: Re: How to write a story that argues an idea I apologize for the wording of my question; it's probably not very clear. I've got this idea for a book that explores a sort of philosophical theory.

@Odierno164

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As I understood the question, "Smokin is bad" was merely an example, and I will try and answer the question without including the topic of smoking.

Genre and scenario

Now, I may be influenced by my own work in the genre - and you don't mention a genre yourself - but perhaps sci-fi would suit your work.

Create a scenario (This could be a fictional world, or simply an exaggeration of a realistic issue) with a conflict that doesn't directly focus on the message/morale/point that you want to convey, but which would be more easily solved/handled/defeated/understood/prevented if people saw/followed/understood/used/knew "what you know to be right".

If you wanted to push the message that "paying attention is key",create a scenario where no one necessarily mention it, but it slowly seems like a valuable skill to have, if you want to strive in the society in which the story takes place.

Without going into detail, I'm writing a story in which some people have access to "things that can manipulate the experience of human beings". In the story there's a great amount of seemingly unnecessary details when we follow our main characters, but the more you read, the more you realize that anything you pay attention to (or don't) could be of significance. The story focuses on a critical conflict between two opposing sides over the "things than can manipulate..." but upon and after reading hopefully leaves the reader wondering about how much they pay attention to their surroundings.

Shortly adding to @HenryTaylor 's point about following a character's journey from one side to the other; Your protagonist could also be working desperately to disprove the message you want to convey, only to fail over and over again and finally "realizing the truth" - Be it that smoking is bad, that paying attention is crucial, or that money can't buy you happiness.

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