A Writer’s Qualms by Tess O’Hara
As a creative, you carry a responsibility to your subjects, whether they’re real or fictional. How does a writer navigate this moral responsibility as they seek to move, surprise, and entertain?
My unpublished novel The Shelter is about a young, female politician, Cairo, who develops feelings for a rough sleeper, Vlad, whom she meets when volunteering at a shelter. While the theme of love across class divides has been explored throughout the centuries and in much modern historical fiction, the stigma of crossing these lines still exists. I set out to explore the backlash a middle-class woman in the 21st century might face, dating someone considered off-limits because of social class.
As much as my intentions were in support of my homeless love interest and against the notion that 'homeless' and 'love interest' don't fit, I faced a few moral considerations in my depiction of the characters. The narrative relies on the idea (not the reality) that there is some kind of incompatible juxtaposition in this love story. Readers will sense the challenge of addressing this supposed conflict. Subverting this dominant societal assumption required a good amount of sensitivity.
I asked myself: How can I write a protagonist who subverts stereotypes around homelessness whilst acknowledging the realities faced by those with Vlad’s socio-economic background? How can I get the reader to sympathise with Vlad without patronising him? In the first draft, I aimed to emphasise characteristics like Vlad’s positivity and nerdiness before referring to his homelessness. But my readers said it was unnatural for the inevitable realities of his situation not to come up.
So began a draft in which Cairo had various responses to Vlad’s inability to maintain personal hygiene, from embarrassment to defiant acceptance to raw attraction In this draft, Vlad was a victim of circumstance, but also possessed personal flaws which made him even more vulnerable. Just as we all are taken down our paths as a result of good and bad decisions, so too is he. Simply because I want Vlad to defy stereotypes doesn't mean he has to be a saint. Cairo certainly isn't.
It was important to me that the practicalities of the novel were realistic, and I drew inspiration from the time I spent volunteering in a night shelter a while ago. I recalled how few of the shelter guests were British and how firm some of the safeguarding rules were. Still, I worry many of the anecdotes I've included won't ring true to the average person sleeping rough in London. I plan to hire someone with first-hand experience as a beta reader. I'm working on overcoming my imposter syndrome and many of the moral doubts I've described before doing this, but I am committed to finding an appropriate resource who will teach both me and my readers.
Showing empathy for the homeless characters of my novel often seemed to require criticism of their night shelter, which naturally was based on the shelter where I volunteered. I appreciated that the guests deserved greater freedoms whilst also understanding the administrative requirement for tight safeguarding restrictions. But in fiction this viewpoint is hard to convey. Also, it was key to the plot that my protagonist actively criticised the shelter and defied its guidelines.
Every writer creates their protagonist’s worldview and decides the extent to which it will influence the messaging of the novel. Looking towards publication, I have to be okay with my novel proclaiming views I don't fully agree with, hoping the reader will make up their own mind.
I know many of the Emerging Voices community are creatives. I'm curious to hear what moral concerns you've faced in your work? How have you overcome these and what responsibilities do you think a writer or artist has to the communities they depict?
These are really helpful and interesting thoughts, Rachel. Yes, you have to be prepared to take responsibility for mistakes and that's a part of deciding to be an artist (or activist). It must be such a struggle encountering denial and such in your work. I know I'd struggle to be in a more people-facing role. The easy thing about writing is you put it out there and don't have to engage in the conversation that follows. But I think it's important to have these conversations and writers should seek them out – listen to other perspectives whilst sharing our own views.