Write Away

That reminds me of English classes I took. One teacher in particular was adamant that everything in literature always means something, that a cup can't just be a cup. I got the same in art classes. In fact, one art teacher said that if things don't have meaning, the art is just a photograph, and there's nothing artistic about a photograph. I don't think he meant that literally photography is not an art or anything, just that if I paint a realistic picture of someone's face, it's not really art. If her expression, her clothes, who she is, if that has meaning, then it is art. The same might be said of writing. If I write just a biography of something, is it art? If it lacks a climax, a conclusion, and so on.

I don't really know. In art and writing both, I don't think it's possible for absolutely everything to have meaning, or it will just become nonsense. To be honest, I really like storytelling. To me, especially in genre writing, it's all about the story. It isn't that I dislike symbolism or anything, but I like authentic stories, that are thrilling to tell and read both. In fact, I tend to be turned off from stories that are really preachy and too full of messages. Characters and events can definitely have meaning, but a message? I don't know.

Which relates to my problem. I don't want my female warrior character to be the literary embodiment of a social agenda. At least, not at the core. I want to tell the story I see in my head, and I'm not writing it to prove that women can take on male roles - it's just who this character is. That being said, I'd love if my story could remind even one person that women shouldn't be associated with a single stereotype, and female characters can kick ass - but that is totally secondary.

I guess, I'm comfortable with what I write and why. But when I see criticism of female characters, and female authors for that matter, and knowing how sexism still persists in our society, I wonder if my story could be criticized like that, or if readers would make assumptions about my intentions.