This seems to have stemmed from my new found admiration for theme and its importance.
Fun fact: Many authors whose works have been accused of having Deep and Meaningful Themes didn't write their books with those particular themes in mind. In some cases, they swore they didn't intentionally put any theme into their books. The theme is almost always interpreted by the reader. Even if there is an intentional theme put there by the author, the reader is likely to discern his or her own theme during the course of reading.
Unless you beat your reader over the head with it, which would be artless and lame, theme will change from reader to reader. C'est la vie.
It's great to recognize the importance that theme has to you, but bear in mind that the authors whose themey work you love may have had a very different take on their work than what you're reading into it.
And that's totally fine. That's the nature of art. It is a mode of expression for the artist, but it's also a mode of expression -- or rather, exploration -- for the audience. A good work of art will provide its viewer with insight into the world's various conditions. It really doesn't matter whether the viewer of the art understands the subject in precisely the same way the artist understands the subject. What counts for everybody involved is the emotional journey of experiencing that particular work of art.
And to be honest, it has crippled my writing. I can't even fathom writing a work of fiction (comic, novel, screenplay) purely just for entertainment.
Entertainment -- just pure, trouble-forgetting, happy-making entertainment -- also elicits and emotional response from the viewer. The joy one feels while being entertained is a real emotion, just as important as any of the "serious" emotions we feel when we consider weighty subjects. The art that provides the viewer with a little light-hearted respite from all the troubles of the world is just as important as the art that makes the viewer consider a social problem or feel the pain of another person.
However, maybe you're not the kind of person who feels drawn to bringing that kind of emotion from his audience. That's totally fine. I can't imagine Cormac McCarthy writing Garfield comic strips, either. Some of us feel compelled to produce a certain type of art, and others feel compelled to produce another type. One isn't better or more serious or more artistic than the other. It's fine for you to produce what you feel compelled to produce, and understand that it will both entertain and elicit emotion, just as a comic strip will.
(I should point out, by the way, that some of the most emotive writing I've ever seen, with some of the most poignant storylines and the most touching characters is in a web comic called
Achewood. If you want a lesson in pathos, humor, an deep, deep development of very real characters, start at the beginning of its ten-year archive and read until the most recent strip. It will make you a better writer.)
How do I overcome this? It's become so much of a problem that I can't even write a story about, for example, angels and demons because I have convinced myself that by doing so I am admitting to the existence of a higher power (God) which as a hard atheist, I cannot do. I'd feel like I was lying to myself and the reader, which I swore to never do. Sounds silly but that's just the way my mind works at the moment.
Are you writing fiction? Fiction is all lies. A lot of people around these-here parts don't like when I say that, but it's true. Fiction is invention. It's untruth. It can be very true on an emotional level, but you're probably writing about people and maybe even places and almost certainly events that never existed. If you want to write nonfiction, that's another story, but if you want to write good fiction you'd better get comfy with making shit up and telling it like it's the truest thing in the world. That's what fiction writers DO.
My guess, though, is that it's really nothing to do with squeamishness over dishonesty, but rather fear of sucking. You don't want to jump in and invent all this crazy fake stuff because you're afraid you won't do it well.
Well, you probably won't at first. It might take you a few passes before you even start to get it right. You might spend a year working on an idea and then discover it's totally unviable and have to trash it. You might fall in love with what you produce and get it critiqued only to find out it's failing in very serious ways and readers don't like it at all. These are all very real fears. These things could happen. One thing's for sure, though. Your stories won't write themselves. You just have to push through your fear of sucking and do it anyway. Suck out loud if you're going to. Give yourself total permission to write absolute shit. Just WRITE. It can all be improved upon later, as you learn more about yourself and about the craft. But there will be nothing to work with if you don't take the dive and write.
I want to get my views across in a way that doesn't force them onto the reader. How do I do that? Do I do it objectively and let the reader decide for themselves? Do I do it in a one sided manner, providing reasons for my bias? How is this best achieved?
Don't worry about the reader. The only person you need to impress right now is you. Write a story that you feel is entertaining (as in, keeps the reader's attention, not necessarily makes them feel like they've watched a Jennifer Aniston film) and makes sense. And don't put so much emphasis on the take-home message in your writing...as I already pointed out, you cannot control what message a reader will find in your writing, nor what theme he will detect there that you never intended to impart. So just don't worry about it. That way lies madness. Just write a story you love and don't trouble yourself over anything else.
Until it's time for revision.
Going back to my example, how would a story about angels and demons be portrayed in an atheistic way?
Tongue in cheek, perhaps?
I'm a hardcore atheist, too. In fact, I've got a radio show (formerly a TV show) about atheism. I'm THAT HARDCORE! But I see nothing wrong with writing any kind of fiction I feel like exploring. In my first novel, the main character is deeply religious and believes she sees visions from her gods (set in ancient Egypt, so we're talking Egyptian gods here). I never specify whether she's really receiving divine visions from a supernatural source, whether she's hallucinating, dreaming, or is insane. I don't care, frankly. All that matters to me is that the experiences are real TO HER, and hopefully I've used her to tell a really great story that readers will love. It's cool with me if readers see it as "mere" entertainment or as something deeper, a commentary on ancient religion and on the plight of women in that society, etc. Whatevs. I can't control what they'll think. All I can do is write a book I'm proud of.
You'll be relieved to know (as am I) that my second novel (in progress) chronicles the journey of a young woman from devout Mormon to atheist. Also, there is a road trip and an extra-marital affair in there. Good times, good times.
Just write, dude. Don't worry about making readers feel anything specific. You can't control that. Let it go and write the book.
