The Pen Being Mightier Than the Sword
Two nights ago, I had a phone conversation with a young friend, a man taking a master's degree in Theology, who was interested in my foray into the world of writing. He espoused little interest in fiction; incisive social/religious commentary being more dear to his heart, so he inquired why fiction appeals to me.
"Writers are dangerous," I explained. "Why do you think writers and journalists are so rigorously persecuted in dictatorial countries? Why is there such a thing as censorship? Because we talk about the elephant in the room; because we stir people to action, because we point out decadence, corruption, and evil wherever we see it." Think of Charles Dickens writing "Oliver Twist." It was fiction, but it helped garner outrage against conditions in poorhouses of the day, and eventually led to labour reform. Alexandr Solzhenitzyn wrote about conditions in Communist USSR labour camps, and for that he was exiled and imprisoned. There are countless examples throughout the world in every country.
The novel I'm currently working on focuses on a smaller story; one woman's search for justice in a damaged relationship. In the future, my own family being a repository of stories that outrage our twenty-first century standards, I have no shortage of material for additional books that tell of wrongs to be righted. Not all will be successful. Stay tuned.
