saellys
Inkling
Really helpful stuff. I'm going to spread the link around Tumblr if that's cool with you.
Really helpful stuff. I'm going to spread the link around Tumblr if that's cool with you.
Do you mean the thread link or the link to Chilari's blog?
I'm trying to work out exactly what you mean with that first sentence. Can you give some examples of "the best diversity"? It doesn't matter to me whether someone was inspired by some dude's blog post or an essay in the Guardian to include more diversity in their work; it matters to me that they did it.
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Yeah, I think you nailed it here. Writing doesn't happen in a vacuum, and most of the time, diversity doesn't just naturally spring up in people's writing. The things we write are, in part, products of our environments and experiences, and you may find it easier to default to a certain level of diversity because you're steeped in it, while other writers have to work to make it happen. Still other writers live in the same sort of melting pot, but might still struggle with only writing about one slice of humanity. Being aware of it is the important thing.
And for what it's worth, I think "write what you know" is bunk. That's what research is for. It's also why we're fantasy writers.
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The solution that presents itself most readily to my mind is that you could read more women. Unless, of course, you were just being facetious about not having enough female authors in your list of favorites, in which case... okay?
Yes, I was being facetious. I found out the other day that a writer whose work I really enjoy is transgender. More power to her. I really like her writing, and that's what matters. I'd imagine she appreciates that -- people who appreciate her talent -- more than readers who decided to read her stuff because they needed a transgender author on their list. And if we're going to have this discussion, we ought to point out that folks advocating genderized lists are being disingenuous -- no one's writing blog posts fretting about the lack of male voices in any particular female-dominated genre.
The best diversity is natural diversity, like Colson Whitehead's "Zone One," a literary novel about survivors trying to re-establish New York City after a zombie apocalypse. The main character is black, but that's not even directly acknowledged through the first 3/4 of the book, it just is.
And I believe "write what you know" is more relevant than ever at a time when people don't peek around the sides of their smart phones long enough to learn about how the world really works. That applies to SF and fantasy as well, because we're reading and writing those stories through the lens of our own experiences.
Yes, I was being facetious. I found out the other day that a writer whose work I really enjoy is transgender. More power to her. I really like her writing, and that's what matters. I'd imagine she appreciates that -- people who appreciate her talent -- more than readers who decided to read her stuff because they needed a transgender author on their list. And if we're going to have this discussion, we ought to point out that folks advocating genderized lists are being disingenuous -- no one's writing blog posts fretting about the lack of male voices in any particular female-dominated genre.
The best diversity is natural diversity, like Colson Whitehead's "Zone One," a literary novel about survivors trying to re-establish New York City after a zombie apocalypse. The main character is black, but that's not even directly acknowledged through the first 3/4 of the book, it just is.
And I believe "write what you know" is more relevant than ever at a time when people don't peek around the sides of their smart phones long enough to learn about how the world really works. That applies to SF and fantasy as well, because we're reading and writing those stories through the lens of our own experiences.