A Pause

My latest short story is called “Poppet,” and it’s about a person who casts curses via Voodoo dolls. They’re part of a guerilla war to keep some invaders from occupying their land. I’ve finished a solid first draft, but now I have a quandary.

The issue is that guerillas fighting occupiers could readily be taken as a reference to current world events. At the time I started working on this story, Hamas hadn’t yet opened the new front in their long conflict with Israel. My story is set in a fantasy world, and the main characters are Elves. Even so, it’s a sensitive subject to even hint at.

I’m conflicted because I don’t like abandoning a story for any reason that doesn’t involve the story itself. I also don’t want to censor myself. Censorship is bad. At the same time, it’s important that writers “read the room,” if you will. Writing something that inserts myself into the Israel/Hamas conflict seems inappropriate and potentially harmful.

Maybe it won’t matter. Publication can be a long journey, and it’s possible that matters will be more settled by the time I actually get to submitting this story, let alone see it in print. However, I’m taking a pause on “Poppet.” The reissue of Wee Folk and Wise needs my attention, and working on it will give me time to mull things over.

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