: Re: Can I use the same message over a series of novels? This question is slightly less straightforward than the title implies, and requires a little explanation. Firstly, I am an entirely self-taught

@LarsenBagley300

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I would say it depends. How direct (more in the lines of message) or indirect (true theme) is the theme? A theme such as 'love conquers all' can be repeated ad infinitum and always produce fresh stories because you can add variety through characters, time/place settings, etc. But if the theme is more along the lines of 'tragically, a lesbian love can never find a way within a conservative small town' then the stories will end up feeling like variations of the same basic story.

The Portuguese 19th-century writer Eça de Queirós repeated themes in his stories and they still feel fresh. One of his themes was how education will influence the adult character of a person. Another theme concerned forbidden loves (whether adultery or incest, either purposefully or accidentally) ending tragically (especially for the female). However, he was not writing series.

Since you said that your theme is the plot, I'll go with the example 'tragically, a lesbian love can never find a way within a conservative small town'. Being a series, we could have a couple looking for a place to live and in each place fighting against bigotry. For as long as each new story has a different problem (even if they all arise from bigotry), there should be space for variety. In one place they can be accepted by a liberal community and then there's a natural catastrophe that ends up pushing them out, or you can have them living quietly and out of the way and catching the eye of the local sheriff that decides he'll find a way to push them out of his town.

In a way, the series would be their search for a place where they and their love can be accepted and where they can live happily ever after, and each book/story would be another step in that direction. I doubt the example I gave could allow for a long series and retain its freshness, though. Unless they're a pair of detectives and their story is the line that unites all the crime solving adventures. The action/detective will alow for the variety that keeps the series spicy and alive, while the fight against bigotry would be a slow search ever present in the back (but forcefully pushing the couple into the action, otherwise it would be a sub-plot of little relevance).

Of course your theme must have nothing in connection with the example above but, yes, it is feasible. You just have to expertly balance repetition and novelty.

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