My neutral author cover has been blown on Facebook. And I did it intentionally, albeit with extreme trepidation. This election cycle was just too important to stay in my shell and pretend I didn't care. I've been posting a lot.
Yet, for the sake of this post, I am going back into that shell, or at least crawling halfway under, so it's not too lopsided, so I can speak to all sides. Many of my fellow authors vowed to not speak out, for good reason. We authors, do business on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and blogs. As the week unfolded, I noticed that other authors were very outspoken. Some well-known, some less known. Authors are thoughtful beings, and whether the post was weighted to one political party or the other, they felt it was their duty to speak out.
Authors like Bruce Coville, Chris Crutcher, Ellen Hopkins are passionate spokespeople, as is science fiction darling, John Scalzi and indie star, Hugh Howey. Oddly enough, they all post on Facebook, maybe to speak to the most amount of folks as they can.
Coville writes, "In nearly seven decades of wandering around on this planet, one thing I've learned for certain is that making a decision out of anger almost invariably leads to bad results. So what does it tell us that tens of millions of Americans made their decision on who to support for president based on their feelings of anger? Not a good sign, in my opinion." He posted this link to a glimpse of a lesser heard view.
I was afraid that I'd get flack. Sure, I've unfollowed a few people and a few have unfollowed me. BUT, through my transparency, I've gained so many new friends! People seem eager, even desparate to talk, to bounce around theories and ideas, to talk about their frustration, their pain, their joy. So, I have no regrets. And though I may not post as many political/cultural rants, I won't be scared to anymore.
Authors are talking about the power of fiction to heal. They're speaking about being led to pen new dystopian novels. This time does speak to the dystopian... what with border walls and terrorism and the possible loss of human rights and freedoms. I've been thinking again about 1984, and a couple of Big Brother's doublespeak slogans, Ignorance is Strength. War is Peace.
My question to you... well, I have two of them:
1. As an author, do you prefer to speak out or remain neutral?
2. If you had to describe the last year as a novel, which one comes to mind?
