I’ve been thinking a lot lately about authorship, agency and self-determination. The question of a writer’s responsibility when writing for the web is a huge area that raises a multitude of questions for a variety of different content producers. For creative writers, it is often a question that is deemed theoretical (although this is not to say there aren’t very real risks involved). The ability to publish work online brings greater freedoms and, with it, greater ethical challenges. These challenges encompass a Foucauldian ‘freedom from’ and ‘freedom to’ ethical dilemma – freedom from having work plagiarised online, for example, and freedom to publish for the benefit of humanitarian and global causes. The personalised narratives that creative writers offer in both fiction and non-fiction can have a huge impact on the way that human attitudes and views of the world are constructed. So, before you hit ‘publish’, have a good think about the wider resonances that your work might have in the real world.
The importance of self-editing has become apparent in the world of digital media. Although there are many magazines and journals that publish online, there are also opportunities to publish directly to the web without the oversight of such editorial gatekeepers. However, when publishing online without such oversight, the ethical (and legal) burdens fall directly onto you. I won’t go into the legal issues of publishing here, but it’s definitely something to seriously consider (especially in relation to defamation and copyright). Be sure to contact a lawyer if you fall into trouble! Clearly, these laws are very complicated and vary between jurisdictions, and in many cases only a lawyer can give you the assistance you may need.
Writers take on great responsibility when writing online. Their words can impact the world in ways that they might not anticipate. It is therefore important to consider the potential impact that your work might have in the world, both in terms of representation and accuracy with respect to the material that you publish. For creative writers, this is of course much different to the ethics that take place in news and journalism. However, many of the implications remain the same. Creative writers have an ethical obligation to themselves and to the vision of the world that they are trying to create. But they also need to consider the wider implications of their craft, as well as the ethical duties to others. For example, there can be ethical obligations to not represent certain people or cultures in certain ways.
Unlike law, ethics can be very subjective and can vary largely from person to person. It can become very philosophical, calling into question your values and beliefs. The narratives that creative writers produce have a very real impact on the world. Therefore, ethics in creative writing may boil down to a very simple question: What is the purpose of the piece you are writing and who is the audience that you’re writing for? This may help to clarify any ethical issues that may arise. For example, if your writing is aimed at challenging and subverting existing political structures within a society, then there may be an ethical responsibility to represent each point of view accurately and humanely. Again, this is a judgement call, since the narrators of creative texts are not always considered reliable. Just be sure that your position on the matter can be justified.
Certainly, the reach of your creative work is a relevant question, making writing online all the more perilous to the unprepared. Publishing online means that there is potential for a global audience, creating even more challenges for bloggers and online writers. Although in creative writing, fiction is not necessarily considered ‘real’, there can still be issues with respect to truth and representation. Such issues can be overcome with both an awareness of ethical principles when writing, as well as research into the subject matter of your writing. Remember that language is powerful and has the potential to both inform and mislead. It can also greatly affect attitudes with respect to your chosen subject matter. Think too about the characters in your stories and how they may represent certain minorities as well as those from other cultures. Awareness and critical thinking are key here, as is an emphasis on quality content. Edit, proofread, and edit again. Give it to someone you trust to proofread. If you can (and haven’t already), take classes in creative writing, or join a workshop group (some run at local libraries). All of these are really important things to do to test how your work is received. It’s a good idea to do at least some of these things before you hit ‘publish’.
So, what have we learned? Ethics are really important when considering publishing your work online for all the world to see. The way that you represent others in your writing has a real-world impact and has the potential to shape social attitudes. Publishing online is free for anybody to do, but with such freedom comes being responsible for your own conduct. Writing that is ethical can have the power to change the world for good. It’s really down to you to write and to publish in an ethical manner and this requires a degree of critical thinking and self-reflexivity. Nobody can tell you how to be ethical in the same way that a person could say ‘obey the law’. However, this flexibility can be a good thing, allowing for change to occur much more quickly than relying on an often slow-moving legal system that can be out of touch with contemporary social attitudes. Ethics comes from within, but it also comes through a consideration of the wider world that we inhabit.
Go now. Publish. Be free. And change the world for good.