The USA celebrates the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence from British rule every 4th of July. Independence Day is a time to remember what it means to be free of tyranny. It’s also a time for grilling out, drinking beer, and booming fireworks that terrify the dog.
This Independence Day I took a moment to quietly reflect on something else: my freedom as a writer. We writers have the opportunity and the responsibility to share with the world our thoughts, dreams, and ideas. We have the freedom (right now) to express ourselves, to follow our muse, to share that which dwells in us with the reading public. If we choose, we can comment on the world around us through our prose, our satire, etc.
Freedom to create can come at a cost. Look around the world and see voices silenced for dissent, for not sharing the dominant view, or for daring to poke fun at the powers that be. I always think of Salman Rushdie‘s book, The Satanic Verses which came out back in 1988. The controversy of the book. The threats on his life because he dared spin a tale some in power found…problematic.
The world needs stalwart fiction writers because the world NEEDS great fiction.
Since I’ve started paying attention, I’ve seen news stories about book banning, writers blacklisted on college campuses, “controversial” books pulled from libraries and bookstores, and writers attacked (some killed). I’m talking fiction writers here, not even dipping a toe into the world of journalism and non-fiction.
The challenge I and fellow creative writers face is to keep writing and stay true to our muse. There will always be opposition, be it in the form of trolling, bad review blasts, calls for de-platforming, industry pariah status, and pure outcry. But keep writing. I shudder to think of a world where the voices of Mary Shelley, Mark Twain, Maya Angelou, Shirley Jackson, Toni Morrison, Henry Miller, Kurt Vonnegut, or James Baldwin were no longer available to us because someone in power decided those authors’ words were “too much” for the public. It’s happened in the past and continues in some places today.
So keep writing. Embrace your freedom to create, to take readers on journeys to places and with people that only exist in the imagination. You have the freedom to do so. Let each day you sit down to that work-in-progress be your Independence Day.
