Keeping it Light During Societal Collapse

I have been working doggedly at my next novel, and I've reached that half-way point where the flow trickles to a drip and I have to decide if the manuscript is worth pursuing, or if I should fling it into the filing cabinet and run arms flailing from the house. This is the rough patch where I start to question my abilities as a writer, the purpose behind writing in general, the fate of the publishing industry, and whether I should just stick to knitting. It's all part of my usual writing practice. I always have a great initial burst of creativity followed by a period of drought. I'll take a break, get sidetracked by Christmas preparations and Korean dramas on Netflix, and get back into the swing of things when the dust has settled and thoughts have had time to percolate, to refill the well.

I don't write Great Literature. I have no illusions about making a mark on society or profoundly affecting anyone with my stories. I love to write, I think my books provide some entertainment, and I don't expect to win a Giller with them. That's not their role. But this time around, I've also noticed a new element -- the reluctance to write fluffy entertainment while the world is burning. 

I think we can all agree it's been a rough couple of years. I look at the civil unrest, droughts, floods, hurricanes, war, disease, poverty, famine, political corruption, wildfires, landslides, refugees, smash-and-grab crimewave---and I wonder if there is a place anymore for pure entertainment. Is it socially irresponsible to ignore all that and blabber about romance and adventure? 

People do need a break from everything, I suppose. I don't want to write doom and just add to the gloom, because that doesn't do anyone any good. I really want to write about food security and the fragility of our supply chain, compassion for the earth and each other, resilience. And yet I know deep down that I'm a fiction writer. Is there a way to weave that into my novels without turning them into self-conscious sermons? Can you learn to be more resilient through the medium of fiction? I suppose so. I'm trying to think of the traits of fictional characters that have inspired me---perseverance, faith, ingenuity. But am I a good enough writer that I can deliberately incorporate those things into my stories without being blatant about it? 

Maybe when the earth is in upheaval and industrial civilization is collapsing, being blatant is okay. Subtlety doesn't seem appropriate when you're facing an avalanche. As Roy Scranton says, there is an urge to shout at people Look out! Look up!

There is also the slowly-growing feeling that this next book might be my last novel. Maybe it's time to put aside fiction and focus on reality. Maybe I've distracted myself from it for long enough.