As you should know by now, the Senses Novels are End-Times Christian fiction, but why do authors write apocalyptic fiction? In fact, why write speculative fiction at all? I think, at least for myself, it comes down to dissatisfaction with the ways things are currently.
While there is an element of wanting to share a story, when I take a hard look at myself, the biggest factor is a desire to escape. We live in a place and time where it sometimes feels that there are no good choices. Choices in politics, jobs, foods, etc. all seem to be a matter of picking the lesser of evils. We can’t run away from politics, they infuse every aspect of our lives these days. Jobs that we may start out liking, or even loving, can through no fault of our own, sour almost overnight. The healthy foods we eat today seem to become tomorrow’s carcinogens and vice-versa. So, where does that leave us?
Escaping into a fantasy realm for a little while, even an apocalyptic one, can help to ease some of that stress. We are drawn into someone else’s struggle and get to face problems far greater than the ones we see on a day-to-day basis in our mundane lives.
If you step back and look at the world critically, you will see that this idea of not being satisfied with the way things are permeates everything. Why do we elect the officials we do? What drives us to get better educated? It is even built into religion.
Every religion is based on the concept that there is something better after this life. Some have caveats built in, you have to do this or not do that, or you don’t get the good stuff. Still, the carrot is there. Atheists love to seize on this as part of their ‘evidence’ against God or any religion. But even atheists live by a set of rules that is about dissatisfaction. Why be so vehement otherwise?
In essence, we are all trapped in a cycle of wanting better or wanting more, but never being able to achieve it, at least in this life. This isn’t a condemnation, it’s a validation of what we feel and why. So, diving into a good book or movie or television program helps divert our attention from that unacknowledged frustration.
And it keeps people like me busy writing.
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