Sassy_Cat wrote:Hey, here's something. Anyone write something that involves something a bit controversial? Or if not controversial, just something that might bother people? I'm writing something involved WW2, and it makes me feel sticky inside. I love it, it's doing great, but I just get this feeling like maybe it's a bad idea.
What's your story about, if you don't mind me asking?
Capn brings up a lot of excellent points. I think we
need people to write about controversial topics; they're things we need to be thinking about and talking about. That being said, you're not winning any points if you just insult one side. Like he said, you win credibility by showing rather than telling to make your points, by acknowledging the flaws on both sides, and being well informed on the topic.
I'd add one other thing: if this is story-writing you're talking about, not just a persuasive essay, then make sure you don't lose sight of the actual story. No one likes to be preached to. The story you're telling is the most important thing. Don't let it turn into a morality play where you're clearly trying to make some point, at the expense of the storytelling itself. Sometimes authors *coughaynrandcough* are so focused on making a point that their characters become nothing more than mouthpieces for the author to spout his/her views, and the whole plot is shaped so that everything that happens supports the author's points. That's not storytelling. A good story will draw readers in just because it's a good story in its own right; it might make readers start thinking about controversial issues in a new light, which is great, but that was never the author's main purpose. The author was, first and foremost, trying to tell a good story.
I guess you can get away with that type of writing if you want. I mean, Animal Farm and Atlas Shrugged are nothing but political essays thinly disguised as allegories, and they're considered classics. But those are not the type of stories I (and most people) enjoy reading. Books like Animorphs, on the other hand, got me thinking about a ton of controversial issues, but all in the context of some excellent storytelling. So my advice is, if you want to write about controversial topics, that's great. Just make sure you never sacrifice the story itself for the sake of building an argument. If making an argument is your main goal, you're better off sticking to persuasive writing, not storytelling.
Anifan on Reddit: "Do you realize you're one of the reasons why I write fiction in my free time?"
KA: "So sorry to get you into writing. What a horrible thing to inflict on you. Should have just sold you crack."
) Then instead of 'the ground was lower here' in the next paragraph, why not add an 'even' between 'was' and 'lower'? Then there's a random apostrophe by 'trench' a few sentences later. 'In a shadow' instead of 'in shadow'?
