How to Bake a Message into Your Story
Have you ever felt a story clobber you over the head with its message? Have you ever felt yourself turned off by that message, even though you fundamentally agree with it because you resent feeling clobbered over the head?
This is what writers get wrong about how to write a message.
You can, of course, write to your passion. Maybe a social issue ignites you. Maybe a philosophical question keeps you up at night.
Good. Use that as fuel for your fire.
But you can’t write a story intending to write a message. Your audience is intelligent, perceptive, or at least (hopefully) paying attention. If you lecture, they’ll notice. Sure, audiences want to agree with a story, or at least understand it. But if they wanted a lecture, they would have gone to a lecture. If they wanted a sermon, they would have gone to their weekly religious service.
Here’s an effective way to write a message into your story in a believable, non-preachy way: write strong characters.
Messages and themes
First, note that message and theme are not the same. Themes are the main ideas or topics of a story. Messages are subsets of themes in that messages prescribe where we should land on that idea.
Rom-coms explore the theme of love. If the pure, protestant girl manages to break the wild stallion of a jock, the message is that true, pure love trumps primal lust (A Walk to Remember, Don Jon). If the couple manages to overcome immense odds to get together, the message is that love wins (I Can’t Think Straight, My Sassy Girl).
Two examples of nihilism and anarchy
Say for example you want to explore nihilism and anarchy. You could create an antagonist that becomes deliriously destructive in their nihilism. That’s what Christopher Nolan does in The Dark Night Rises and what Daniels does in Everything Everywhere All At Once. The Joker wreaks havoc with glee. He proudly states he just wants to show that plans don’t work; only chaos is fair. Jobu Tupaki says something similar but with an air of feigned boredom masking deep despair. “What’s the point?” both antagonists ask. “Why so serious?”
Nolan has Batman defeat the Joker not by killing him but by showing him others are not as willing to surrender hope in the face of death and destruction. More than any other time during the movie, the Joker actually goes mad. Livid that his pawns didn’t play according to his game, he slips up and finally gets caught. Batman defeats the nihilism, and consequently, Nolan conveys to the audience that we shouldn’t give up hope because we can always overcome.
Daniels has Evelyn completely give in to the nihilism and still choose hope. Harried yet madly in love, Evelyn accepts the ludicrosity of it all and still chooses to embrace her daughter, her family. Consequently, Daniels conveys to the audience that we shouldn’t give up hope precisely even though we cannot overcome it, we still have a choice in how to act in the face of nihilism.
Examples of taking a stand against the system or working within it
What’s the best way to defeat a corrupt system? Stay silent, take a strong stand against it, or work within it?
In 1984, the canonical dystopian novel about a worker bee who inadvertently disobeys an authoritarian government then goes on the run, the worker bee, Winston Smith, ends up being coerced back into compliance. The worst thing about Winston is that he’s a cookie-cutter civilian. Nothing stands out about him — and therefore he is relatable to everyone. Many of us might imagine ourselves heroes, but really how much courage would we really have in a suffocating society in which everyone is monitoring us? Through Winston’s normalcy and relatability, author George Orwell conveys the hopelessness of defying an authoritarian government.
In Animal Farm, another canonical dystopian novel in which pigs take over a farm, the story conveys absolute power corrupts absolutely as the pigs end up becoming as corrupt and cruel as the farmer. The pigs’ transition from downtrodden livestock to insidious dictators is horrifying because, at the beginning of the story, they were no different from their fellow farm animals. Nothing changed except their power, making them “more equal” than the rest of their fellow animals, which is absolutely horrifying. By showing that any one of us could just as easily fall prey to power, author George Orwell conveys there’s almost no point in trying to buck the system because you’re already a part of it.
In One Night in Miami, based loosely on the real friendship of four successful African American men during the Civil Rights Movement, Malcolm X tears into Sam Cooke. Malcolm X believes Sam isn’t doing enough for the movement because he only sings pretty tunes for white folks. Sam shoots back he helps the community more than Malcolm X by raking in money and investing in Black talent, a Robin Hood argument. Both are invested in their philosophies. Malcolm X is agonized and furious. Sam is, too, but he considers himself shrewd and enterprising. He’s proud of the empire he’s created. In the end, Sam Cooke ends up writing a beautiful, hymn-like tune to give hope to the African American community. By having Malcolm X “win,” playwright Kemp Powers conveys that sometimes you really do have to take a public, vocal stand. By writing strong characters, he makes their clash in lofty ideals feel like an earnest conversation.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe explores this theme in two works, with different conclusions. In What If? Killmonger mocks Lieutenant Rhodes, asking why the latter would serve a country that hates Black men like the both of them. Killmonger carries the trauma of the death of his father, a prince who tried to share the riches of his kingdom to free people all over the world. His mission is to carry through on his father’s vision. Lt. Rhodes scolds the younger former soldier, saying that in order to change a system you have to work within it. He’s always been a cool voice of reason, especially to his good friend, the hot-headed and impulsive Tony Stark. Despite his valiant efforts, Lt. Rhodes loses to Killmonger. The MCU series sends the message that sometimes grabbing power by force is more effective, if not morally correct.
In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam (“Falcon”) struggles to take up the shield Steve Rogers left behind as he is cynical about whether America would accept a Black Captain America. Throughout the series, we see repeated attacks on Sam’s dignity and optimism. However, he does take up the shield and declares, “I’m Captain America.” Through Sam’s dogged optimism, the MCU series sends the message that with determination, changing the system is always possible.
Now apply it to your own writing
Whether you’re just starting to brainstorm your story or are several drafts in, you probably already know why you’re writing. Maybe you have a message you want to send to the world or an idea you think is worth exploring.
Instead of having a character recite your philosophy word-for-word, can you imagine a character who has these ideas baked into their soul? Can you set up a scenario that would force your character to make a choice? If they don’t make the choice that conveys the message you want, that’s probably a sign your intended message doesn’t align with the truth of the story as it is now.
Maybe more experienced writers can find a way to tweak the character or the situations they face to get the message they want in a manner that’s truthful to the story. Maybe writers who have an agenda for whatever reason don’t mind asking audiences to make the leap of faith.
But if you’re early on, and if you’re committed to letting the story speak its own truth, try your best to focus on character building instead. Your character might end up sending a different message, but most likely you’ll still get to explore the same theme.
