So I’m in a bit of a jam. I want to write about what’s going on in the world, but how do I do so without being political about it? It’s a hard question to answer. The simplest way, I would guess, is to make it relevant to your life in a way that’s completely objective, without a slant.

Okay, here goes.

The weeks since the inauguration of the new president have been tumultuous, if I’m going to be polite about it. We’ve been introduced to such concepts as “fake news” and “alternative facts.” We’ve been given an extraordinary cast of characters that most of my writer friends couldn’t dream up in a million years, myself included. And, at the head of the table, is arguably the most polarizing figure in the world right now.

Donald J. Trump. President of the United States.

Now, here’s where it becomes relevant: this is an excellent time to remind my fellow writers out there that everyone is the hero of their own story. Everyone. Even the villains.

Very few people are believe they are purely evil. They have individual motivations that may clash with yours, or worse, indifferent to yours, but even history’s greatest villains believed they were doing the right thing. Say what you will about the man in the Oval Office, but he is a three-dimensional character who honestly believes advancing his agenda is the right thing to do. There's a story in there, I'm sure, about the childhood forces that have shaped him and turned him into this guy who is viewed as he is, and the kind of people that kind of person attracts. He is no run-of-the-mill, mustache-twirling villain.

And I hope to imbue my antagonists with that same quality.

I guess this is the appropriate time to thank Colin Mochrie’s twitter feed for this:

Let’s keep writing, you guys!!

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