What is the story's theme?
The theme of a story is the main message a writer wants to try to give the audience. It is something that may appear throughout a story. Themes can be simple or complex. Sometime, a writer might not discover the theme of a story until after the rough draft is complete.
A theme or message is not required! A writer does not need a theme to start writing!
There are countless themes a story may have. A person may discover the theme of the story while writing or even when editing a draft.
Below are some brief examples of very basic message(s) a story can say.