Writerly Ways

[cornerofmadness]

But first have a free Halloween story with the local threesome I wrote last year. Cabin in the Woods and a little about what's been going on with Jana here

So I'm thinking mightily on my nano (which should have been on that sequel I posted a snippet of for Kira but is going to be that SF thing I talked about). If you didn't have a look at the characters, please do. I'd love opinions on them. You can find Aneurin and Kaleo here.

After the giant melt down on m/m romance I AM nervous about writing this one since it is a slavery story. At the heart of it, that's just idiotic that I am. Various slavery stories exist. It's a common SF/Fantasy trope really. I guess it's more 'acceptable' if it's fantasy than it is if it's historical. I would be much less likely to try it if I was writing it set in the South of 1840. I can very obviously see why this would be problematic. I have done historical slave stories before. In this case it was the Irish sold into slavery on St. Kitt in the Virgin Islands by Cromwell's men and it wasn't a romance.

The romance, of course, is the problem. At the end of the day, I think I would rather market my nano as a Space Opera with a romantic sub plot. The one thing that is made very clear is Aneurin was an unwilling party to all of this and has no intention of using Kaleo. I don't know if that makes it better or worse.

What I do know is these characters have been hounding me for three years now. It's time to get their story out of my head (there's at least two novels in this). I can't be afraid to tell a story. I'm afraid more and more lately with literally everything and anything being considered a problem (you have no non-white characters, you suck. White people have no business writing non-white characters, stop it. Non-white characters equal white genocide (seriously Star Wars idiots, SERIOUSLY??), women have no business writing gay men. Men of any kind can write women but they aren't allowed to write strong women because at heart they're all talking penises who should have nothing to do with women. I don't know where this is all going or where it stops. Maybe with the world afraid to even speak. God knows I'm edging that way).

Of course Kaleo being not entirely Caucasian makes me worried someone will be made that he's the one who's a slave. He's Caucasian/Polynesian and half alien. Does that make it better? Worse? Am I overthinking it?

I think it comes down to how I tell this story, how everyone reacts when the truth is known. I know I can't please everyone. (I really need to stop writing polyamorous stories because wow people really think you can't be poly AND happy and heaven help you if you're poly and bi.) On the other hand I don't want a giant kerfluffle that blows up the internet either.

Wish me luck.

I didn't write anything this week. Just edited.

Comments

[bodgei.livejournal.com]

I think you should write the story and then worry about it. I feel the worry as well. I have an Asian inspired steampunk I want to write. It is set in Siberia and Mongolia.

I hate to say that we should write willy nilly, but I think we may need to draft willy nilly and then worry after.

Liz

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

you make an excellent point. At some point we have to realize we can NOT have it both ways. We can not have people writing diversely and then bitch that people of whatever ethnic group they are can't be writing people of that other ethnic group over there

[bay115.livejournal.com]

Not just writing but drawings too, at least on Tumblr. "Why you have this character white? I imagine them darker skin". "Why you're not having this character asexual?" "Why is this character skinny?" There are exceptions of course, but yeah seems with people using social media more you're bound to get their criticisms heard much louder.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

I believe that, sad though it is. And yes I agree, it's much easier now with social media to be rude. There is a whole segment who gets off on it

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

I think you should write their story if they've been telling you it for a while now. Forget the fuss, cuz no matter what you do, you're not going to please everyone. So then do the only thing you can do & that's please yourself.

But seriously, with all the fuss about writing characters that differ from the authors writing them I've been hearing about from reading your blogs, I'm surprised I never got "hate mail" in the form of a review for any of my Soma/Agni stories as I'm not Indian. And according to the logic of those who like to rant about those things, I shouldn't be writing them. XD But according to others, if I didn't write them, they'd want to know I don't have characters who aren't white/female/Jewish. *head desks*

So simply do what you want & don't worry about the ignorant masses. :D

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

I am definitely going to write them. I really think that social media has gone a long way to damaging a lot of authors this way and it doesn't help that we are hardly a united front. I've seen the same from other authors. To be fair some authors do it BADLY. SUre enough the new Richelle Meade novel is set in China and there is everyone over there shrieking about how dare she set a story in that. I haven't read it (I'm not a huge fan of hers, more of a library read sort of thing) but damn how bad could it be? Maybe really for all I know but since it just came out I wonder how many of them could have possibly read it and how many of them are just mad a Caucasian wrote a story set in China.

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

Good! I'm glad you are. I think so too, which is sad. Especially when things get taken out of context & a mob forms to lynch the poor author, who just wanted tell a story. Like you said, so authors do a poor job with an idea and some are brilliant at it. Yeah? XD Yeah really. Read the book, & amke an informed adult decision over whether it's poorly written (my biggest complaint against authors) or not. Where it's set should be immaterial, unless they got it all wrong. XD But even then, it's more of "but that's not what it's like" reaction from me if I've been there, and then I move on after a good laugh & enjoy the story, or not & if not for other reasons than the setting. I'm beginning to think that people online have way too much time on their hands... >.>

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

couldn't agree with you more. It's easy to get caught up in mob mentality and some people enjoy trolling. Someone I work with is like that. It seems to be her main source of enjoyment, trolling the far right. Looks too much like aggravation to me

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

*nods* Agreed. I honestly don't get the point of trolling, but yeah. XD Not nice. I hope you don't have to deal with them that much.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

I don't get it either.

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

*nods*