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Peace, Light and Literature
Sep. 21st, 2004 11:35 pmToday, according to the BBC News website, is UN Day for Peace. Cue in-depth feature articles on the principles and practice of nonviolent conflict resolution, Ministerial discussions on how to lay the groundwork for real peace, and soap plotlines that dramatically show their characters dealing with their issues using assertion rather than aggression.
Or maybe not.
Part of the problem is the misconception that ‘peace’ is weak, needing only to be kept, not created. Or that it is boring: conflict is so much more interesting, after all. It’s strong enough to cut through our apathy and boredom and make us feel more human.
And so, as writers, we are told that we must create conflict, keep up the tension. Well, that’s a technique that certainly works to hook a reader and pull them through the story, but there’s something about that advice that troubles me: it seems to create a bias towards dealing with the nastier side of human experience. By no means do I think we should shy away from that. (I recently started a thread over on FAP about why we’re are drawn to read and write ‘darkfic’, and the responses so far have been wonderfully thought-provoking.)
But I do think there’s an imbalance here. So often, “fluff” seems to be used as a more-or-less derogatory label for any stories that aren’t angsty or dark, as if stories that celebrate the beauty and passion of life, or the deep joy of connection to community, to friends, to lovers, are somehow of less consequence. (Peace is weak, after all...)
Is that really true, or is it a failure of imagination? Is it really impossible to weave a riveting story which is as compelling as darkfic yet fiercely focuses on the best of humanity? Maybe it is – I posted a request for such stories on FAP and after a few days had received zero response.
And yet… and yet. As writers, imagination is our creative lifeblood.
Perhaps it’s time to reclaim the Light?
Or maybe not.
Part of the problem is the misconception that ‘peace’ is weak, needing only to be kept, not created. Or that it is boring: conflict is so much more interesting, after all. It’s strong enough to cut through our apathy and boredom and make us feel more human.
And so, as writers, we are told that we must create conflict, keep up the tension. Well, that’s a technique that certainly works to hook a reader and pull them through the story, but there’s something about that advice that troubles me: it seems to create a bias towards dealing with the nastier side of human experience. By no means do I think we should shy away from that. (I recently started a thread over on FAP about why we’re are drawn to read and write ‘darkfic’, and the responses so far have been wonderfully thought-provoking.)
But I do think there’s an imbalance here. So often, “fluff” seems to be used as a more-or-less derogatory label for any stories that aren’t angsty or dark, as if stories that celebrate the beauty and passion of life, or the deep joy of connection to community, to friends, to lovers, are somehow of less consequence. (Peace is weak, after all...)
Is that really true, or is it a failure of imagination? Is it really impossible to weave a riveting story which is as compelling as darkfic yet fiercely focuses on the best of humanity? Maybe it is – I posted a request for such stories on FAP and after a few days had received zero response.
And yet… and yet. As writers, imagination is our creative lifeblood.
Perhaps it’s time to reclaim the Light?
