Morality and the Responsibility of the Writer

“Fiction writers working with subjects which are morally and ethically contentious have a responsibility to develop a moral core in the story.”

It is inevitable that a writer of fiction will encounter moral dilemmas. Conventionally, fiction will contain a source of conflict that is caused by a clash between “good” and “evil”, or “right” and “wrong”. A work of fiction may contain a flawed protagonist, who makes morally unclear choices. Arguably, no good work of fiction will contain moral clarity. However, some works of fiction may cover more ethically contentious topics than others, generating concern about their ethical value and calls for a moral core.

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