On Theme

Character—Plot—Theme all go together as one in a good novel. Of course, there’s other things. Good writing. A great setting. An interesting premise.

Recently, I had an eureka moment about theme, possibly the most misunderstood side of writing. And one I suspect I haven’t really got right in past stories. But you write—and learn, as it were.

The reason for this post is really to explore what are the themes in fantasy stories. In a big book like LOTR, there may be more than one theme. What is Frodo’s “theme” and does it differ from Aragon’s? We can debate the point. The “big theme” in LOTR is, however, obvious. It is one that is a trope of the genre. Well, Tolkein invented the genre and so perhaps others followed his lead. Who knows?

Good vs. evil is certainly a major trope in fantasy. There are plenty of others, of course. However, it remains the mainstay of the genre. Perhaps even defines the genre, as such. But conflict always makes for a great story. We’ve Homer to thank for that. Think Illiad. Think Odyssey. Both triumphs of good (the Greeks) against evil (The Trojans) or Odysseus versus a whole catalogue of fantastic creatures. In a way, if the Illiad is the first story and a “historical” one, the second smacks a lot of being a fantasy, what with cyclops, a magic user, and so on.

Back to theme. I’ve been pondering the theme for a novel that I’m plotting. I’ve my main character, a sort of policeman in that he is commander of the city watch. He’s up against various challenges: political discord, the enmity of a number of patricians, and a monster. It isn’t necessarily a good vs. evil story, though. Is my character a goody-two-shoes? I don’t think so. He’s prepared, at times, to break the law in pursuit of his goal.

I’ll share more in a subsequent post.