I've always wanted to write poly fiction. Actually, I've been writing poly fiction for twenty years. But I haven't known what to do with it. Publish it? Where?
Of course I'd seen books and movies depicting non-monogamy, but I was biased against them, since I saw them all in the context of a biased popular culture.
Pick any group that society considers "weird". In movies or on TV, you see them depicted inaccurately. You see nothing appealing about "those" people.
Then one day you realize that you are one of "those" people. You don't feel weird, you feel at home. You try to explain this to your friends: You're one of "those" people, but that's okay. "Those" people are actually nice, not "weird" at all. But your relatives and friends and co-workers don't believe you, and look at you a little strange.
Now suppose you're a writer and you want to write about this subculture you love. How do you do it?
A recent ad for Divorce Court shows the judge listening to a man in his second marriage who still writes letters to his first wife. "You'll always be the most important person in my life," he tells her. Judge asks: "How do you think you can love two people at the same time?"
The poly writer faces the typical problems of any writer from a subculture. Do you cater to stereotypes ("Uncle Tom")? Do you aggressively contradict stereotypes (write propaganda)? And what about your own subculture's stereotypes about itself?
I've seen books and movies describe people who somehow end up in a multiple relationship - which they didn't think could happen or work (Heartbeat, Summer Lovers, Splendor).
I've seen ones that dealt with multiple relationships that weren't particularly loving or committed (Belle Époque -- although a poly subplot did seem loving and committed).
I'd like to see more poly fiction about people who are already comfortable with their polyness.
I've also seen poly fiction that is focused on sexuality: lots of group erotics. Enjoyable to read, but there's more to polyness than sex. I want to acknowledge sexuality as a part of a poly relationship, but not dwell on it anymore than I would when describing a monogamous love story.
I've seen poly stuff that was rather dogmatic, didactic, and intellectual (The Harrad Experiment). But I don't want to be dogmatic, just human and accurate.
"Human and accurate". Not dogmatic. Not painting polys as better than the monogamous, just different; beautiful in their own way; not perfect.