Theme is so important. Along with character, if you write an impactful story, theme is one of the two main things readers will remember long after they forget most of the intricacies of your plot.

The thing about theme, though: you can’t force it.

Some major themes of The Crimson League: The Fight for Hope are hope, courage, and providence. But I didn’t set out thinking, “I’m going to write a story that dissects and examines what courage really is and how it is related to hope.”

That would be a philosophy dissertation, not a novel.

The themes of courage and hope developed naturally given my personal interests, my faith, my melancholic/philosophical nature, and the especially the plot concept of a magical civil war with a divinely prophesied hero who is not what anyone expects and who can’t possibly win in the typical, expected fashion.

You can’t force theme. Theme comes off contrived, preachy, and cringe when forced. (Think of your standard, artistically awful Christian film).

When you let theme develop organically, focusing on plot and character instead, theme will really take hold in a beautiful, natural way.