Response to "Why Do You Write?" by Margaret Atwood

I was expecting this short little excerpt to be similar to Richard Bausch's list of 10 things all writers must do.  Therefore, I was shocked to read that Atwood is actually being very political here.  A couple of the things she mentions, such as the way that writers will be speaking for or against human society, and "speak[ing] for women," in some of their writing are ideas that I haven't thought much about.  I enjoy writing fiction because I can conjure up characters and situations that may have some parallels to my own life, or have nothing to do with me; it hasn't really crossed my mind up until this point that my writing could be making some sort of political statement.  That being said, I have written and continue to write romance between members of the same sex, but I have always viewed it as just "romance" rather than slapping a "lesbian" or "gay" label on it.

I suppose it's time for me to rethink that.  Perhaps Atwood would see those stories I've written (and potential novel ideas) as stories or books that would be banned for their homosexual content.  Perhaps a good chunk of human society would be against it as well; by writing what I have written, I have gone against the heteronormative society that still exists today.  This doesn't necessarily bother me, but I think what does bother me is the fact that there would be a huge audience missing out on my books/stories or simply loathing them without even reading one word of them because of the content.  That is a scary thought as a writer, when your career depends on people liking and enjoying what you've written.

Regardless, what Atwood ends her excerpt with is simple: "Tell what is yours to tell. Let others tell what is theirs." What I have to say in some of my writing may be uncomfortable for some, and for others, be just what they needed.  Some of my writing might be comfortable for the majority and only resonate with some.  Whatever the case, I have a unique voice to lend to my writing that is different from each and every other writer who exists today, and at the end of the day, I believe that people who love to read and recognize a good story when they see one will appreciate what I have to bring to the table.