Writing Politics into Fiction

As a child, my parents called me ambitious. My classmates called me informative, and teachers called me creative. Personally, I think of myself as someone with a purpose. What is that purpose? Creating a world worth living in. 

What is the best way for me to do this? Well, I\’m a writer. I\’ve been writing since I was a child. I wrote my first novel in second grade, my first published article in my twenties, and my first novel in my thirties.

My novel, The Great Bandit, exposes the cruelty the banks have perpetrated on individual homeowners through foreclosure and how the government has allowed them to get away with it. My goal isn\’t to lecture but to engage the reader.

If you would like to write about something you care about, grab a pen and paper and start writing down ideas you care about. Some of mine are:

 

  • Women rights
  • Equal rights
  • Presidential Politics
  • State Politics
  • Immigrants (If you\’re wondering, I was born in Oklahoma, my mom in Mexico, and my dad in Arizona.)
  • Racism
  • Big Pharma (I, like many, take life-altering medication, which totals around $2,000 monthly and has gone back and forth from $1,500 to $4,000. One medication cost $745, and my insurance won\’t cover it. I rely on sales, donations, and near begging to pay for my monthly medication. To say that I have harsh feelings toward Big Pharma would be an understatement.)
  • Organizations which empower
  • Religion and Cults, or religious cults

A great way to write social issues into a novel is to find the thing that burns you up inside. Local, National, or World issues are a good starting point, and the goal is to find something that burns you and burns other people. What infuriates the masses?

To every debate must be an upside and downside. Your viewpoint will be the upside of why you feel this way, and the downside will be the opposing viewpoints. Yes, you need both of these to make a story worth reading.

Anytime I see a debate, I look at both sides of it. I must do this to understand why this is even a debate. It might not be something I agree with, but I can guarantee that many do.

In writing fiction, nothing should be a sermon. If we wanted to strictly hear an opinion, then we would scope out authors writing non-fiction books on the subject.

Read as much as possible on the subject. Both fiction and non-fiction books on the subject should be read. Fiction books based on a political standpoint will have some truth built around a fictional character doing things that we do every day.

Take a look at many of the books banned over the years. What\’s something they have in common? They sparked debate. It might be something like racism(To Kill a Mockingbird), or maybe it\’s written about characters who formed an uprising (The Hunger Games). Many say banned books are due to their language, but I strongly disagree. To be honest, I\’d be honored to have one of my books banned due to a political debate. Another tidbit about me is that I buy every book banned each year.

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