The Difference Between
Novelists and Politicians
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Hi, All. Given the increasingly difficult social/political atmosphere, I thought the following would be worth repeating— the first part was originally in one of my newsletters, and hopefully ya’all will see the humor of the situation…
American politics today is nuts, and the crazies are on all sides: I’m not crazy enough to do a rant about todays politics, I know better; but, I would like to give you all my thoughts on the similarities and the differences between Novelists and Politicians.
I use the ‘label’ novelist, because there are many categories of writers. Of the myriad types of writers—I use the universal word for all genres of fiction, novels—we novelists are the writers who create stories from our imagination. We create stories that are not real, yet….
The other writers, the non-fiction writers: Journalists; bibliographers, self-help writers, even the how-to-do-it writers have their opinions, and rarely hold them back.
But if you want to know a novelist’s real opinions on controversial subjects like current politics, you need to explore their writing. You can find mine as well, in my mysteries, thrillers, sci-fi, and fantasy, but that’s not the issue here, it’s what makes novelists and politicians so similar yet so different. In my opinion, of course.
- Novelists write stories: politicians tell stories
- Novelists write fiction: Far too many politicians speak fiction.
- Novelists work to make their stories appeal to as many readers as possible: Politicians work to make their words appeal to as many of their constituents as possible.
- Novelists will use actual events to build a story’s ‘suspension of disbelief’: Politicians use current events to “push” their agenda in a way to suspend just enough disbelief to make voters believe they are working for them.
- Novelists create great histories for their characters: Politicians… yeah, them too.
- Novelists have no need for their characters to be truthful: Politicians… too many create their own character, just like a novelist..
- Novelists seek the perfect ending for their stories: Politicians seek to prevent their end from coming.
I am not saying novelists and politicians are either bad or good, all I’m saying is a politician is a person, and like all people, there are good, bad, indifferent, psychopathic, and, as Igor said in the movie Young Frankenstein, when Doctor Frankenstein asked him whose brain he had stolen, Igor replied… “The jar said Abi..Normal”
It’s sad to say, but today’s political atmosphere is coming across as strangely and frighteningly, abnormal.
HOWEVER
If you read my Tales of Nevaeh series, (I wrote the first book in 2014 & 2015, before there were any nominees to either party) you will have realized that in Born to Magic, I described how one rogue president created a situation that turned into intercontinental nuclear war, pushed by the terrorists and religious fundamentalists, and responded to by the political world powers.
This ended up with the destruction of the world. Born To Magic, book one of Tales of Nevaeh described what happened. It also describes my vision of a possible the future, and of how the world and its inhabitants managed to survive a nuclear war 3,000 years earlier.
I have another announcement….
I am releasing my very first nonfiction book. I wrote it in response to the way Independent Writers are looked at and treated, and I wanted the new Indie writers, and the Traditional writers who are now publishing Independently, to have a guide to move them along the path from final draft to the launch of their book.
The guide I wrote is titled, The Indie Writer’s Handbook, and it is scheduled for release on September 1 of this year. If you, or a friend, is planning on writing a novel or a nonfiction book, and planning to become an Independent writer who publishes their own work, please take a look at this, it will help you immensely!