Another way to explore a Theme:
Let's take Shake-spears Romeo and Juliet.
And pretend you're the writer.
"I'm going to write a story about two people who fall in love(obsession) against the wishes of their parents and families because I want to show that love, whether true or romantic is so powerful it can blind those that have been intoxicated with it and lead them to die."
What's going on here?
The writer has created a controlling idea that will be his or her theme. Theme as in, the touchstone to which you the writer check back in with as you're writing.
Let's come up with our own example:
"I'm going to write a story about two people who find a treasure map that suggests their is money hidden in the home of a family that needs money for healthcare costs to pay for the mom's traumatic injuries and rehab and the child's ongoing battle with a rare disease. These people will go to all lengths to steal that money right from under these unknowing people because I want to show how intoxicating greed can be and how it can even lead to killing those who stand in your way and going to prison."
Another one:
"I'm going to show a story about a man who will stop at nothing to recover his daughter's lost dog. Even though the dog acts like a brat, the man will risk losing his job to take time off to find it because I want to show how the spirit of adventure can excite and provide an excuse for a person to throwing everything to the wind and can lead to rediscovering the person's very soul.
What I like about this type of Theme:
Writing a sentence or two or three to create a touchstone for your story can be a nice way to free yourself from the "all's well that ends well" problem. You'll be able to know that whether your main character triumphs or tragedies, you will have shown something you believe to be true about human behavior and life.
So whether the guy above gets the dog back doesn't matter because I've show that going on adventure and rejuvenate the soul.
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