How “current” should our stories be?

COVID-19 has entirely changed the global landscape and has likely driven a few writers into insanity (not that we weren't insane before). The #BlackLivesMatter movement has changed the landscape too, but in different ways. You put the two forces working together, alongside a whole range of other current events, and it's no wonder that so many of us are confused about what defines a contemporary setting.

But is it vital that we include "current events" into our stories?

I've written about this topic before, recently in fact, highlighting that if our brains are demanding that we write that story, whatever that story might be, then we should write it. Writing can be therapeutic for many writers, myself included, and putting our thoughts to paper can be a vital component of making sense of the crazy that the world has thrown at us. And I dare anyone to say that 2020 hasn't been filled with crazy—and mean it.

But the real question isn't whether we should include these current events into our stories. There are many events throughout history that have had a massive impact on the way we view the world, and that change in mindset should be explored. But by the time a book hits the market, how "current" is it?

Before I get too carried away, I want to stress that there is nothing wrong with writing stories that contain references to any of the hot topics currently in the news. If you have the burning need to include them, by all means, do so. Your brain wants you to write it, so don't try to fight it. But before you rush off to share those stories with the world, take a step back and really think through the timing of it.

Publishing takes time.

Writers need to be fortune tellers and predict the future. Whatever story you're working on right now is highly unlikely to be published tomorrow. There's all the editing, the feedback cycles, and the rewriting that can seem like it is dragging on forever. When you get through that process, there's the publication cycle, including copyediting, typesetting, proofreading, cover design, and all the joy that goes with that headache. You have the pre-release promotional roller coaster with blog tours, podcast interviews, or whatever other promotional strategy you've decided to explore. All of this takes time.

The book that you're writing right now may not see the market for a year, if you're lucky. Sure, I know a few writers who have been known to go from draft to published in a matter of weeks, but these writers are not the norm. For most writers, we could be looking at anywhere between nine months to three years, if not longer.

So, if a book can take three years to see market in some cases, exactly how "current" will that manuscript be when it is finally released to the public? How much has the world changed in that time?

No one can predict the future.

In June 2019, if anyone had come to you and told you that come June 2020, over 7.5 million people worldwide would have fallen ill to a deadly virus that has killed 0.5 million people, you would have likely requested that they get some psychological help. It's just crazy talk. Had someone told you that the US would be on the brink of a civil war… Okay, perhaps you might have believed that, because the signs were there even in June 2019. But what about murder hornets?

Yeah, there is no doubt about it. 2020 has thrown the world into a complete tailspin—and so quickly. Anyone who tries to convince you that they could have predicted ALL of the crazy and how it all interplays with one another is lying. Life is stranger than fiction!

But that's precisely my point. The current global landscape is in such a state of flux that it's near on impossible to make any predictions regarding tomorrow. Forget next week or next month. And next year... I don't even think those who are skilled in the art of using crystal ball gazing can see that far through the hazy climate.

So, trying to create a "current" story is just not possible—not in the purest sense. What you can do is look at the themes that are coming out of current events and write the human stories connected to those themes.

As a writer, you need to accept that your story will not be current, but it can be highly relevant.

Chasing trends

The idea of racing to put out stories on a certain topic is known within the industry as chasing trends. Most of the time, it's in relation to the latest craze and themes in books, but the idea holds merit for the current discussion too.

Writers see an idea that has captured their imagination in some fashion and they need to get it down and out in to the world. But chasing trends is something that is highly inadvisable, because by the time your book is likely to hit the market, readers will already be bored with tropes and themes associated.

Remember when Twilight first gained popularity and how the market was suddenly flooded with vampire stories? Or what about all the boarding school stories in another magical realm that came out after Harry Potter was a success? And let's not forget the number of dystopian novels that flooded the market around the time Maze Runner and Divergent hit the big screen. And if I have to see another 50 Shades of Grey rip-off…

At some point over the next year, books about pandemics and the social issues associated with social distancing will be a dime-a-dozen. One story has already crossed my desk that had a reference to stocking supplies and being prepared for COVID. The manuscript didn't actually use the word COVID, but it was explicit in the throwaway comment about the virus pandemic. And I'm not the only editor who has started to see COVID in manuscripts.

At the moment, writers seem to be chasing trends, but it's a trend brought on by current events. Is this a smart idea? Well, just go and read my previous post on this topic if you really want my answer to that question.

It's a matter of timing.

There is no doubt that publishing is a slow business. There is so much hurry-up-and-wait. And there is so much uncertainty with it. Everything about a book's successful release is a function of timing.

But there is another aspect of timing that I want writers to think about when considering whether they should be including certain themes based on current events in their stories. I want writers to think about how much time they're going to be spending with that story.

Let's say that you subscribe to the idea that you should be writing that first draft within three months. (And let me be the first to admit that three months to write a draft can be a tall order.) Then you have the rewriting and the editing. There will be a period where you put that story aside for a bit, but when you go back to it, you're deep in it.

My last manuscript (the one I was querying at the time this post went live) took three years to edit and rewrite to a state that I was actually happy with it, and I'm not anywhere near the publication cycle. The moment that manuscript hits a publishing house (and I've chosen traditional roads for my personal writing), I know that I'm looking at another three rounds of edits, possibly more. I'm looking at another year or two—or three—with that manuscript. So, I'm likely looking at six years of working on that manuscript, being in the thick of it—and that doesn't include the time that the idea had been whizzing around in my head before a single word even hit the page.

That's a long time to be working with a particular idea, and trust me, there were times when I was sick of working on it and I wanted to throw it away. But I had to push through, and I'm glad I did.

There was a message that I wanted to convey in my story, a commentary on a topic that I'm passionate about—social media and internet security. But that story… Is it "current"? No. The current event news that sparked those ideas drifted into background noise long ago. But is it "relevant"? YES! A commentary about the way we as a society behave on social media and some of the stupid things we post that put our physical security at risk will be relevant for many years to come.

My point is, your stories don't need to be directly related to what is going on in the world at the time they're released. They DO NOT need to be "current".

What is important is that you're passionate about the story that you are creating, because it's only your passion for that story that will keep you working on it—no matter how long that happens to be. And your passion will help to make that story "relevant" for years to come.

Don't get caught up with what is going on in today's world, determined to get the story out there while the bonfires are burning. Craft a story that you can be proud of for the years that are not even a glimmer on the horizon.