Do writers have a moral responsibility? Well, yes. I believe everyone, writers included, has a moral responsibility to look out for the needs of others and be kind and ethical, and to avoid doing harm as much as possible. However, a particular weight seems to rest upon the shoulders of artists. Should they use their art and their platform to promote moral causes? Is it irresponsible to tell stories for the sole purpose of fluffy entertainment without including, for example, an exploration of some aspect of social justice?
These questions are prominent in my mind for a few reasons. The obvious one is the heightened awareness of racial issues currently rising in America, and all the books about racism that have shot to the top of the bestseller lists. Since I’m the sort who would always rather read fiction, I’d like to think that stories can teach and inspire us in addition to non-fiction.
And then I consider my own novels, particularly my most recent. This book, tentatively titled Everlasting Spark, was a rather peculiar creation. On November 1st of last year, I opened a new file and started writing, with absolutely no plans or plotting whatsoever. It was the most extreme writing-by-the-seat-of-my-pants I’ve ever done, and I’m quite delighted that a coherent story came out of it. I began simply, with a character who is leaving her humble village for the big city. Why? Hmm. How about a need to acquire skills and knowledge that her village lacks? From there I started to create a world with two races, one possessing advanced magical technology, the other lagging behind.
What I ended up writing is probably the most political, social-justice-minded of all my novels. That was quite the surprise. I create secondary worlds because I don’t want to get tangled up in the real world and all of its messy complications (which would require lots of research — unlike lots of other authors, research is not my favorite part of the writing process). Yet the details kept coming very naturally as I built up this world. There was racism and discrimination. There was classism as well. Those in the lower ranks would be aware of this injustice, so of course there would be organizations seeking to change the status quo — coalitions, labor unions. By the end I had fabricated a rough sketch of the entire history of these two peoples, in order to explore the origins of bigotry and injustice in the present-day story.
So is my book better for having these moral explorations? Eh, I’ll leave my readers to decide if it’s any good at all. But the truth is, stories are going to have a message whether it’s explicit or not. Of course if the message is too forceful, too preachy or hamfisted, it tends to sap the life out of the story. Most of us don’t pick up a novel hoping to be lectured at. When it’s an organic part of the story, however, it can be quite effective.
Sometimes the message is simple and non-controversial, like “be nice to people.” Sometimes it goes deeper. Some stories have truly appalling messages. A fairly obvious example: Gone With the Wind, with its romanticizing of the oppressive society of the slave-owning South before the Civil War. Other stories present horrifying societies but make it clear from their tone that they are not ideal, like the plethora of dystopian literature written nowadays. And then readers can differ widely on how they interpret a story’s message. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is frequently accused of racism, while others praise its nuanced, sympathetic portrayal of the Black character Jim. Who is right? I can’t really say. Some literary interpretations might seem more of a stretch than others, but art is inherently subjective. The answer is different for every reader.
So I don’t necessary feel like I owe it to society to use my writing to further social justice. On the other hand, as someone who wants to be engaged in good causes, that sort of morality is going to emerge very naturally in my stories. It doesn’t happen out of duty, it just happens because that’s who I am. I will also acknowledge that as someone who doesn’t yet have a platform of any significant size, this is all hypothetical! But part of the reason I want to be published is to share what I care about with as many people as I can, to make a connection with others who feel the same way. It’s not an obligation; it’s a (hypothetical) joy.