[Personal]
[personal] On being political and being a writer
A funny thing happens on my Twitter feed. I gain two dozen or more followers a day, and lose about half of them almost immediately. I suspect roughly the same ratio holds true on my blog readership, though the tracking is less obvious to me. Though it’s possible some people don’t care for my writing, or my humor, or my looks (as Nick Cave said, I’m sorry, but there ain’t much I can do about that), I’ll bet dollars to donuts that most of my unfollowers are reacting to my strong political stance.
When I began writer blogging in earnest, about seven or eight years ago, I was conscientiously apolitical in my public persona. I’d been experimenting with protoblogging as far back as 1998 or so, but that was before my writerly identity had emerged, so basically I was a dude with a Web site complaining about politics. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. (And yes, the astute reader will note that I have, in effect, come full circle.)
As a new-writer-who-blogged, I was very concerned with not offending readers and fans. I generally don’t write explicitly political fiction, unlike, say,
Basically, I wanted to be mayonnaise.
This lasted a few years. Over that time, several problems with this position made themselves known to me.
First of all, although I don’t write explicitly political fiction, everything I write has a stance. It’s very rare for me to be morally neutral on cultural and social themes. Sometimes I write contra my own beliefs — the theology of Mainspring certainly doesn’t reflect my perspective on the relationship between God and His creation, for example — but there’s always some position being taken, usually a strong one. Not didactically so, for I despise didactic fiction, but simply arising organically from my own sense that strong convictions are essential to becoming a fully engaged moral and social being, whether one is a fictional character or a walking, talking person.
In other words, my fiction is rarely neutral, whether or not a given piece aligns with my views.
Second, I am a political animal. I actively engage with the world on a political level, on a level of principles, and I spend a fair amount of time thinking about such things. Denying my political sense was akin to denying my sense of myself as a dad, as a foodie, as a writer. It bothered me.
Third, I realized that the fiction(ish) blogs I admire most are unafraid of taking strong positions.
I was mayonnaise, they were strong spices. Not to everyone’s taste, but far more interesting and engaging.
So I stopped being mayonnaise.
Was this a good career move? I may never know. I can’t tell you how many readers have decided not to pursue my fiction because they’ve realized I’m a liberal idiot. Surely some, possibly many. On the other hand, my blog readership doubled almost immediately when I took the gloves off, and has been growing ever since. And for people who love good fiction, the writer really is not the story. (If the writer was the story, I’d have been locked up a long time ago for “The Goat Cutter”.)
I am not a political writer, but I am a human being who is both political, and a writer. It’s more honest for me to embrace both those identities, and trust people to follow my work for its own sake, whatever they think of my opinions.
Plus I have a lot more fun being spice than being mayonnaise.
Posted: 4:56 am Wed August 19 2009 |
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You are reading the blog of Jay Lake, speculative fiction writer and author of hundreds of short stories, many novels, and winner of the John W. Campbell Award.
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Sue Lange
August 19th, 2009 at 5:20 am1) Unless you are a really big name, having a strong opinion and not being afraid to offend someone is going to be in your favor if what you are looking for is a following. Once you become more famous, then it is time to start becoming more generic, less controversial, less opinionated.
2) Gaining a dozen followers a day is no small potatoes. Way to go.
3) The only thing I find offensive in your writing is your disparaging of mayonnaise. Mayonnaise, even Hellman’s, is controversial. Think of all those vegans and dieters. For them mayonnaise is evil. Aside from all that, mayonnaise, real mayonnaise, not the premade, store-bought, Elmer’s Glue mayonnaise is hot, and I don’t mean cayenne pepper-type hot. I’m talking all day in bed kind of hot. Jay, you need a new cookbook. Think French.
Jay
August 19th, 2009 at 5:46 amMayonnaise = I am so totally WASP.
Sue Lange
August 19th, 2009 at 5:57 amHey, wasps sting. Never under estimate the sexiness of a totally hegemonic, imperialistic, super power. And the military-industrial complex that goes with it.
Mike Brotherton
August 21st, 2009 at 3:55 pmI, too, think it’s better to have a viewpoint than be non-offensive. Have something to say? Say it, please!
I try to keep my blog focused on science and science fiction, but will take blunt political or social stances when moved to do so, and share them.