Controversy and how it can make you a better writer

A few weeks ago I posted a blog about how I was going to post writing prompts/challenges every week, then I completely forgot about it! How terrible is that? Granted the response was nil, but still, I really should've followed through.

So here you go, the writing challenge of the week:

To help with a pitch to an agent/editor write a haiku about the plot of your novel

Standard format for a haiku is: 5-7-5 syllables.

Now onto the blog....


Controversy:

Per Wikipedia: Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of opinion, but sometimes the allegation that a matter of scientific fact is no better than opinion or even religious belief, as in the controversy between evolutionary biology and Creationism or Intelligent Design.

There are some people in this world who have no opinions, and in the rare event that they do, they refuse to express it. These people are in the minority. The vast majority of people in the world have opinions, like expressing them, occasionally arguing about them, and seek out people of like mind.

We're dealing with the vast majority of people, these are, after all, the people we write books for.

Oh there are some authors out there who write for the literary elite, the highfalutin of the world, those who strive for the most existential of information... so existential in fact that I highly doubt they glean it themselves. However, this blog is not for those people. This blog is for the masses, or rather the authors who want to write for the masses. Sales figures tell us that genre fiction reigns supreme and I write genre fiction. I have a feeling that the majority of the people drawn to my blog, and to an author who writes about vampires and werewolves, feel that genre fiction is where it's at, the cat's meow if you will.


Therefore kids, we're dealing with the masses and their need to pick a side.

People want to favor a sports team, prefer pepsi over coke, usually vote either democrat or republican. They have a favorite game of the year, the one that involves the biggest rival of their team. They are Pro-life or Pro-choice. Hell, they could even debate great taste vs less filling.

Noticing a theme? A dilemma that involves only two choices seems to be the one that most people fight the hardest for.

Let me give you a few examples from my genre, Urban Fantasy.

Werewolves vs Vampires
Team Jacob vs Team Edward (Twilight series)
Eric vs Bill (Southern Vampires series, aka Sookie Stackhouse series)
Violence vs Sex (Talking mainly about the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series)

and last but not least... (not Urban Fantasy)
Joe vs Ranger (Stephanie Plum series)


But how can this help with writing?

Well first off, it helps in this way: You can't please all the people all the time.

Fans who love a series and/or book are allowed to hate a character, even one you, as the author, think is likable. There are several series I read that I flat out hate the main character, who coincidentally, is also the narrator. You can't really get around that, but if the story is good enough, if the world is developed enough, you love it so much it doesn't matter.

Fans will pick a side, some like a brooding male, some like the happy go lucky sort.

So writers, don't feel bad if someone hates a character or a plot choice. It doesn't mean you are a bad writer. It can mean you've done something right. You've created a character or a plot device that elicits a strong feeling in someone, so strong in fact that they feel the need to express it. That is what writing is all about.

Maybe you should have your characters be on two different sides of the same coin--let your readers choose sides. Let your fans take solace with one another and pit themselves against one another, not only is it good for business, but it makes for interesting conversation between books.

Controversy in books makes their effect last longer. It sticks with the reader. The key to this is that there can be no right answer.


However, controversy is not just about choosing sides, sometimes it is about appropriateness.

A lot of humans are uncomfortable with something "too real" in a book. And of course by real, I mean that in a sense that is usually negative. A very real scene from the perspective a child molester let's say. I know I'd feel uncomfortable writing AND reading that, but it will be memorable.

An example of an "appropriateness debate" from Chris Crutcher's novel Whale Talk. Georgia is a therapist and Heidi is a young biracial girl. The narrator is a young man, new on the scene.

In a calm voice Georgia tells me I'm supposed to tell at Heidi for letting the black dolls in the house, and I finally piece together from Heidi that I'm also supposed to find them one by one, scream at Heidi for letting each one in (Get these nigger babies out of the house! They Stinky!) [...] I am caught for one moment in mid-scream but Heidi screams, "GET THESE GODDAMN FUCK NIGGER KIDS OUT OF THE HOUSE!!!!"

I'm sure all of you can see the controversy in this piece, add to the fact that this book is Young Adult fiction and available in public school libraries... well that's just unacceptable... to some people. The language is not the kind that is appropriate for this day and age, however, that doesn't mean that people don't use it. You see Heidi is a biracial girl and her stepdaddy is racist and uses this language around her, and makes her feel all kinds of worthless. No wonder she needs a therapist huh? Uncomfortable to read? Sure. Poignant? Hell to the yeah!

This book was challenged (what I like to call a modern term of being banned and burned, it's like a lynch mob with tar and feathers knocking on the door of the book's house.) by parents in a city in my home state of Michigan.

To me poignant equates excellence. I realize that some people don't find this book to be poignant, but the controversy here is: poignant vs inappropriate. Actually, the only reason I knew about this book is because I heard the above excerpt being read at a library event about how to stop the nonsense of banning books. "Challenging" it led to me reading it. I guess it's true what they say, "There is no such thing as bad press."


In summation...

Controversy is good for writers because:

It makes books memorable.

Yup, that pretty much sums it up. I know that's what I strive for as a writer, and as a reader.

And the video... and I just came upon this and it not only features my favorite character in the series (Yay Team Jacob!) but I'm excited for the movie as well...

A new clip from New Moon.