So today was supposed to be the deadline to get this fourth-ish draft done. How am I doing? Well, I'm not sure I'll make it. I have a big rewrite to do today, the battle at Basal Mount and the aftermath. I should be able to pile up lots of pages but my concern is that these new pages will be rougher than if I were just editing existing chapters and snipping and padding bits here and there. But who knows, they say writers are never the best judge of their own work. Maybe it will be great. I'll update tomorrow and let you know how far I got.
Moving on, I had some quick thoughts about alienating readers. This is all just my thoughts and opinions of course, I'm not telling anyone what they should or must do.
We live in highly polarized times. As a reader and writer of science fiction and fantasy, I want to go somewhere else. I want to escape and dream. I don't want to read thinly-veiled diatribes against Republicans or Liberals. That's just me. There is a tradition of the polemical in Science Fiction and some reader love that. I don't even think it's a problem, so long as your objectives are clear up front about where you're coming from and what your goals are in your story.
However, I want the maximum number of readers possible. I want people to enjoy my stories, not worry about who I voted for and what my views are on any of the hot button topics. You shouldn't know too much about my politics or my beliefs from my work. Yes, I will consciously, or more-often unconsciously, have part of myself in these novels. That's part of my voice, part of who I am. I don't want to be bland. But I don't want to be preaching. I may, in fact I do, have character who espouse beliefs that are the exact opposite of what I myself think. I need that character to feel as real as the ones who I'd like to have over for dinner, so to speak.
Arg. I'm writing and deleting way too much here. I don't want to gossip and I don't want to tell writers they need to keep their mouths shut at conventions and interviews. So I'll just say this: Be courteous and considerate towards your potential readers and editors. Democrats and Republicans, Christians and Atheists all buy books. Don't get between your readers and your work. And If you really do believe that shape-shifting lizards control the world, I wouldn't share that belief with the world.
Moving on, I had some quick thoughts about alienating readers. This is all just my thoughts and opinions of course, I'm not telling anyone what they should or must do.
We live in highly polarized times. As a reader and writer of science fiction and fantasy, I want to go somewhere else. I want to escape and dream. I don't want to read thinly-veiled diatribes against Republicans or Liberals. That's just me. There is a tradition of the polemical in Science Fiction and some reader love that. I don't even think it's a problem, so long as your objectives are clear up front about where you're coming from and what your goals are in your story.
However, I want the maximum number of readers possible. I want people to enjoy my stories, not worry about who I voted for and what my views are on any of the hot button topics. You shouldn't know too much about my politics or my beliefs from my work. Yes, I will consciously, or more-often unconsciously, have part of myself in these novels. That's part of my voice, part of who I am. I don't want to be bland. But I don't want to be preaching. I may, in fact I do, have character who espouse beliefs that are the exact opposite of what I myself think. I need that character to feel as real as the ones who I'd like to have over for dinner, so to speak.
Arg. I'm writing and deleting way too much here. I don't want to gossip and I don't want to tell writers they need to keep their mouths shut at conventions and interviews. So I'll just say this: Be courteous and considerate towards your potential readers and editors. Democrats and Republicans, Christians and Atheists all buy books. Don't get between your readers and your work. And If you really do believe that shape-shifting lizards control the world, I wouldn't share that belief with the world.
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