Mary (Hobson) has asked me a couple of times now if RedJack is going to do an anthology, and both times I've said "Eh," because I really couldn't think of anything new to do, that others aren't already doing extremely well. But then, at Wiscon, I had an inspiration, and I wanted to see what you all think of this idea...
I was thinking of doing an anthology wherein the stories are written from a point of view that is anathema to the author's own point of view -- and written
sympathetically from that point of view. So, why would I want to do this? Well, it's an interesting issue, I think, and one that was brought up at least a couple of times at Wiscon (once by me, at Cat Rambo's "When Good Books Happen to Bad People" panel, and by a couple of people at the "Glorifying Terrorism" reading/panel). The issue is identification of the author with the viewpoint of a character. Are we afraid to write from certain viewpoints because we're afraid of being identified with them? And, if we had the chance to write this way in a "safe environment" (ie., in an anthology that explicity states that we're taking a viewpoint we don't agree with), what would we learn about "the enemy" or "the other"? Would it lead to greater understanding? I was thinking of starting it as a serial online-only anthology, and then putting it into print (if it works out) later -- with bonus stories, and all that.
So, does this sound at all interesting to anyone? Or not? (By the way, I'm also open to suggestions for other ideas)
Poll #997319 Anathema? Or not?
Open to:
All, detailed results viewable to:
All, participants: 4
Would you want to write a story for this anthology?
Would you want to read this anthology?