June 25, 2019
[This guide was copied, as is, from Wattpad. At the time, I had no intention of posting it here. Please excuse any discrepancies.]

This section covers maintaining a theme throughout your story, and how to exemplify it near the end. As a section on theme, it assumes you are using one in your story and want to maintain it all the way to the end.

In most cases, the ending gives any story its punch. Readers will generally remember it better than other parts. If not that, it is what makes a story satisfying to read. Ending at the right point, on the right note. And one of those notes that should be hit in a Warriors fanfiction is the theme of your story… that is, if one was used. Most fanfics, sadly, do not have any sort of theme. When they do, it is often used incorrectly or clearly forgotten about when the end is reached. All books written for YA audiences have pronounced themes. Literally all of them. Warriors is no exception, even if it is written for an even younger audience than YA.

WHAT IS A THEME?

A theme is the central topic a text treats. To narrow it down for genre fiction like Warriors, it is the central idea of the story. Themes in fiction attempt to portray a moral opinion from the author, a universal truth in life, or an argument for a specific virtue, be it good or bad. The plot, characters, setting all set out to convey this theme as tactfully as possible to the reader. As a result, this theme resonates throughout the entire story. All the way to the end.

One of the reasons people find certain fictional worlds so fascinating are the themes it portrays. Most, however, cannot simply list them off the top of their head. Same goes for Warriors. This is about normal. Themes are often not openly discussed by a fandom unless a particular episode or book was especially well done… or especially poorly done. Themes are meant to be subtle, after all. They lose much of their edge if we simply spell them out for our audience like a children's show.

Here is a list of common themes found in Warriors:

- faith/spirituality

- nature vs nurture

- cultural interaction

- right, wrong, and gray morality

- obligation vs happiness

I could easily list several others, but these are the most common. You could probably guess that faith and nature vs nurture are pretty high up on the list (StarClan, Scourge, Tigerstar, etc.) Other themes like cultural interactions and gray morality are also pretty common (Mothflight, Ivypool, the tribes, etc.) These underlying themes are just as important to the story as any main character or lake. They make us think, make us angry, and sad. Why is that? Themes give moral weight to what the characters do and where the plot goes, investing us emotionally into the story. Underlying tones in the story make the actions of these characters and the directions of the plot have meaning to us, personally. Often, we all think the same way about particular themes in a fictional story, and would love to see them dug into deeper than the canon does; and thus, a fandom is born.

I will give two more examples with large fandoms, each having a heavier or lighter hand with theming throughout:

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, regardless of what you think of its fandom, has some clearly defined themes that we can use here. It has many, but its main ones are friendship, family, duty, and honesty. Normal for a children's show. Also normal is how in-your-face some of these themes are. Later seasons have gotten much better with this as the audience has matured a little, but most of the time the theme (or lesson) is summarized at the end of the episode. Not very subtle, but still effective.

Star Trek is not well known in this fandom, but the themes of duty, shared morals, greater good, culture clashing, and risk vs reward are not as obvious as the themes in MLP. The shows usually weave their themes into episodes with a more delicate touch, often ending in ambiguity. The Federation and Starfleet are even mocked constantly for believing their society is ideal for everyone in the galaxy (especially in DS9). Opinions are harder to form and themes are harder to grasp, but it has gained the massive following it has over the decades partly due to this.

Without themes, many stories would not have a point to being told (of course there are always outliers, but not in fandoms). Ever wonder why the popular Aqua Teen Hunger Force did not have a vibrant fandom but My Little Pony does? Themes. But enough about what. We should discuss how.

ADDING A THEME TO YOUR FANFICTION

Now it is time to think about adding your own theme(s) to your fanfiction. But how? Adding themes is not as simple as adding events or characters. You have to really think about how it is going to weave into the actions of these characters or the directions of events. How does your story portray the theme you want to portray? Does it even do that?

And example from our nonexistent fanfiction is necessary, as bombarding you with information is useless:

- Cat was born the only surviving kit of a loaner, forced to grow up on her own after she grew out of nursing. She survived by any means necessary, trusting no one. In her adolescence she encounters Otherpaw of ShadowClan, who convinces her to come to camp. The leader accepts her as a member, as they need apprentices. Catpaw has a hard time adjusting to her new life surrounded by others, but Otherpaw makes that transition easier. Her potential blossoms and she and Otherpaw become close.

- Later, a ThunderClan raid takes their leader's last life. Catclaw is made deputy, being the best uninjured fighter in ShadowClan. Ignoring her adopted morals in her new position of power, she wants raids on ThunderClan's camp with the goal of killing kits and queens. The whole clan rejects this, the new leader wanting to attack head-on. Killed by his own plan, Catclaw becomes Catstar, and many of her clanmates are not happy with her.

- At an impasse, she consults Otherleaf. Eventually, she decides to attack them within the warrior code. Her clanmates can agree, and her time as a loaner helps her think of a plan to outwit rather than overpower. It works, and ThunderClan is subdued. Rather than taking revenge for killing two leaders and disrupting her adopted life, Catstar shows mercy to surviving members of ThunderClan. Her new outlook on a shared life is challenged when other clans express their grave disapproval for both her actions and role within ShadowClan (sequel begins)...

Did you get the themes from that example? The main ones were nature vs nurture and right and wrong. Where were they? Catstar lived as a loaner most of her youth. Her nature, as a loaner, is to survive by any means. Those instincts remained when she planned to kill kits and queens instead of attacking warriors. To her, this was the right course of action to save the lives of as many of her clanmates as possible. To the rest of the clan, however, it was wrong and strictly goes against the warrior code. Is anyone right or wrong in this situation? It is up to you, and that is partly why it is a theme. In the end, our main character accepts her adopted lifestyle in full and even uses her time as a loaner to help them win the day without resorting to her original plan.

The two things that drove our themes along were the characters and the plot. Even in basic storylines it is possible to have an impactful theme and satisfying resolution. And Warriors, as a plot-driven series, expresses its themes through the actions of its main characters as a result of their environment or events of the plot, rather than a deep exploration of personality or internal conflict. This does not mean it is not possible to have internal conflict or deep personality in our fanfics, though (that is one of the reasons we write them). Nor should you shy away from these things.

A key to adding themes to your story is to make sure they are not explicitly stated. In one of the other shows I mentioned above, My Little Pony, themes are usually stated at the end of episodes, or so obvious that we can predict how the rest of the episode plays out. No one wants to be told that Firestar represents the incorruptible lawful good. Show us. Do not tell us that Mothflight's kits represents juggling personal happiness with important obligation. Let us see it in action.

Also important, the theme must be present throughout the important parts of your story. That is to say, you do not have to incorporate your theme about regret when your main character is giving the better fresh-kill to a group of derpy kits. Stick to important plot or character changing events to subtly incorporate your theme. We use motifs for this. A motif is a recurrent image, idea, or symbol that develops or explains a theme, while the them is still our central message. For example, a recurring symbol can be us pointing out a scar on our main character whenever our theme of nature vs nurture shows up. Where the scar came from could be important to showing our readers that it is, in fact, there to represent something about our character.

Keep in mind that a central theme ranks very high up on our list of things that can affect your story. It can even outrank our main character in some cases (first six arcs of Warriors, The Catcher in the Rye, The Hunger Games, etc.) It is important that we take the time to really mix them well into our plot and characters. Preferably before we start writing our fanfic. Only then can we drive it all home with a satisfying conclusion.

ENDING WITH OUR THEME

The ending of the story is everything past the beginning of the climax. This part of your story is more influenced by your theme than the main character or even the plot as a whole. Your theme was alluded to throughout your story. Here is the big reveal of sorts. If your theme is about nature vs nurture or culture clashing, your audience may learn what you think about such things. It is just as important to them as knowing how the plot resolves or what happens to the main character. One thing to always keep in mind is that the theme cannot be dropped in at the end. That is a general rule of all kinds of writing: important information at the beginning.

Our example from our nonexistent fanfiction is needed. Here is a summary of the end so you do not have to scroll up:

- Catstar decides to ask Otherleaf for help formulating a plan within the warrior code. Eventually, she comes up with one that does and includes her preferred form of fighting. Outwitting ThunderClan, ShadowClan wins the fight. Catstar shows mercy to the survivors rather than taking revenge for disrupting her adopted life. But the other clans are wary of her actions, and the fact that she is a leader but not clan-born.

After ShadowClan defeats ThunderClan, Catstar has shown her character development by not going through with her plan to kill kits and queen of ThunderClan. She also shows mercy to the survivors of the battle and allows their clan to continue on. Though it is just an example, our nonexistent readers would call that a deserved ending. A deserved ending is one that readers expect based on events within the story; it is something that genre fiction like Warriors strives for. Note that these endings are expected, not predictable. We expect Catstar to make a decision on what to do about ThunderClan. We do not expect Catstar to kill Otherleaf and defect to ThunderClan. We have not set anything up for that at the beginning or the middle.

Where does the theme fit in with this? Our most prominent were nature vs nurture and right and wrong. During the middle of our story, Catstar wanted to deal with ThunderClan efficiently since they just lost two leaders and dozens of warriors to them. She wanted to raid their camp and kill off kits and queens until they surrendered. The warrior code would have us believe this is wrong. But our main character was a loaner forced to grow up against the odds. To her, this was right. The way to inflict maximum damage on ThunderClan while risking as few ShadowClan lives as possible. That plan was in her nature, but it was not the way she was nurtured via ShadowClan and Otherleaf. Had our theme been different, say it was about personal happiness vs obligation, our nonexistent story would have ended different. Our characters and plot would have been different. The message of our fanfic would have changed if our theme changed.

This is why the theme is considered such a necessity in fiction writing. You get a completely different interpretation of the story if a few events and characters alter it. For example, what if Catstar did go through with her plan to raid ThunderClan and target kits and queens? What if she succeeded? She could be ousted as leader, as would anyone who agreed with her and carried out the raid. She would have lost Otherleaf as a friend. Our theme of nature vs nurture stays the same, but our message is different. And your readers will think differently about the story as a result.

IN CONCLUSION…

There you have it. Themes act as the main idea of your fanfic, and they have a large impact on how said fanfic ends. If our theme changes, our characters and plot change with them. Our ending changes. Our reader's perception of our story changes. Vise versa for if our characters and plot change. The theme is just another layer to add onto your fanfics to give your readers a purpose for reading them (albeit a big layer). It gives your story a point.

It is important you know why you wrote what you did. Enjoy your writing and everything it may, or may not, stand for.

- Tyto