In part 2 of her Writer Unboxed article on writing about big issues, Kathryn Craft offers advice on how to avoid the big pitfalls of tackling important subjects.
In inexperienced hands, a novel about an important topic can get bogged down in textbook lessons or political lectures. Instead, Craft says you should approach your topic from a personal angle. If you’re writing about “the end of the world,” readers still need to find someone to root for. And your characters’ motivations should be specific. Helping others is a worthy day job, but knowing why your hero insists on putting themselves at risk will draw your reader into your story. “The protagonist’s experiences, desires, thoughts, and feelings will define our experience of the novel—not our thoughts about its Big Issue—so that protagonist needs a goal, and associated stakes, that are deeply personal,” Craft says. “She needs to have skin in the game.”
Craft also recommends that you consider the various ways different members of your cast might view and respond to your topic. “I’ve seen too many lopsided manuscripts that dramatize only the author’s perspective,” she says. “Giving each character a good reason for acting the way they do will benefit your plot as their varying beliefs send them on intersecting paths. This will give them perspectives to argue for and work through as they try to decide whether their seemingly immovable stance warrants their loss of important relationships.”
