Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
I would NOT like to have to write my fiction so that all characters and situations gave positive, (currently) politically correct, lessons to all readers - just in case the work became popular enough that someone might hold it up as providing poor examples to the community.
If Twilight had earned $500 of sales off Amazon no one would care what lessons it offered. Your deconstruction blog is an interesting way to analyse works such as Twilight and how they reflect what has become acceptable in society, but I do get uncomfortable when the phrasing (like that above) seems to suggest that the work or author is responsible for the way the book was received. (Oh, how we'd all love that!)
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I'm not sure that we're not talking past each other; I rarely criticize authors directly on my blog, preferring to criticize the text itself. (We all know that Unfortunate Implications can slip in whether we mean to or not.)
However, in a very general sense, yes, I do believe authors are responsible for what they write. Just as I believe we are all responsible for what we say. Authors are not stream-of-consciousness generators who cannot and should not be held accountable for the things they do and say, simply because Art.
[Insert mandatory reference to Orson Scott Card.]
But that's my opinion. As for what you "have to" do, I have never advocated laws to conform books to my standards, and I'm a strong opponent of censorship, so the only "have to" in this situation is what you as a writer want to leave yourself open for criticism. Since everyone on earth is entitled to their opinion, and I'm just one voice in a sea of billions, I wouldn't worry too much.
