Erik Bork

“Theme emerges by examining competing priorities in life through the specifics of a story, which ultimately reflects a point of view about the best way to be in the world, and the most effective way—at least in a situation like the one at hand. I’m not talking about facile, obvious arguments, like whether racism is good or bad or whether one should be selfish or giving. A good theme weighs competing goods or competing evils against each other, and dramatizes why it’s so difficult to make a choice sometimes, or to change. It doesn’t offer easy answers. Any thematic outcome or judgment in the end is earned, gradually, over the course of the story. It’s not just thrown out there in a quick and easy way. Theme”
― Erik Bork, The Idea: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage or Fiction

“Usually this “fantasy” is a character’s primary wish for their life, which has something to do with the way others treat them, their place in the world, and their basic life situation. It’s usually bigger than any one job, relationship, or measurable goal—although a specific episode might focus on something smaller like that. Usually it connects to love, belonging, respect, freedom, and/or the ability to succeed in one’s chosen best life. It’s about what life could be like, and what they wish it were like—if they were seen how they want to be seen and got to live the life they most want to live.”
― Erik Bork, The Idea: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage or Fiction