Recurring themes in your story?

So I'm working on a romantic comedy just to get a break from my Nano project.

In my romantic comedy, the MMC loves pie. He's always ordering it in every scene at a restaurant. The problem is, his wife always tends to eat it all before he ever gets a bite, and she doesn't even realize she's doing it. In fact, she's perplexed as to why her diet isn't working.

Poor guy just wants his pie and eat it too!

Do you have a recurring theme in your story?

My plot involved an in invasion of alien parasites. For the first few times that the hero encounters trouble (but isn't aware of the cause), I set it by the water. Since the hero is an android, he avoids the water for fear of rust.

The first time, he's walking on a beach and finds himself helpless to give aid to someone being attacked by sharks since he can't swim, but later finds the sharks all beached. The second time he's called by two boys to investigate a dead body they found; it's raining outside and it's unavoidable, but he covers himself and goes out anyway, only to find that the corpse is missing. The third time he's carefully wading through a swamp to collect water samples when a bog body rises from the depths and tries to attack him; he has no choice but to submerge himself in the murky water to hide. So he slowly overcomes his fear of water as he grows with each alien encounter.

This would be great, except for one big problem. The setting is an island that floats above the water; the fact that a coastline exists makes no sense except for the fact that I need one for the symbolism to work.

A theme or event? The theme's are much deeper than an event.

For my manuscript, the theme is that the things we scramble to possess, the things we want most in life are the things that bring us the most suffering.

As far as something that keeps coming up, the FMC (Impact Character) keeps changing the rules of relationships between men and women so the MC stays confused and she won't let him invoke a past rule.

Non-jerkwad villains in general, usually of the sort that's like... "I really want to save the world, and the only way to do that is for me to rule it."
Also the FMC's best friend, who is usually also female, having unrequited love for said FMC.
Messy break-ups.
Occasionally there is a scantily-clad person in the background.

For my current novel, forgiveness and redemption, and the consequences of ones choices tend to be a large running theme throughout it.

My NaNo this last year/this year (did book 1, will do book 2) has three scenes that parrallel each other. Each scene is the group meeting with someone in a position of power.

This first scene, they are meeting a corrupt land-owner who "rules" a section of a government-less area. He is pompous and self-centered and he sits on a slapped-together throne on a big cushin. His whole mansion is run-down, but made up to try and be fancy. He is guarded by mercenaries.

The second, they are meeting the leader of a Theocratic country. This meeting is the original goal of the party. He sits on a nice throne and his palace is made out of brilliant, white stone. He does not become offended as the first leader does, he is much too intellegent and careful to get so worked up. Instead, he cooly thinks out what would be the most profitable response to the situation and goes with it. He is guarded by spear-maidens raised in the government's care.

The third will take place in the next book. The throne will be hard, made of grey stone. Very uncomfortable, but with a soft pillow in its seat. This throne belongs to the man who usurped the kingship by killing his brother and leading a coup. The man is the Big Bad, the Final Boss, the root of the problem and the crux of the plot. He is guarded by soldiers who betrayed their king.

I think that there's something very symbolic about the throne one sits on. When the story is done and the throne reclaimed, the one who takes it will throw the pillow aside. I don't think one should ever be quite comfortable in the position of power.

Theme, theme...

Music, honestly, comes up the most in my writings. In one story, it makes sense (the MCs are musicians), but when I'm writing my story on ifrits and I title a chapter after a Jack Johnson song, that's a little overkill. But I make up for it by keeping with a theme of fire in that story.

Recurring themes ...

obsession with Alice in Wonderland, Guilt, Family, Wonder, Censorship, Conspiracy and Religion o.O''

My last few stories had acceptance running through them. No matter what someone did, family and friends find a way to look past their faults. Granted, there's also times where people want to get revenge, but either they see that it won't make things better or it makes them irredeemably bitter, twisted, etc.

Stuff that keeps happening? Some food related event pushes the plot forward. Allergies, cooking together, a favorite restaurant, eating something really good after not eating for awhile- whatever.

One theme that runs through my last Nano novel is sarcasm. Seriously, my FMC is a total smart-a**, and most of my other characters are pretty witty/snarky too. A recurring event is probably pizza. My characters are always ordering pizza, eating pizza, sitting in front of the TV with pizza...one character even orders a pizza at around 11 at night.

A main theme that runs through almost all of my stories is a strong, fatherly figure. Whether it's an actual father, an older brother, or an uncle, there's usually one in there, being all paternal and wise and the like.

Tea, cakes and biscuits! When all else fails, someone fetches tea and biscuits.

I have a problem with ridiculously over powered villains, so my stories always seem to have the message that the bad guys are far more powerful than the good guys ever will be, and the only way you can win is if the bad guys let you go or by pure luck.

True. I just have a bad habit of making villains so powerful I can't think of a way around it...lol In the two stories I've finished/gotten close enough to done, my villains were an immortal, invulnerable nightmare creature and an overly powerful magic user. Actually, come to think of it, in the magician case it may have been a case of the heroes simply being too stupid or unlucky instead of him being too powerful.

The themes in my NaNoWriMo this year have been centred around frendship, trust, money and survival, I'd say. My Pre-NaNo story's themes were art, the weather, and loneliness.