When does a writer and storyteller imbue their creations with a social, political, or economic reality? When does the intrusion become a spectacle instead of mood and setting to a story?
As a writer, I have been struggling with this balance of fantasy and reality in my fiction stories for quite some time. I watched television shows that blur the lines too much and I am unable to be their viewer any longer.
I want to be entertained not dictated or sermonized or shamed.
I feel this way about my writing. When a character comes forth, I write that character as I am shown. I don't create circumstances in order to further a social, political, or economic agenda. I have done my research through my editorial days at the Villa de Paz Gazette to understand what is real and not real. I tend to stick to those points more than what I see on other newscasts or sites.
Hode: The Legend Lives Again is a great example of using facts instead of the constructed false reality that pervades on the television and in movies.
In the second installment of
Hode, the character of Will Scarlet has come to me in two divergent modalities. One way has been that of a straight man. The other way was of a gay man. Which do I choose?
I am not a Social Justice Warrior, but I am also not going to shy away from the topic either.
Since there is so much in your face political correctness, I am heedful of using any triggering facts, figures, or events... then
Saint in Communion and Saintuary comes along and my character finds herself on an old Louisiana Plantation. It is a long story. I guess you will have to read the three book series when they come out this summer.
So when is using real situations considered storytelling and when is it labeled: social justice?
Inquiring minds want to know how to mirror reality without falling prey to its shortcomings.
Have a great and wonderful day!
