In case you’re wondering, my last off-site blog post this month happens today. 🙂 I’m at Writer Unboxed with Cindy Pon and Shveta Thakrar, where they are giving us a quick primer on Writing Across Cultural Lines with Verve and Sensitivity. Then it’s all Tartitude, all the time — yeah, baby, yeah — until just before Christmas.
Translation: I’ve been having fun, but I miss you guys!! (!)
My next scheduled blog post is here Wednesday, when I host the middle-grade writer, Timothy Power. He hangs out with the likes of Dee Garretson and Hilary Wagner and you know that means he’s gonna be fun. 😉Â
Lastly, I’m pleased to announce that in the draw for Kathryn Magendie’s Sweetie, Amy was chosen by the random number generator! Amy, please e-mail me your snail mail address, and Kat will get that off to you pronto.
Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons.
Speaking of cultural differences, a characters in one of my rough drafts is gay. I’m trying not to offend sensitivities while recognizing some of the negativity he encounters. However I do expect a few people I know (and many I don’t) to be upset that this character was even included. There are gay people in the real world, so why exclude them from literature? There’s so much gentle humor in my writing that people might not even blink. I hope for the best.
Its a tough call when it comes to sensitivites but I’ve found that doing enough research and not sticking to the usual stereotypes or assumptions had weeded out any faux pas or foot-in-mouth moments
Phyllis, I hope you come to WU, because I think you’ll find the big message empowering: to do research, yes, but ultimately to write with an open, inclusive heart. At least that’s what I took from their interview.
e6n1, yes, that would be my hope, too. 🙂