Blurred Line

Over at All Kinds of Writing, there was a rather interesting discussion on this topic, with the general consensus being: Who cares about a writer's race or gender? As long as they're writing a good story, it doesn't matter.

Well, on one count, that's probably accurate. If you're the kind of writer who cares about nothing more than a good story with some decently put together sentences, you probably shouldn't care. After all, in that sense, the novel is nothing more than a piece of entertainment, so the author's background isn't of too much importance. If you're one of these readers, the following probably doesn't concern you.

I'm the type of person who thinks that literature is far more than simple entertainment. The writer is generally (more often in the case of literary fiction and SF as opposed to, say, thrillers or romance) making some sort of statement, even if it's an unconscious one. The fact of the matter is, whether you care or not, the writer's race or gender does have an important bearing on a novel. Now, I'm not saying that every writer goes out there with their own agenda to push on the world. That said, everyone has their own views and opinions about that which they see in society. These opinions almost always make their way into fiction, sometimes in obvious ways (like being part of a story's plot or theme), and sometimes in subtle ways (like the occasional throwaway remark or piece of dialogue).

Do you have to be aware of a writer's background to enjoy a book? Of course not - and this is why it seems that so many people don't care. But by not caring, these readers are losing out on some of the fascinating parts of stories.

For example, you can enjoy Ender's Game without having any notion that Orson Scott Card is an anti-gay, anti-abortion conservative. I read the book when I was sixteen and had no notion of Card's politics, and didn't much care, either. I still loved the book. However, when you read the book knowing that Card, being pro-life, is writing about a society where it's illegal (except in government-approved cases) to have more than two children, portions of the book provide fascinating insights into what Card has to say about the world we're living in.

Likewise, Octavia Butler is a woman. She's also gay. She's also black. You can read the Xenogenesis trilogy having no notion of this and still enjoy it. I did. But if you do, you're missing some of the poignancy in the things Butler has to say about prejudice, sexuality and gender.

I think it's important that I mention what I think the hallmark of a good novel is. Sure, there should be an interesting plot, good characters and good dialogue and all that. But, essentially, this is the most important thing: What makes a good novel is the portrayal of a truth; a personal truth, an emotional truth, or a social truth. It is a novelist's job to capture the truth of a situation.

This truth is not absolute. As it pertains to a certain situation, it can be different for each person. If, in a novel, a writer can make me come to understand the truths of a character who's vastly different than I am, then that novelist has done something special.

I mention this because it's writer who are different than we are who are most apt to depict characters with truths different than ours. My goal, when I read a novel, beyond simply being entertained, is to grasp some sort of understanding of the people who inhabit this world and the different social constructs each of our cultures has set up. If we, as readers, decide that we just don't care about a writer's background, then I don't think we can ever fully grasp what these writers might be trying to say about the world we live in.


Profile Editor. Writer. 9-5er. Lord of the Dance. Blurredline.com Apodis Publishing Fusion Fragment cterrill(at)blurredline.com Buy Goodbye, Darwin Amazon.com Amazon.ca Chapters.ca Barnes&Noble.com Read it free in PDF Format Buy Blurred Line Amazon.com Amazon.ca Chapters.ca Barnes&Noble.com Read it free in PDF Format The Short Stuff "Learning Magic From Mint" - published May 2007 in Atomjack "Between Eternities" - published October 2005 at Speculative.ca "Smoke and Mirrors" - published June 2005 in Byzarium Submissions Log Total Subs: 25 Acceptances: 3 Rejections: 17 Withdrawals: 3 Subs Out: 2 Quality Blogs Scalzi's Whatever Dave's Blogography Bookslut The Struggling Writer SF Signal the0phrastus Paperback Writer Scribe's Writing Desk Nathan Bransford Lyons Literary LLC The World in the Satin Bag Book In The Oven The Word Perhaps We Learned Something... Words, etc. Archives March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 Et Cetera Cavan @ Last.fm Cavan @ LibraryThing Feeds Atom Feed RSS Feed	Tuesday, April 04, 2006 - On Writing, Race and Gender Over at All Kinds of Writing, there was a rather interesting discussion on this topic, with the general consensus being: Who cares about a writer's race or gender? As long as they're writing a good story, it doesn't matter. Well, on one count, that's probably accurate. If you're the kind of writer who cares about nothing more than a good story with some decently put together sentences, you probably shouldn't care. After all, in that sense, the novel is nothing more than a piece of entertainment, so the author's background isn't of too much importance. If you're one of these readers, the following probably doesn't concern you. I'm the type of person who thinks that literature is far more than simple entertainment. The writer is generally (more often in the case of literary fiction and SF as opposed to, say, thrillers or romance) making some sort of statement, even if it's an unconscious one. The fact of the matter is, whether you care or not, the writer's race or gender does have an important bearing on a novel. Now, I'm not saying that every writer goes out there with their own agenda to push on the world. That said, everyone has their own views and opinions about that which they see in society. These opinions almost always make their way into fiction, sometimes in obvious ways (like being part of a story's plot or theme), and sometimes in subtle ways (like the occasional throwaway remark or piece of dialogue). Do you have to be aware of a writer's background to enjoy a book? Of course not - and this is why it seems that so many people don't care. But by not caring, these readers are losing out on some of the fascinating parts of stories. For example, you can enjoy Ender's Game without having any notion that Orson Scott Card is an anti-gay, anti-abortion conservative. I read the book when I was sixteen and had no notion of Card's politics, and didn't much care, either. I still loved the book. However, when you read the book knowing that Card, being pro-life, is writing about a society where it's illegal (except in government-approved cases) to have more than two children, portions of the book provide fascinating insights into what Card has to say about the world we're living in. Likewise, Octavia Butler is a woman. She's also gay. She's also black. You can read the Xenogenesis trilogy having no notion of this and still enjoy it. I did. But if you do, you're missing some of the poignancy in the things Butler has to say about prejudice, sexuality and gender. I think it's important that I mention what I think the hallmark of a good novel is. Sure, there should be an interesting plot, good characters and good dialogue and all that. But, essentially, this is the most important thing: What makes a good novel is the portrayal of a truth; a personal truth, an emotional truth, or a social truth. It is a novelist's job to capture the truth of a situation. This truth is not absolute. As it pertains to a certain situation, it can be different for each person. If, in a novel, a writer can make me come to understand the truths of a character who's vastly different than I am, then that novelist has done something special. I mention this because it's writer who are different than we are who are most apt to depict characters with truths different than ours. My goal, when I read a novel, beyond simply being entertained, is to grasp some sort of understanding of the people who inhabit this world and the different social constructs each of our cultures has set up. If we, as readers, decide that we just don't care about a writer's background, then I don't think we can ever fully grasp what these writers might be trying to say about the world we live in. Cavan blogged at 4:27 PM \| 4 comments	Progress Zilch! 0/0 Listening A.J. Croce - "Maybe I'm Amazed" My Music Reading Bright Lights, Big City - Jay McInerney My Library Watching Black Book: B Sweet and Lowdown: C Breakfast on Pluto: B Wishlist Bridge of Sighs - Richard Russo Rachael Yamagata - Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart