Do You

[suspensewriter 5,708]

Do you ever inject politics or political considerations into your writing?  For example, if you write fantasies do you construct various world views into your efforts?  Do your gospel messages try to cover such things?

[Rene 233]

Well, I suppose it depends on what counts as politics. The world is becoming so crazy a lot of what I write could be seen as political without me meaning it to be, just because of something as small as me trying to write men as men and women as women.

[suspensewriter 5,708]

Oh, that's true, @Rene!

[Rene 233]

@suspensewriter  So what do you call pollical? 

[Johne 2,134]

54 minutes ago, suspensewriter said:

Do you ever inject politics or political considerations into your writing? 

 

No. If it's an 'overflowing cup' thing, it is what it is, but I don't do it on purpose. Heinlein wrote STARSHIP TROOPERS to include a fascist state. I think you have to have a very large, deep group of rabid readers to attempt something like that today's Cancel Culture.

[suspensewriter 5,708]

I don't now about that, Johne.  i think its precisely for that reason that it would hold the readers attention.

[Ky_GirlatHeart 1,979]

1 hour ago, suspensewriter said:

Do you ever inject politics or political considerations into your writing?  For example, if you write fantasies do you construct various world views into your efforts?  Do your gospel messages try to cover such things?

I haven't tried to, but Rene has a point in that politics is kind of hard to figure out what even is politics at this point. The closest thing I've ever done for something along those lines would be the death of George Floyd. Only I don't know if it's exactly political...More of an issue that's stirred up so many people and instilled so much hatred that's throwing us back into the cycle of racism.

Edited March 5 by Ky_GirlatHeart

[suspensewriter 5,708]

Yes, the death of George Floyd is a political event now.  I think the policeman is up for trial now and their preparing for more riots.

[suspensewriter 5,708]

The cancel culture, to answer your question, @Rene, is a good example of something political.  Or race relations.  Or LGBT what ever is another good example.

[Johne 2,134]

5 minutes ago, suspensewriter said:

i think its precisely for that reason that it would hold the readers attention.

 

Do you keep up with Social Media? Actress Gina Carano just got fired from a very good gig with Disney by mixing her politics on Twitter / Instagram with her acting craft. (I don't wish for this to devolve into a tangent about Disney, the rightness or wrongness of that firing, or any of that. My point here is expressing your political preferences in this culture contains a very real risk.)

[suspensewriter 5,708]

Yes, I agree--it carries with it a certain amount of risk, but I think it's hard to make an impact without risk.  Unless, of course, you write artfully.  That goes without saying it's whatever side of the fence that you are on.

[Johne 2,134]

4 minutes ago, suspensewriter said:

Unless, of course, you write artfully.

 

Agreed. And that's kind of where I was going - I'm not yet at the place in my writing career where I think I have that level of artfulness. I think I'm still working out the nuts-and-bolts of writing, and still building a following. Heinlein didn't write ST right away - he began with his juveniles: 

• Rocket Ship Galileo (1947)
• Space Cadet (1948)
• Red Planet (1949)
• Farmer in the Sky (1950)
• Between Planets (1951)
• The Rolling Stones (also known as Space Family Stone, 1952)
• Starman Jones (1953)
• The Star Beast (1954)
• Tunnel in the Sky (1955)
• Time for the Stars (1956)
• Citizen of the Galaxy (1957)
• Have Space Suit—Will Travel (1958)

He wrote Starship Troopers in 1960, was turned down by Scribner's, and published it with Putnam. I'm still working on the first of my 'juveniles.'

[Johne 2,134]

Now, if the question is would I ever inject politics or political considerations into your writing in the future? Maybe. But I'd really rather use my artfulness to bring people to Jesus rather than bring people to a certain political persuasion.

[suspensewriter 5,708]

Yes, I think so, too.  The question is whether we should tip toe around it or not?  It's darned hard to write something these days without offending someone.  I just don't know.  I'd be interested in what you and the others think, though.

Edited March 5 by suspensewriter

[Zee 2,317]

1 hour ago, suspensewriter said:

Do you ever inject politics or political considerations into your writing?  For example, if you write fantasies do you construct various world views into your efforts?  Do your gospel messages try to cover such things?

 

I think it would be pretty much impossible not too...even if you’re writing a fantasy or Sci Fi with animals or aliens or sentient robots as characters, they’re going to have to have world views, and they’re going to have to have organized themselves into some kind of system.

 

It would be really hard, if not impossible, to create a worldview or system that doesn’t reflect on anything in the real world. And even if you could, I doubt many people would want to read it...

 

My own work is chock-full of political and religious stuff, as you know. But I didn’t set out to  promote a particular ideology, or necessarily prove a point...I just started writing, and that’s what came.

[suspensewriter 5,708]

Yes, your own writing is a good example of that--the struggle between the Sev and Turs for example.

[Rene 233]

Writing about Jesus is definitely more important than writing about politics, but because it seems like everything is politics these days its only a matter of time before religion is to. Christianity has always offended some people, look at how the disciples were treated by Saul and others afterwards.  What we believe about God affects our world views and our values are different from the world's, and they don't like that. 

 

I would say write politely and truthfully, but don't tip toe. Jesus offended people by telling them the truth, if we share the truth we are going to offend people to. We don't write to offend people, but we do write to share the gospel and the truth that's in the Bible. If we compromise that message because we are afraid of annoying people then we may have offended God which is more dangerous than offended people.

[suspensewriter 5,708]

1 minute ago, Rene said:

I would say write politely and truthfully, but don't tip toe. Jesus offended people by telling them the truth, if we share the truth we are going to offend people to. We don't write to offend people, but we do write to share the gospel and the truth that's in the Bible.

 

That's well said, @Rene.

[suspensewriter 5,708]

34 minutes ago, Johne said:

Maybe. But I'd really rather use my artfulness to bring people to Jesus rather than bring people to a certain political persuasion.

 

I like that, too!

[Shamrock 1,881]

2 hours ago, suspensewriter said:

Do your gospel messages try to cover such things?

 

Yes, but not in preachy way. I tend to veer on the debate side. I will try to present the reader with the for and against argument and leave things open ended so they can draw the own conclusion or be interested enough to go and learn more.

 

By the way, you seem to be posting a lot of question SW - all good I have to say, but is this for your blog/videos? Don't mind just curious.

[suspensewriter 5,708]

No, I'm not doing them for my blog/ videos, but that's an idea.

 

2 minutes ago, Shamrock said:

Yes, but not in preachy way. I tend to veer on the debate side. I will try to present the reader with the for and against argument and leave things open ended so they can draw the own conclusion or be interested enough to go and learn more.

 

That's a good idea, @Shamrock!

[HK1 2,135]

2 hours ago, suspensewriter said:

Do you ever inject politics or political considerations into your writing?

Of course. I base both my political views and my writing on the Bible, so it's inevitable that things people would call political would come out in my writing.

[Sarah Daffy 4,955]

6 minutes ago, Shamrock said:

 

Yes, but not in preachy way. 

Yes!

 

Two of my upcoming books are majorly political. 

[suspensewriter 5,708]

4 minutes ago, HK1 said:

Of course. I base both my political views and my writing on the Bible, so it's inevitable that things people would call political would come out in my writing.

 

Now you're the person who's come out and said that, @HK1!

[suspensewriter 5,708]

4 minutes ago, Sarah Daffy said:

Yes!

 

Two of my upcoming books are majorly political. 

 

That's two votes for the blending of your religious views and political!  I think it's hard to separate them.