In 1868, American Civil War novelist John William De Forest penned an essay titled Great American Novel, a term that has been used for various purposes ever since. De Forest referred to fictional works by American authors that reflect American traditions, values, and culture.
While tradition, value, and culture can reflect a diverse range of ideas and attitudes, their basis remains rooted in our great nation.
Novelists aspire to write the truth that is so oft overlooked in everyday society. We writers have historically borne the brunt of jokes and off-hand comments about lying. After all, when a story is fiction, it really isn’t true, is it?
According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures.”
To write good fiction, authors are tasked with finding the truth about their characters and stories. Without truth, the novel loses believability, and when that is gone, readers close the book and find something else to read.
A couple of weeks ago, I engaged in a healthy discussion with a gentleman who pined for the “good old days” when the best actor or actress available was chosen to play specific roles. His argument revolved around the idea that the person who nails the essence of the character the best should get the part, color and gender be damned.
While I am certainly not involved with Hollywood, I understand the basics about how movies are cast. When writing a script, the writer generally has a solid idea of what his character looks and sounds like, and in meetings with producers and directors, he or she notes the qualities he or she would like to see. Oftentimes, the director will procure a list of talent to shoot for. By referencing the closest-matching actors available, they contact agents to invite those actors to audition, and the person who fits those needs the best lands the part. In most movies, the director already knows what they are looking for long before any auditions are held.
This person argued, “Imagine you are a writer and you have a vision of a character, but the director gives the part to a person of color instead.” The person of color was chosen because he or she was the best person of color to audition.
That dovetails with the opinion that fiction needs to reflect reality. Our America is an increasingly diverse nation—a true melting pot of race and culture. To reflect that, our stories tend to represent the perspective of all walks of life.
My most recent novel closes the Era Sinistra trilogy from the point of view of the previous installment’s main character’s daughter, who has recently revealed her truth that she is gay.
To reiterate what I’ve said multiple times, I don’t create characters; they introduce themselves to me gradually, the way the people in our lives do. We don’t know everything about them at first. The revelation about the aforementioned character surprised me as much as it did any of you readers.
Author and associate literary agent Eric Smith notes that, “When kids don’t see themselves in books they grow up feeling like they don’t matter.”
Fictitious characters represent the diversity of everyday life. My forthcoming novel introduces a minor character of Polynesian origin who is a Salt Lake City police officer. Utah is home to a surprisingly high population of Hawaiians and Pacific islanders, and thus, this character fits right in.
In The Satyr of Fulton Manor, we also meet a young woman whose parents emigrated from Israel and exemplifies the typical face and skin tone from that region. I believe this character to be one of my best female characters to date. When I write women, I write real women, not the kind you see in almost every action movie.
When you think about the typical action movie, you tend to get one of two tropes: the love interest to the hero, or the femme fatale, who exists as a classic testosterone-feeding woman.
To me, both tropes demean the real value of feminine characters. It is perfectly normal—and accurate—to portray a woman with her own weakness and strengths and doesn’t have to appeal to the typical target audience of the genre in which she exists. Of course, being a male, I could be off on my assumptions, but I don’t think I am. While it is plausible that a beautiful woman exists solely to kick ass or appease men, I find it more valuable to explore the personality that makes her tick. A strong female lead character needs to be deeper and more meaningful than what Hollywood often portrays.
In the end, I let that commenter off the hook for his comment about giving the part to the person of color instead. I rarely argue online with people who will never step outside their preconceived ideas about life and politics. I could tell that no matter what I said, he was not going to change his opinion and neither was I, so why waste the time and energy needed to convince him and let the conversation spiral into a virulent pit of insults and name-calling? I am not perfect, but I like to believe that such nonsense is beneath me.
I love to discuss writing. Giving readers the lowdown and the nitty-gritty on what I do and how I do it reveals deeper layers about me, the author. As such, I always enjoy answering questions, apart from the usual “how do you come up with your ideas?” and “I am thinking about writing a book, so what do you think I should do?”
Those two questions come with easy answers: I write from what is in my heart and head and you should write that book.
Questions are always welcome, so drop me a line on Facebook if you have one burning somewhere dee within and I will attempt to quench it.