While the stories we spin are often deeply personal, they invariably explore themes that are universally relatable.
It can feel intimidating to approach themes such as forgiveness, fate, death, God, or freedom. They may feel like they dwarf us with their scope. You may wonder how you can hope to capture them, or to say anything new.
In this article I’ll explore how universal themes are more accessible than you may think. And lastly, I’ll give you a Story Weapon to help you connect to them in your work.
Your voice, alone, offers you specific ways to tackle universal themes in your story. Big ideas like forgiveness, truth, and God are dramatized in theme by the protagonist’s dilemma. The eternal self offers a path to interiority — observe the history of thought on universal themes with a story that gets to the heart of existence.
Make the personal universal
Though it may seem counterintuitive, universal themes are best explored in the personal realm. And while these themes may be too grand to capture in their entirety within a single narrative, by bringing a universal theme into your own world and letting it play out in the din of reality, you have an opportunity to say something new.
To approach an idea like forgiveness, for example, think about the times you’ve actually been asked to forgive. It’s as simple as a friend apologizing to another for a joke that went too far. Though it seems trivial, this focus on even a small situation lets you get to the heart of the matter.
Let’s take a look at an example that feels personal while touching on the universal: the TV series Fleabag written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
The show is so specific and novel in its presentation. The protagonist’s sense of humor and asides to the camera are hard to replicate. The particularities of the titular character are deeply personal. Despite that, or even because of it, Waller-Bridge is able to broach themes like sisterhood, grief, and friendship. She does it all in the voice of Fleabag. In fact, it is only through the specificity with which this character is revealed that we experience what makes her universally relatable.
The thing to remember is that we are all connected, and through story we discover what it means to be human. We step into love one day, and stagger through grief the next. We try to be just yet merciful to one another, and consider the stillness of death. How do you explore these ideas without lapsing into generalization or cliché? You take a specific scenario, and by investigating it with a clear perspective, you reflect a deeper reality. In this way, you are taking otherwise disparate elements and grounding them in what connects us all.
“What can I but enumerate old themes?”
– William Butler Yeats
The process of discovery
As you’re working on a story, your subconscious mind is naturally turning it over and exploring it from different angles. In the first stage of the process, you may not be thinking consciously of the theme. The theme tends to gradually emerge as you imagine your characters in relation to each other and their environment. The key in the early stages of story creation is to hold your idea of the story loosely.
Universal themes transcend our zip codes. They’re central aspects of the human condition. As you explore the world of your story and your theme begins to come into view, notice how all of the characters constellate around this theme. In other words, on a primal level, all of the characters in your story are seeking the same thing.
Here’s what I mean: every theme is dramatized as a dilemma.
For example:
Forgiveness: If I forgive, I will have to let go of who I was before it happened, and I don’t know who I am without that wound.
Truth: If I tell the truth, I may have to admit I was both the victim and the one who kept returning — and I don’t know how to hold both.
God: If I believe in God, I will have to accept I am a person who is worthy of unconditional love, and I don’t know who that person is.
The monomyth
Perhaps the best example of this comes in the form of The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. This book is the basis for the writing structure known as “The Hero’s Journey.” Campbell visits different cultures throughout history in this text, and explores how they told each other stories. The result is the monomyth; a distillation of what makes a hero and what makes a myth. By seeing the hero’s thousand faces, Campbell is able to pick out what stays consistent. For a closer look at the Hero’s Journey as a structure, you can read my overview of the different stages.
Here’s an excerpt from Campbell where he beautifully addresses the process of discovering the universality of your theme:
Furthermore, we have not even to risk the adventure alone; for the heroes of all time have gone before us; the labyrinth is thoroughly known; we have only to follow the thread of the hero-path. And where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god; where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves; where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our own existence; and where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world.
Your story weapon: Trust your voice
The more you explore the history of literature and thought, the more you can appreciate the great works that preceded us. There are countless masterpieces. Though research is an important part of the process, too much time poring over them can prevent us from getting started.
Writers throughout history have explored the themes you’re considering, and there’s still room for you to join the conversation. In fact, your voice is necessary. You reflect your times, your environment, and a style that’s completely your own.
This is where imposter syndrome is at its strongest. It helps to remember that writing a great story isn’t about having the best answers to big questions or being the smartest person in the room. Great storytelling is not about intelligence, it is about wisdom.
The strength of a writer is found in their passion and how they nurse that excitement. Chase the things that interest you and use your writing as a means to learn more about them. Ask yourself what scares you and run in that direction. It’s where your voice will be the strongest and the work will be the most compelling, both to you and to a reader.
Exploring universal themes is an opportunity to glimpse the scope of existence. It’s ambitious to approach themes like this, but ships are meant for the open seas. I’ll leave you with the words of Emerson on the subject:
Meek young men grow up in libraries, believing it their duty to accept the views, which Cicero, which Locke, which Bacon, have given, forgetful that Cicero, Locke, and Bacon were only young men in libraries when they wrote these books.
Universal themes are a doorway to the infinite world of your interior Self.
Engaging with universal themes requires both humility and resolve: humility to recognize the depth of the conversation you are entering, and resolve to contribute your own perspective with clarity and conviction. To continue developing your writing craft, join one of my next workshops: The 90-Day Novel, The 90-Day Memoir, Story Day.
