When Current Events Get In The Way Of Fiction

Back in 2017, I began my first novel, Her Yarn Is Organized. The book is about three middle-aged knitters motivated to political activism because of current events. I finally gave up on the book because my plot couldn't keep up with what was actually happening in real time. It was outdated before the first draft was, well, drafted. Someday I'll figure out how to make that book work because I love Julie, Maeve, and Lyndsay - my main characters.

I tried to be smarter for my next book, Guardians of Grace, by setting it in the near future. It ends in the year 2035, and the sequel will pick up in 2050. Even then I feel like I'm racing against time to get the book published before my future world becomes current world. My latest book, Helen's Story, is historical fiction taking place between 1945 and 1951. I should be safe, right? My problem is that one of the characters is a VMI cadet (Virginia Military Institute). My Dad went to VMI, so I have a lot of resources to help get the details right. I've got photos, letters, his yearbook, and a lifetime of listening to stories about his time as a 'Rat'. I've even been able to interview one of the few classmates still alive today. And then, this week, VMI is splashed all over the news—and not in a favorable light. Granted, my story takes place more than 70 years ago. But will my book be less marketable because of one of the settings? Hell if I know. 

    Darn current events. Even history isn't safe.