And It Comes Down to Politics. . .

      Alright. Sorry if this post is shorter than usual. I got on early, but then people decided to talk about the elections I'd already forgotten about. I'm not going to go into my political views or anything, I mean, this is a writing blog. The way I see it? My views are my views and I'm not in the mood to irritate people with them. So believe whatever you'd like about me. 

      Characters, however, will have opinions on their government and its state of being. In a contemporary or historic fiction novel, what side of the election would they be on (this is being written from America, so I hope you'll bear with me)? Republican or Democrat? What if their family was of opposite views than them? Better yet, what if they're a third party and it seems like the whole world hates them?

      It doesn't even matter what country you're in. Everyone has views. No one can turn off your ability to have an opinion. You have a character living in, say, Australia. What are their opinions of the government there?

      It gets even more tricky once you delve into the realms of fantasy and science fiction. Usually because you're then building what kind of government they have and what your character's opinion of it is. 

      Personally, if you're asking me how to build a government, I would say to base it off of something real. Like just about anything in this genre, you need a good, believable, realistic rock. Hey, I've got one whole nation I based solely off of Republicans. From there I went to some extremes, but I've got a working nation.  Back to the point of the topic since I can delve into governments sometime else if I want. . .

      Politics and governments are especially important in fantasy, science fiction, dystopian, and some historical fiction. Sometimes it is in contemporaries, too, but it depends on the book in question. Epic fantasies are usually comprised of an uprising going against a government. Science fiction can often delve into the same--though it might be multiple governments on different planets. It's a major in dystopian. Every single dystopian I've read has dealt with a corrupted government. Historical fiction? Well, it can vary depending on the era it's set in, but if it's around a war, there's a high chance of having political views come in. In the same aspect, I'm sure you can imagine how it would be brought into contemporary.

      It doesn't even stop at just saying you're such-and-such party. What if you're a Democrat, but take the Republican's view on abortion? People might tell you that's an unlikely mix (well, or Republicans might say such), but these are characters. They are Unlikelyness in the flesh! Don't be afraid to delve into them and learn the silly little stuff, even if your story doesn't really deal with government.  After all, our worldview affects all that we do.

-Kelsey