Writing Dark Themes: Where to Draw the Line (and Why I Don’t)

Some writers like to keep things light—happy endings, heartwarming moments, and a general sense that the world is mostly a good place.

I am not one of those writers.

I gravitate toward the dark, the unsettling, the raw emotions people don’t like to talk about. My stories explore trauma, fear, loss, psychological struggles—the things that linger in the back of your mind. And there’s a reason for that: I write what I know.

Because life isn’t always lighthearted. People aren’t always good. And sometimes, the only way to process reality is to face its darkest corners.

But there’s always the question: Where do you draw the line? How much darkness is too much?

For me? The line is flexible. And here’s why.

1. Writing Dark Themes Is Not the Same as Glorifying Them

Let’s get one thing straight—writing about dark topics doesn’t mean romanticizing them. I don’t write trauma for shock value. I don’t include violence or pain just to be “edgy.” If I put something dark into a story, it’s because it means something.

Dark themes aren’t there just to make readers uncomfortable. They’re there to make them feel. To challenge them. To reflect the real, complicated, and often painful emotions people experience.

Because darkness in a story isn’t about the bad things happening. It’s about what happens after.

How do people survive? How do they change? Do they break? Do they heal? Do they become something they never expected?

That’s what I care about.

2. The Line Is Personal—But It’s Also About Purpose

People often ask, “How do you know when you’ve gone too far?”

The truth is, there is no universal “too far.”

Everyone has their own tolerance for dark subject matter. What one person finds unbearable, another might connect with deeply. And as a writer, I don’t shy away from the uncomfortable—but I always ask myself why I’m including it.

If a dark scene exists just for shock value? It doesn’t belong in my story.

But if it serves a purpose—if it reveals something about the character, drives the plot, or explores something important—then I let it stay, no matter how intense it gets.

Because life is intense. And sometimes, pretending it’s not does more harm than facing it head-on.

3. My Personal Experiences Shape Every Dark Theme I Write

I don’t write about trauma because I find it interesting. I write about it because I understand it.

I know what it’s like to live in survival mode. To build walls so high no one can see the real you. To mask pain with strength because showing vulnerability is never an option.

I’ve been that person, I am that person.

And when I write, all of that experience bleeds into my characters.

They are broken in ways that I understand. They survive in ways that I’ve had to.

It’s not intentional most of the time. But it’s always there.

4. Some Things I Won’t Write (And Why)

For all my “I don’t draw the line” energy, there are things I refuse to put into my stories. Not because they’re dark, but because they cross into a territory that feels unnecessary.

• Pointless cruelty – If a character is suffering just for the sake of suffering, it doesn’t serve the story. I don’t torture my characters for fun.

• Hopelessness for the sake of it – Dark stories don’t have to be happy, but they shouldn’t feel empty. I don’t believe in meaningless suffering—there’s always something to take away, even in the worst moments. I do finish with mostly happy endings because after the darkest... it comes the light.

  
  

Dark themes should make people think, not just shock them into discomfort.

5. Darkness Has to Have Balance

For all the heaviness I write, I never want my stories to feel like they’re only about pain. Because life isn’t just dark—it has light, too.

Even in my grittiest, most intense stories, there’s something human:

• A moment of laughter in the middle of chaos.

• A small act of kindness in a brutal world.

• A character realizing they can heal, even if they never thought they would.

Because that’s the reality of life, isn’t it? Even in the darkest moments, there are sparks of something better. And those are just as important to the story as anything else.

The Bottom Line: I Don’t Avoid Darkness—But I Make It Matter

I don’t write happy, easy stories. I never will. My characters will struggle, they will suffer, they will be broken in ways that aren’t easy to fix.

But there will always be something worth holding onto.

Because the point of writing dark themes isn’t to drown in them. It’s to show that even in the worst of it, there’s something—resilience, change, understanding, survival.

And maybe, for someone out there, reading about that struggle will make them feel a little less alone.

That’s why I write the dark.

And that’s why I don’t draw the line.