In a post on the Stage 32 blog, Chris Morley offers advice for finding the theme in your story. While many teachers recommend determining theme before you begin writing, Morley prefers to let his characters come to life on the page before he decides what his story is about. “I honestly believe that the theme and universal truth of the story are best discovered in concert with the characters through their thoughts, actions, and experiences,” he says. “This feels more natural than pre-determining essentially who they are in advance before they have had a moment to stand and strut about on the stage of the creative imagination.”
In Morley’s experience, this creates a more organic story and allows characters to surprise the writer. “In this way, we discover the truth of the character, and we learn along with the character who they really are,” he writes. “We haven’t predetermined their reaction to events. We’re living their truth in concert with them.” As you learn more about your characters, their truth becomes the theme. “If you try to force structure onto the freedom and integrity of your characters, it may limit their freedom and, in so doing, rob them and you of an organic revelation,” Morley says.
