Do you REALLY want to know?

Posted on 5-30-18

On the sharing of sincerely held opinions:

The news is full of colorful characters from all walks of life who insist on exposing the rest of us to their thoughts. Those who find themselves in the public eye, and therefore command a ready audience, have a greater responsibility to share their views with caution – yet many seem to feel it is their right to smack the rest of us over the head with what they think.

We all have opinions on things, whether it be politics, religion, entertainment or sports. The issue is knowing the correct time & place to share them and when to keep quiet for the sake of peaceful co-existence. Obviously, some folks just don’t get it.

Personally, I avoid sharing my opinions on divisive issues as it relates to my life as an author. I am a  private person, and too much sharing makes me uncomfortable. This is one reason I do not and will not have a Facebook account. Besides, my readers don’t really want to hear what I have to say on current topics, and I prefer not to antagonize or offend them. If at all possible I want them to have a relaxing and enjoyable experience while reading my books.

Does that mean I will avoid all controversial topics? No, it simply means that if I decide to share my personal thoughts and opinions, I may do so using one of my characters and let the reader agree or disagree as they see fit. I get the chance to share a lot of things this way, yet my readers don’t need to know it was “me” and not a made-up character in a story.

Purposely or not, I believe all authors do the same thing. In fact, it would be almost impossible NOT to allow personal thoughts, attitudes and opinions to leak into the narrative while writing fiction. Every one of my books contain snippets of the real me, making the characters and situations I portray more believable. When not using my own experiences, I borrow from the people I have known or read about over the years.

If the story is a good one, the reader is unlikely to stop and wonder if certain elements came directly from the author. In the end, it hardly matters where the inspiration came from for a particular character or situation, as long as it rings true for the reader and conveys what the author intended. This is part of the mystery surrounding each author’s style and storytelling mojo.

So, if you really want to know, feel free to contact me. I may tell you, but then again, I may not…