Putting Your Issues on Paper

[sfeldstein]

I have issues. Put away your I Heart Freud mug...this isn't Therapy Day on the blog.

The issues I'm talking about are the things going on in the world that make you think about something other than your own life. Things like the earthquake in Haiti. Or polar bears losing the ice shelves they need to survive. Or kids who need aid in remote villages [I'd like to link to your voluntourism post, but have no idea how in this forum].

"Write what you know," for me, means writing about issues. I work for an environmental nonprofit organization. I volunteer for humane organizations. I rescue dogs. I blog about animal welfare issues [would like to link to animalwelfare.change.org]. Now, we all know that "write what you know" shouldn't be taken too literally -- you don't have to actually be a serial killer to write a novel about one (hope I saved a few people some trouble with that tidbit). "What you know" is about your honest feelings, relationships, and reactions that bring your characters to life. If I'm bringing "me" to the page, I'm bringing my issues.

There are a lot of people that will try to warn you off of writing Issue Books ... as in, "Issue Books Don't Sell" and "No One Wants to Read a Book with a Message." That's a load of energy-producing, hut-building dung. Barbara Kingsolver. Carl Hiaasen. Michael Crichton. They're all bestsellers, and they all write with a loud-and-clear message.

So, don't be afraid to raise your issue flag and let it wave in the literary wind. Sure, people don't want to be hit over the head with your morals, but you don't have to bludgeon your readers to show you care. You don't have to hide who you are or what's important to you in order to be a successful novelist. Whether you're writing about vampires or symbology or global poverty, the bottom line is that you have to write a good story with characters your readers can love. You can say whatever you feel needs to be said ... as long as it's done well.

And the more it means to you, the sweeter it is to see those words make it out in the world.

Stephanie Feldstein [http://www.stephaniefeldstein.com]