A deep question for a Monday

Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt.

Don’t forget to click the link to see what everyone else has to say on this week’s subject. It’s at the end of my post.

Do you call yourself more of a philosopher or an entertainer?

When I saw this week’s prompt, I immediately thought of Terry Pratchett. His work mixed commentary on topical events and themes and a fantasy world with an ease that I found breathtaking.

While I couldn’t claim to have a fraction of his skill, I do try to incorporate a little social commentary where I can, and give my characters emotions and opinions that reflect common attitudes.

Even if the action often takes place on another planet in the far future.

And I think it makes my fiction all the more realistic and relatable. Because we have to remember that the future will be similar to today, just with a different set of shiny things to play with. Or a different place to explore.

One thing that’s often forgotten is that people will still be people in the far future. They will step out to explore the Galaxy with all their good and bad points as baggage.

Politicians will still seek to mislead us with carefully chosen and ambiguous words. Generals will always be desperate for a battle, and journalists will persist in not letting the facts get in the way of a good story.

There will still be issues like pollution, recycling, and maybe even climate change. And not just here, these topics will be part of life on different planets.

These traits are also evident in my alternative universe of Norlandia, where Steam and Clockwork are the things that drive their technology. As a quasi-Victorian society, there are other things that I can casually throw into the mix, just as they were in the real Victorian times. Issues like emancipation and gender equality, the march of technology and the destruction of the environment in pursuit of profit.

Now, that’s a lot of philosophy, I hear you say. Where’s the entertainment?

The trick is balance. I do think it’s important not to preach to the reader. So the philosophy has to be mixed with the entertainment.

And that means a well-constructed world, filled with technology that seems at least plausible. And characters that the reader can believe in, engaged in a story that they can relate to.

If you have that, you can add a little bit of philosophy and get away with it.

Of course, you can always make the philosophy part of the entertainment. Many of my stories feature one character who is obsessed with a fashionable cause or has some character flaw that makes him interesting. If you think about it, there’s normally at least one person like that in any group.

You can write a whole story around the antics of a megalomaniac or a climate zealot.

I know, because I have.

What do you think about this week’s subject?

Let me know by leaving me a comment.

While you’re here, please click the InLinkz link to check out what my fellow writers have to say about this week’s topic.

I’ll be back with another post on Thursday, see you then. Meanwhile, have a great week.

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