At the time I write this, we have no idea what the political future of America looks like: with the conclusion of voting in the 2020 U.S. election imminent on November 3rd, I’d venture to say no modern American election has ever quite looked so uncertain from so close a vantage point.
But politics isn’t just elections, and there’s a lot more than U.S. Presidents to consider when one thinks about politics.
This topic rose to the top of my brain recently when I was reading a fairly recently published romance novel. I love romance; I’d say I generally read books in four or five genres in any given month, and for the past couple of years, romance has regularly been one of those genres. I enjoy both the way category romance always delivers on its promise (happily ever after, or at least happy for now!), and the ways a wonderful author can bring inventive, surprising new elements to the form.
I was midway through a contemporary romance from an author I’d never read before, featuring a hero who’d moved from one of the Dakotas to a major West Coast city. At some point it is revealed that not only does the hero own a gun, but he retrieves and loads it in the presence of the female love interest, whose only reaction is one of clear approval and appreciation.
And I thought: wow, that is not something I expected to see.
But why didn’t I? Because although I grew up in a Midwestern rural setting, where hunting was common and so were guns, a lot of things have changed since then. I’m now far more concerned about the prevalence of gun violence in American society. The negative influence of the NRA. The fact that even after Sandy Hook, after Vegas, nothing seems to have changed. I respect the idea of responsible gun ownership but worry that it may be impossible to ever agree on what, exactly, counts as “responsible.”
And I thought: wow, I could never put a gun in a book in such a casually approving way.
That’s why I can’t agree with the idea that we should keep our politics out of our books. Because I don’t think the author of that romance novel thought, “Gee, I want to put something positive about guns in my book!” I think there’s a very good chance that she put it in there without even really thinking about it. The heroine is worried because she heard someone rattling the knob of her locked back door a few nights before, in a house where she lives alone; when she tells the hero, he immediately jumps into action to protect her. That’s presented as completely positive. And given that in this same book, the author takes pains to break down stereotypical gender dynamics – while her ex-boyfriend was not cool with purchasing feminine hygiene products for the heroine, the hero doesn’t even blink at it! – I found it especially glaring.
They say that when certain readers tell authors to “keep your politics out of your books,” what they really mean is, “keep politics I don’t agree with out of your books.” Because you tend not to notice the politics — the beliefs, the mores — that an author puts in their books that happen to align with your own.
These days, it’s much more jarring for me to come across a book that excludes LGBTQ+ or POC characters than one that includes and embraces them. And because I think we should always be reading and writing toward inclusivity, I’m going to embrace books that align with those beliefs. But I know there are plenty of readers out there who feel differently. And because the publishing world is so vast, those readers have hundreds, even thousands, of books to choose from that don’t challenge their worldview.
Can you keep your politics out of your books? Maybe, if you really, really try, it might be possible. You can scrub your writing of anything even remotely controversial. But at the same time, even the exclusion of “controversial” elements is, in itself, political. Because politics is about belief, and while you may not believe exactly what your characters believe, the way those beliefs are presented is controlled by only one brain: yours, not theirs. And you may not realize just how much of you is in them until a reader who thinks differently stumbles across your book and says: Wow, that is not something I expected to see.
Q: Do you try to keep your politics out of what you write? Do you expect the same of the writers you read?
About Jael McHenry
Jael McHenry is the debut author of The Kitchen Daughter (Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books, April 12, 2011). Her work has appeared in publications such as the North American Review, Indiana Review, and the Graduate Review at American University, where she earned her MFA in Creative Writing. You can read more about Jael and her book at jaelmchenry.com or follow her on Twitter at @jaelmchenry.
I’m not a very good writer so the idea of writing politics is not something I would do. BTW IMO unless you think of belief in the sense of faith, belief requires evidence. Politics is not about belief it is, IMO, about subscribing or not to some ideology. Thanks for the post.
I believe EVERYTHING is political. What you choose to buy, to eat, to live, the friends you hang with, the way you raise your kids, – it is all a political statement whether you realize it or not. It all benefits or deters from one side or the other. Life is political and is always a part of any writing. Being aware of that, I feel is a great tool for your writing toolbox.
Hello Jael. Politics is applicable to everything: money, sex, family life, government, religion. This means it’s impossible to keep it out of anything we write, say, or even think. How a man and woman relate to each other, or to their children, god, or neighbors is political. You like romance novels, in part because they are required to deliver a happy ending. That’s political. It means you’re likely to be an idealist, someone whose ideology emphasizes hope rather than danger, threat, impending doom, etc. Or so it seems to me.
I agree with Ada.
Good questions.
The worst of it is that the story itself can demand touching a political subject, and even make us forget it’s more than a story issue. Guns? so many stories *do* have the kind of danger that makes up one side of the gun debate. And the other side can easily get buried because this is a protagonist and Of Course she won’t accidentally shoot a bystander in the dark or kill herself in a fit of depression.
A story about anything is already about taking sides. We just may not notice how big the sides are as we write them.
The closest thing to an answer might be to give the full context. If a protagonist has a history with guns, give a small –or large– nod to the risks on the other side. If they’re scared or stupid around guns, do justice to that clumsiness, and mention what responsible ownership would mean even if they’re not ready for it. And we absolutely don’t have to show those two sides as equal, just by which way the story comes out.
Hi Jael–It think it’s far less likely for politics to be avoided in epic fantasy. In fact, I think readers of the genre sort of expect at least some sort of political development in the world-building.
At the onset, I didn’t think too much about the politics of my story-world. What I included seemed to arise organically. The benefit of that was that I learned a lot about what I actually believe–including my political beliefs. Which have evolved fairly significantly during the years of my writing journey.
It’s difficult to admit that, before I started, I didn’t always lead with empathy. My ongoing evolution is one of the reasons I think my writing journey continues to make me a better person. For which I’m grateful. Thanks for a thoughtful post. Hope you and yours are well. Stay safe!
I try to be has honest as possible when I write and write for the audience that desires my particular honesty. That means, I don’t preach, but my world view (and politics) are on the page. That means, in my fantasy world there are LGBTIQ characters, even if they aren’t called such. A writer must make a choice about what to include or exclude. That’s a political statement. It’s no different than communication. We always communicate. Even silence is communication.
Great points, Jael! It’s only in the last few years that I’ve become aware of my political viewpoint in my writing. It’s been especially interesting to watch my own views shifting, thus changing the way I handle certain topics.
I write romantic suspense, and yet I struggle more than ever with how to deal with the guns in a book. I think differently about the romantic relationships than I used to. What used to look like passion can now seem like an attack or a crossing of boundaries.
Just the fact not all of my characters are white or straight or cis is a political statement. There’s no way for my books to avoid reflecting my world view. In my early days as a writer, I might have worried about that, but I no longer care to please everyone. Thanks for such a thoughtful post!
Wow. Can of worms, much? I have started this reply a couple of times, but I guess the short version is that (so far) my main characters have always been me. Men, women, gay, straight, lazy, mean, non-human: they’re all me. And although I don’t want to piss people off for no good reason, a careful reading of my stories would reveal my politics, which are seldom in the middle of the road.
BTW, I wouldn’t put a gun in a romance, but that’s just me.
We’ve long heard, “The personal is political,” and that statement rings true to me.
Whether we realize it or not, I’m convinced that many of our beliefs, values, and ideologies make it onto the page.
At least, I think we’re leaving hints of our personal viewpoints all over our works if we’re writing wholeheartedly and honestly.
It’s one of the reasons I think the writing can be hard at times. It’s difficult to write characters that don’t see the world the same way we do.
I don’t usually make a conscious choice to either include or exclude any given aspect of my politics in my fiction. I accept, however, that it probably shows up in the undercurrent of some of it.
On a similar note, I don’t follow the advice about keeping quiet as a person about important political issues, so as not to offend potential customers. That, I know, is widespread advice; express no opinions on issues other than writing. I, however, would feel quite inauthentic if I didn’t express concerns over such subjects in public.