How to Determine the Theme vs. Topic of a Story
In a story, theme is the why and topic is the what. Learn how to determine the difference.
New writers often confuse the difference between topic and theme, but the terms aren’t mutually exclusive.
To determine the theme vs. topic of your story, it helps to define the terms.
Theme Definition
The theme of a story is most often defined as the story’s central concept. Simply put, it’s the message, lesson, moral, or why of the story. Theme is important because it can take specific stories and make them universal (which is what makes a story good).
Some common themes in literature include:
Betrayal
Corruption
Family
Friendship
Justice
Loyalty
Morality
Power
Topic Definition
The topic of a story is what the story is about. Simply put, the topic is the main idea of the story. You can identify the topic by asking yourself what is happening to the character, what kinds of conflicts pop up in the story, and what is the main character’s goal (similar to plot structure).
Some topic examples include:
A young orphan discovers he’s a wizard
A group treks across Middle Earth to destroy a magical ring
A blind girl becomes part of the French resistance in a Nazi-occupied France
Read more: The Secret to Writing Dialogue that Sizzles
Theme Vs. Topic in Literature
When you put the two side-by-side, it’s generally easy to see the difference between theme vs. topic. Theme is abstract and deals with deeper meaning, and topic is concrete and deals with facts and specifics.
Taking from the examples above, here are some literary theme vs. topic examples:
In Harry Potter, the main topic is a young orphan discovering he’s a wizard. Some themes are love, friendship, death, and good vs evil.
In Lord of the Rings, the main topic is a group trekking across Middle Earth to destroy a magical ring. Some themes are good vs evil, fate vs free will, friendship, courage, forgiveness, etc.
In All the Light We Cannot See, the main topic is a blind girl becoming part of the French resistance in Nazi-occupied France and a soldier who fights in World War II. Some themes are war, survival, the power of knowledge, and fate.
Read more: A Cheat Sheet to Point of View in Fiction
Identifying Theme vs Topic in Your Story
To discover the theme of your story, write out a list of big ideas you want to tackle with your story. Maybe you want to explore female friendship or poverty. Maybe you’d rather try writing a story about good vs. evil. These are your themes.
To discover the topic of your story, write out your story pitch or write your idea like it was going on the back cover of a book.
To help you plan your next story, download this free theme vs. topic worksheet.
If you have questions or comments, I’d love to hear them. Send me a message or find me on social media.
