Writerly Ways
Feb. 6th, 2022 09:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cornerofmadnessSo I remembered what I wanted to say last week about horror/mysteries and misogyny. I was thinking of a few reviews I saw complaining that the murder victims were women. Even Mandy Patakin quit Criminal Minds bemoaning what they did to women.
Here's the thing, a lot of CM's cases were real. L&O made a point of being ripped from the headlines. A lot of mystery writers, especially those doing police procedurals use that method. The UN stats in 2020 have it as 6 women are murdered per hour world wide, so a woman every ten minutes to the tune of about 50,000 women a year. In the US in 2020 over 3500 women were murdered. It's gets worse when you look at Native American women. In 2016 5712 women were murdered or went missing. 116 of those cases were actually logged (I'm not the right person to write this but you want to get pissed off, go listen to this story. The whole Native police force + local non-Native police force + FBI jurisdictional nightmare is part of the problem and yet no one tries to fix it)
I don't get upset that women are the victims in murder mysteries because that's reality. It might even be a pathway to having some hard conversations that need to happen. Surprisingly in that 3500 women it was almost 50/50 White vs Black and oh ALL of the ones I'm talking about are murders by men (the numbers are higher when we look at woman on woman violence).
I think there is a difference between showcasing reality and glorifying the violence. Not everyone gets that right. Not everyone wants to unfortunately. I would like to see more of the conversation happen in these stories. I'd love to see them spur people to action in the real world.
And let's not even get into other forms of violence such as the fact there were over 736,000 rapes (men and women included) in America alone. It's going to be all in the handling of these topics and while you can't really do links for aid in novels the authors could certainly do so in promoting the work.
And I wanted to do something different starting tonight. Sharing open calls. If you have one you want to share you can DM it to me. It doesn't matter what kind. I've been thinking of Leanne Renee Hieber a lot as I finish one of her trilogies and how she's helped me locally getting out there in cons. She believes we're here not as competition but to help each other and I agree.
OPEN CALLS - Their Ghoulish Reputation horror and yes I'm subbing here
My Dark Library Novella Series horror novellas. wish I had one
EERIE RIVER PUBLISHING four anthologies or maybe this one. I'm not sure which to go for. Hmmm
Madam President
Links from around the web
15 Copywriting Formulas to Help You Write Blockbuster Articles
Three-in-ten Americans now read e-books
Edgar Allan Poe’s Notion Of “Unity Of Effect”
Writing A Nonfiction Book: 7 Tips For First-time Authors
It’s Time To Unlearn What You Know About The Writing Process
How to Write Memorable Characters
Incredible Writing Retreats to Attend in 2022 no lie I'm thinking of doing one of these. I'm not sure I'm up to traveling over seas but WHY are all the American ones like twice as expensive as going to one in the UK or Italy?!?
Writing Residencies and Retreats to Apply For in Winter of 2022 two are still open for application
From Betty
Put a Fresh Face on Those Older BooksI need this one
here. Conflict in Fiction: What It Really Is and Why It’s Important to Plot
Building A Better Villain Bookmarks for memorization....
5 Line Editing Tips for Polishing Your Prose
How to Brand your Author Website for Maximum Impact
How to Write the Perfect Author Bio
Creating a Series Bible This is important
Why Tossing In Calamity Won’t Make Your Story Exciting (I admit it, sometimes I wonder if the people at mythcreants like anything the way they tear down everything)
Eight Ways to Hook Readers at the End of Chapters
Narrating Dreams & Visions
Relationship Thesaurus Entry: Mentor and Protégé
6 Cheats to “Tell” Well (When It’s Warranted)
Nine Personality Clashes for Character Conflicts
Here's the thing, a lot of CM's cases were real. L&O made a point of being ripped from the headlines. A lot of mystery writers, especially those doing police procedurals use that method. The UN stats in 2020 have it as 6 women are murdered per hour world wide, so a woman every ten minutes to the tune of about 50,000 women a year. In the US in 2020 over 3500 women were murdered. It's gets worse when you look at Native American women. In 2016 5712 women were murdered or went missing. 116 of those cases were actually logged (I'm not the right person to write this but you want to get pissed off, go listen to this story. The whole Native police force + local non-Native police force + FBI jurisdictional nightmare is part of the problem and yet no one tries to fix it)
I don't get upset that women are the victims in murder mysteries because that's reality. It might even be a pathway to having some hard conversations that need to happen. Surprisingly in that 3500 women it was almost 50/50 White vs Black and oh ALL of the ones I'm talking about are murders by men (the numbers are higher when we look at woman on woman violence).
I think there is a difference between showcasing reality and glorifying the violence. Not everyone gets that right. Not everyone wants to unfortunately. I would like to see more of the conversation happen in these stories. I'd love to see them spur people to action in the real world.
And let's not even get into other forms of violence such as the fact there were over 736,000 rapes (men and women included) in America alone. It's going to be all in the handling of these topics and while you can't really do links for aid in novels the authors could certainly do so in promoting the work.
And I wanted to do something different starting tonight. Sharing open calls. If you have one you want to share you can DM it to me. It doesn't matter what kind. I've been thinking of Leanne Renee Hieber a lot as I finish one of her trilogies and how she's helped me locally getting out there in cons. She believes we're here not as competition but to help each other and I agree.
OPEN CALLS - Their Ghoulish Reputation horror and yes I'm subbing here
My Dark Library Novella Series horror novellas. wish I had one
EERIE RIVER PUBLISHING four anthologies or maybe this one. I'm not sure which to go for. Hmmm
Madam President
Links from around the web
15 Copywriting Formulas to Help You Write Blockbuster Articles
Three-in-ten Americans now read e-books
Edgar Allan Poe’s Notion Of “Unity Of Effect”
Writing A Nonfiction Book: 7 Tips For First-time Authors
It’s Time To Unlearn What You Know About The Writing Process
How to Write Memorable Characters
Incredible Writing Retreats to Attend in 2022 no lie I'm thinking of doing one of these. I'm not sure I'm up to traveling over seas but WHY are all the American ones like twice as expensive as going to one in the UK or Italy?!?
Writing Residencies and Retreats to Apply For in Winter of 2022 two are still open for application
From Betty
Put a Fresh Face on Those Older BooksI need this one
here. Conflict in Fiction: What It Really Is and Why It’s Important to Plot
Building A Better Villain Bookmarks for memorization....
5 Line Editing Tips for Polishing Your Prose
How to Brand your Author Website for Maximum Impact
How to Write the Perfect Author Bio
Creating a Series Bible This is important
Why Tossing In Calamity Won’t Make Your Story Exciting (I admit it, sometimes I wonder if the people at mythcreants like anything the way they tear down everything)
Eight Ways to Hook Readers at the End of Chapters
Narrating Dreams & Visions
Relationship Thesaurus Entry: Mentor and Protégé
6 Cheats to “Tell” Well (When It’s Warranted)
Nine Personality Clashes for Character Conflicts
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no subject
Date: 2022-02-07 04:42 am (UTC)Your point about creatives helping each other over competition is good. It's something to remember to practice.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-07 04:53 am (UTC)It really is important. There is no reason to not help each other if we can.