Today’s topic may not appeal to you, and that’s ok. Many amazing writers strive to entertain, not convince. They want to help readers escape reality, not rub their noses in it. Not that you need it, but I approve.

This applies to me too, because frankly, while I love a story that stirs the pot or predicts the future, I don’t have it in me to write one. It requires a specific kind of insight, as well as an ability to balance passion and dispassion, plus a lot of emotional energy. If I get worked up about something to the point it threatens to come out in my fiction, I can’t be even-handed, and that makes for terrible stories. I admire this skill in others, though.

On the other hand, sometimes you can’t help it. Being authentic sometimes means you wear your heart on your sleeve. Writers observe the world and are passionate in our beliefs. We know what we know and feel what we feel, fully and deeply. With that in mind, it’s natural that we will identify social problems and want to write about them.

But what problems? That’s up to you. The environment, pornography, reproductive rights, the right to life, the breakdown of civility, the loss of traditional values, equal justice under the law, patriotism, privacy, foreign entanglements, economic disparity, racism, sexism, antisemitism, men’s rights, women’s rights, school choice, the Second Amendment, the First Amendment.

Even if you don’t expressly set out to write a political novel, your beliefs will find their way into your writing. If you have a strong preference between the traditional family and chosen family, we’ll see it. If you’re passionate about free speech, we’ll hear it. No matter what I write, the story question will never center on the benefits of conforming to group-think, or how the world would be better if we allowed a small group of elites to make all our personal decisions.

Consider Stephen King. He isn’t a political writer, but can you think of a novel where the government was the good guy? King hasn’t written a horror story called “I’m From the Government and I’m Here to Help” – hat tip to Ronald Reagan – but he might as well have. Based on his public comments, I don’t think he hates the government, but deep down, he’d have to admit he doesn’t really trust it, either.

And what does King think of manhood and family? I can easily recall many side villains in his novels who were bullies, drunks, or wifebeaters, and the characters who came from broken, abusive, or dysfunctional homes, and how that early life trauma pulled them under or forced them to overcome. You would never argue that King writes family dramas, but his opinions about what makes a good man or a good family are right there on the page. You might not consider that a political opinion, but the personal is political. Our values form our view of the world and politics is one way we put those values into action.

And maybe that’s a better way to frame this realm of authenticity.

Politics have a bad reputation. We generally attach a negative connotation – lying, grifting, fecklessness, divisiveness, rage baiting, fearmongering – and we may hesitate to soil our creative work with it. Fortunately, the word values still calls us to our higher selves (at least for now).

Patriotism

Family

Courage

Justice

Charity

Freedom

Faith

Community

Law

Order

Sacrifice

Individuality

Equality

Responsibility

Honesty

Peace

Some of those may resonate more strongly inside you, others may feel more vague. Values are individual. Even when we use the same word to describe a core principle, its meaning will differ from person to person. My concept of freedom and yours are not the same.

You don’t have to write a political novel – I doubt I ever will – but do look for your values on the page. What’s important to you? What do those words mean? What’s at stake if that value falters? What happens when you act against your values or don’t defend them? What action would you take and what would you sacrifice in honor of them?

Tell us about it.

Do I need to share a list of political novels? It feels strange not to, but also superfluous. You can guess what I’m going to write here: 1984, Brave New World, The Handmaid’s Tale, Fahrenheit 451, Les Misérables, The Jungle, The Grapes of Wrath, The Crucible, To Kill a Mockingbird, Alas, Babylon.

But also: Woman on the Edge of Time, Never Let Me Go, A Clockwork Orange, The Trial, Things Fall Apart, The Parable of the Sower, Slaughterhouse 5, Elmer Gantry, On the Beach

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