talk or think about it, or put it into practice if the theme is one like a character trait, will help the theme become the strong cord that ties your story together. Lose that cord and your story falls apart.

Auntie Kylie:
I like to take a sheet of paper – write the the theme at the top and then put everything I can think of in a brainstorm session under it that is related to said theme.

Auntie Erika:
For an attribute like Hope or Joy, think about how the character might learn a lesson of that attribute. Then think of what circumstances might give them opportunities to learn that – or might tempt them to NOT display that attribute in their lives. The plot of the story should be centered on how they learn that, or how they demonstrate it, or how they teach to someone else, or how they display it in an unusual circumstance (or how they don’t learn/display it and the consequences).
For something more abstract, first think about the word/phrase as a larger picture. Connect it with something specific, very much related, and meaningful. (For instance, Everything: in everything give thanks, everything works for good, everything is a gift from God, Jesus is everything to me, I can’t have everything, everything is out of my control, etc. Then go from there and follow the above steps to find a way a character can learn, demonstrate, teach, or be tested on that truth.
It’s good to bring in the theme very early in the story and also make it present in the conclusion as well as throughout the story. The conclusion is especially important. It should feel like you’re leaving the reader with the truth or message of the theme at the end of your story – something on theme for them to take away. (This doesn’t HAVE to be explicitly stated; it can be done through the story itself.) Throughout the story, touch on the theme again: how are characters reacting to it? Are they learning/displaying the right behavior or wrong behavior in relation to it? What are they thinking or feeling about it? Weave it subtly but clearly into the story.
If you were to remove the theme, you should have no story left.

Auntie Bethany:
One thing that I don’t do but I think would be helpful is to write down theme ideas or things the Lord is teaching you when you think of them. If you keep a list, you could have ideas to look at when you think of one. I often seem to write themes the Lord is currently teaching me and that have been going through my head. I think it’s easier to write a theme when and make it come alive in the story when it’s something you’re living. Also, it can help solidify the theme in your mind and grow you as well as your readers. Another basic way to get a theme would be to look at the flaws of your MC. What they need to grow in is typically the main theme of the story. So if you can’t think of a theme, you might need to get to know your character a little better and learn their weaknesses.

And there you have it. Some tips on how to write a story for a theme.

Did you find any of these tips helpful? Is there anything that you do when writing for a theme? Do you find writing stories for themes hard or easy? I’d love to hear your thoughts.