Democracy is the most important export of America, says the main character in More Than a Point of Honor. Because brave men and women stood up for their beliefs 239 years ago, we are now free to write what we want, when we want and how we want. But with that freedom comes responsibility. Even if what we write is fiction, we owe it to our readers to write truth.
We need
to make sure that we thoroughly research what we write, so that our readers can
trust our words. Not only the facts but the emotions need to be real. We can’t
always experience the same things our characters do, but we have probably
experienced something that can relate. I’ve never been hit by an electrical
power line, but I do know what it feels like to fear for the recovery of
someone I love. I’ve never been to North Korea, but I do know what it’s like
when your job and your very future are held in the hands of politicians. And
how the decisions made by our elected officials depends on so many more factors
than what appears in the news.
And if
you want to read a moving novel that puts you in the heart of the various
conflicts surrounding the Revolutionary War, seek out a copy of Walk in the Light by my late fiancé
Charles Durham. His second novel, it was well grounded in the locales, history,
artifacts and emotions of the time. The main character is a woman who was
forced to stand on her own, and in the end, she saves the day.
1 comments:
Doesn't life always have a way of intervening? Sometimes for the good. I am definitely checking out Mr. Durham's book. Thanks for the heads up.
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