First Sunday Q&A: The Moral Lines We Cross in Our Creative Lives
Podcasts interviewers and readers are asking me some provocative questions about my novels
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Q: What’s right and wrong is fairly clear to me, in most circumstances, and I like being honest because lies, even little white ones, eat at my gut. I was raised with good ethics, what I can say? That said, I’ve done my share of risky things, crossing lines that I now regret or can justify. I’m not living in a pure zone all the time. I believe in karma, in the highest sense, that what you put out comes back to you, often in disguise or moved around in time, so you may not recognize it at first. I also avoid moralizers, and moralizing in my literature ticks me off.
But where is the line in my writing? What if I want to explore topics, like moral ambiguity, in my characters in my short stories and novels? I wouldn’t be worrying about this, but it’s raising questions among my beta readers for my latest manuscript, and if they are any indication, I’m concerned it’ll put me out of the ballpark for an agent. How do you/did you deal with this?
A: I also grew up with high moral standards, not from a religious background but because my parents were honest people who taught me how to discern what was true for me. Of course, I blew that truth-awareness so many times growing up—testing everything that crossed the line, from fabricating incredible stories (lies) to sneaking out after midnight when I was a teen. Not counting the stuff I chose to try as an adult! I certainly won’t mention all of it here (nothing life-threatening, just totally embarrassing), but you get the picture—I am nowhere near picture perfect. As is true with most humans, when you scratch the surface, right?
Although many of us try hard to be ethical and live by truth in our lives, I also see human nature as prone to test boundaries.
I also know, from my own independent streak, that most of us appreciate learning what’s right and wrong on our own terms. I’ve gravitated towards people who question authority, who want to know the purpose behind a rule before following it. Are you that way? And what does it have to do with your writing life?
Well, it’s a non-issue, until you publish. Or share your work. Then you get the twist: reader reactions. You have a policy of do no harm. Your characters do not. What to do if readers react or you are questioned about it by readers (even family, friends, your bestie, your aunt who had no idea you write that kind of stuff!). Do you even subtly change your story to make it more palatable to others? Do you eliminate what’s truth for you, to have a better chance at publication?
We don’t want to alienate readers across the board. But we also don’t want our writing to become homogenized and bland just to avoid displeasing them. Or even more insidiously, we don’t want to lose our truth in order to be accepted by agents and publishers.
So this Sunday, I wanted to explore, with you, the line we walk. How a writer moves into areas of moral ambiguity, places that may not appeal to readers or the publishing world, with good purpose and understanding of what it might provoke. And be OK with that.
I’ll share my own history with this gnarly topic, and you can share yours in the comments.