tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post6009646169822978040..comments2024-03-29T08:37:07.724-04:00Comments on Writers Who Kill: Writers Don't Come from NowhereJim Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-10951239652436246622016-11-15T09:46:40.523-05:002016-11-15T09:46:40.523-05:00Yes, KM. You're right about that. There's ...Yes, KM. You're right about that. There's a big difference among those three groups. Though I know people who would say, "Well, they all just look Asian to me." Certainly, a big difference between Korean and Vietnamese.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-67039476540062941602016-11-14T21:41:20.512-05:002016-11-14T21:41:20.512-05:00Great advice, Linda.
I'm hesitant to stray to...Great advice, Linda.<br /><br />I'm hesitant to stray too far away from things and people I know. I'd like to expand my use of characters from other ethnic groups, but I've read so many cringe-worthy passages about them that I fear I will write something cringe-worthy, too. And I won't even realize it.<br /><br />And it's not just in writing. Today I was out with a group and someone asked an obviously Chinese man if he were Vietnamese or Korean or what. While sometimes I have difficulty visually identifying people's ethnic background, Chinese and Koreans and Vietnamese people really don't resemble one another much.KM Rockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03973749764907859829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-89376097118088901992016-11-14T20:45:16.319-05:002016-11-14T20:45:16.319-05:00Mary, your friend's experience in Alaska is a ...Mary, your friend's experience in Alaska is a perfect example of what I'm talking about.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-45763775084734611012016-11-14T17:51:29.332-05:002016-11-14T17:51:29.332-05:00You've reminded me of Dan Keding's experie...You've reminded me of Dan Keding's experience working in Alaska. A student complained there was nothing to write about. Then a bear clawed the window . . . "Oh that happens all the time." We don't think what we see is special because we're used to it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-8621557512372968052016-11-14T15:50:23.622-05:002016-11-14T15:50:23.622-05:00Gloria, exactly! That's a perfect example of w...Gloria, exactly! That's a perfect example of what I frequently talk about when I talk about writing other cultures. Stereotypes only. And the falsity makes a discordant note that ruins the whole book.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-33244141586096530652016-11-14T15:46:43.650-05:002016-11-14T15:46:43.650-05:00Yes, Donna, writers who focus on telling details w...Yes, Donna, writers who focus on telling details will bring things alive on the page, and voice is almost always a function of who we are in this world and how we react to who we were born in this world.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-21179197964823544222016-11-14T15:42:51.319-05:002016-11-14T15:42:51.319-05:00My books take place in a fictional town in N.E. Oh...My books take place in a fictional town in N.E. Ohio where I've lived all my life. Even though I've visited many places throughout my life, I don't feel I know enough about those places to feel comfortable writing about them<br /><br />A few years ago a writer who I knew only through Malice and the Guppies, got a contract to write a series for a publisher who publishes lots of cozy mystery series. I was looking forward to reading the book because it took place in an Amish community in Ohio, and I like books with an Amish theme. However, she never visited Holmes County where it supposedly took place with the name changed. I got so upset reading the book because there were very few references to the Amish in there except for a young girl who was breaking away from being Amish. Obviously, she hadn't visited the area or even done any research on it. Especially, when she had a young English teenager come in all excited because he saw this old guy with a beard in a buggy. There is no way anyone living in almost any section of Ohio would not know the guy was Amish or be excited about seeing an Amish person especially in the area the author was writing about. Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-81021014417571882592016-11-14T12:42:24.334-05:002016-11-14T12:42:24.334-05:00Congratulations on your award, Linda, and thanks f...Congratulations on your award, Linda, and thanks for the reminder that the specific and particulars embody the universal and make it come to life. I especially appreciate the advice that finding our roots will help us find our voices. <br />Donna Volkenannthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04540727800410234483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-22905931788809130832016-11-14T12:20:54.201-05:002016-11-14T12:20:54.201-05:00But see, Kait, you're doing it right. I don...But see, Kait, you're doing it right. I don't think anyone expects perfection, but we do expect that writers will do their due diligence and try their best to be accurate. I think any writer who wants to write about diverse characters and doesn't have any people from diverse backgrounds in her/his life needs to self-question why her/his life is so segregated and what to do about that first. Most of the time, it's by choice, and that usually means that person has internalized the negative stereotypes about people who aren't from her/his own background. Not a promising beginning.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-48863846941053950002016-11-14T11:03:33.766-05:002016-11-14T11:03:33.766-05:00Writing ethnic background is difficult. While my p...Writing ethnic background is difficult. While my protags are Caucasians, because they live in South Florida they both have ethnic friends. I'm lucky to have long-term friendships in the Latin community that have created a posse to keep me straight. Even then, I get tripped up. In my first book, my protag had a Puerto Rican friend. When I gave the scenes to my friend to vet she called me out--I had used some Cuban, not Puerto Rican references. Subtle, but telling differences.Kaithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07758348842858993203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-49871315774189257472016-11-14T10:26:28.437-05:002016-11-14T10:26:28.437-05:00Warren, so if you weren't married or divorced,...Warren, so if you weren't married or divorced, you had no status, at all? What about good old "single" or "bachelor"? This is the thing, so many people only view the world through their own self-centered, limited view. Everyone and everything else is Other.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-17383094315397769792016-11-14T10:23:15.625-05:002016-11-14T10:23:15.625-05:00Margaret, I've read your writing about your Oh...Margaret, I've read your writing about your Ohio small town, and you do an admirable job of making it come alive--because you have such a background there.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-11443689765648951492016-11-14T10:21:38.013-05:002016-11-14T10:21:38.013-05:00Grace, if only everyone would do that, but they of...Grace, if only everyone would do that, but they often don't realize they're using stereotypes because they don't know any people from those backgrounds.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-37876465470726778532016-11-14T10:21:30.266-05:002016-11-14T10:21:30.266-05:00Once a woman filled out a form about me for employ...Once a woman filled out a form about me for employment. I knew her. She had been married and divorced twice. at that point in my life I was single and had not married. Looking over the form to make any corrections I noticed that under marital status she had written "None." <br /><br />Sometimes I write about people of color. I have chosen to live and work in place where, as a Caucasian, I was part of a minority.Warren Bullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07789270258599769915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-79013385172046977832016-11-14T10:00:00.707-05:002016-11-14T10:00:00.707-05:00Ohio is under-represented in fiction, but the smal...Ohio is under-represented in fiction, but the small college town I write about is an actual place where I once lived. I know the flora and fauna, the sights, sounds, and smells, and how the seasons change. I know the people who live there, and the facades they build to keep their little world a safe and sane place.<br /><br />I wrote a short story about New Orleans, a place I'm getting to know more about with each visit, though I hadn't experienced the Red Dress Run in person. I researched the event, its history, food, and music, and interviewed my daughter, who had participated. The characters I created were based on southern women I had known. Margaret S. Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07979191318652199350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-26561313288084727642016-11-14T09:18:29.198-05:002016-11-14T09:18:29.198-05:00Excellent points, Linda. Thank you. For whatever r...Excellent points, Linda. Thank you. For whatever reason, many people don't look back at their own backgrounds and choose to write about something different. Or if they do write about a group of people, they rely on tired stereotypes. I realized that I had done that in a drafted manuscript and made changes, fortunately before anyone else reviewed it. Grace Toppinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10291304815273486038noreply@blogger.com