Blog #60; The Moral Responsibility of the Fiction Writer

 I am a fiction writer, and have been for over thirty years, and a member of the LDS church.  I think for any writer striving to create a work of ethical relevance, the beliefs of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and its first Latter Day Prophet, are significant.   “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.” –Joseph Smith Jr.  But this quote is not just for Mormons; I believe any writer or artist of any kind can learn from this 13^th Article of the LDS faith.  I often ask myself if my fiction writing is virtuous, lovely, of good report or praiseworthy, and if the answer is no, I know I have some work to do.

 

Many Mormon fiction writers use this particular quote for guidance, and the doctrines of the LDS Church, but wrongly assume that this limits them as creators to produce exclusively Young Adult novels or books.  Surely, a mature LDS person is interested in reading the same work as his or her children, but can we, as fiction writers, also create mature work that is directed not only towards Young Adults, but all sensitive and thinking people?  I am attempting here to broaden the perspective of those who create fiction with an ethical bent.

 

Let’s step away from my own faith for a moment and look at the broader view, the community of fiction writers as a whole.  I do not espouse a kind of “preachy,” didactic all-or-nothing narrow world view with the emphasis on morality.  Rather, I look to realistically portray human beings, flawed human beings, who cross ethical lines that harm themselves or others and depict the results of such actions.  In “Under Old Glory,” my novella of the First World War, the character of Hyrum commits many sins against his fellow man, and he pays a terrible price for it.  He is haunted by those he killed in the war.  Or even in IN LOVE AND WAR, conceived and mostly written before my conversion experience, I show a young couple who cross the ethical boundaries of their faith, and very much suffer for it.   If a character crosses moral or ethical lines, he or she will pay the price.  It is an immutable law of the universe.  I believe even if a person is not “punished” in a demonstrable way during his or her lifetime, the price will still have to be paid.