Right, Wrong, & Fiction

In this Presidential election year, politics is at its worst. It doesn’t matter what your political views are, you can find people who agree with you and are 180 degrees opposed to you. Who is right and who
is wrong? That all depends on your point of view.

The same holds true when you write fiction. Any time you are writing from a character’s point of view, they are right. It doesn’t matter whether you agree with them or not, not even as the writer. They
are right from their point of view. And when you switch points of view, your new character is right. You can slant it toward your protagonist, but you can’t make the characters be untrue to themselves.

And when you realize this in fiction, you can reapply it to real life. Whether you are looking at sides people take in politics, religion, sports, or fandom, everyone thinks their side is the right one. What
this means is that if you find yourself in an argument, you need to remember that the person you are arguing with is just as sure they are right as you are. Chances are you are both wrong, at least in part. In fiction you
can see the author’s intent of right and wrong, but in real life it isn’t always possible, especially if you can’t see the right on both sides.

Fiction can make things so much simpler to deal with.