Writing the Other in The Insecure Writer's Support Group Book Club

From the Bookshelf of The Insecure Writer's Support Group Book Club…

Writing the Other

Nisi Shawl,

Cynthia Ward

Start date: August 1, 2020

Finish date: October 1, 2020

Why we're reading this: To get us thinking about writing characters who are different from ourselves. Discussion Day is September…more
[close] To get us thinking about writing characters who are different from ourselves. Discussion Day is September 23, 2020.

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Aug 10, 2020 Ronel Janse van Vuuren rated it did not like it

Shelves: non-fiction, writing-craft, books-that-should-have-a-trigger-wa

*This is the book club book of the month for the Insecure Writer鈥檚 Support Group Book Club.

If you鈥檙e not as woke as many of those in my writing circles are, this is a must-read for you. But otherwise it is a basic, very condescending (considering it鈥檚 2020) little book about do鈥檚 and don鈥檛s when writing about people who aren鈥檛 like you.

鈥淲e will show you what works (and what doesn鈥檛) when writing about characters of races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, religions, nationalities, and oth *This is the book club book of the month for the Insecure Writer鈥檚 Support Group Book Club.

If you鈥檙e not as woke as many of those in my writing circles are, this is a must-read for you. But otherwise it is a basic, very condescending (considering it鈥檚 2020) little book about do鈥檚 and don鈥檛s when writing about people who aren鈥檛 like you.

鈥淲e will show you what works (and what doesn鈥檛) when writing about characters of races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, religions, nationalities, and other traits and features different from your own.鈥�

Awesome. Only, it doesn鈥檛 really happen. They skim over topics, give generalised advice (you should have beta readers and sensitivity readers 鈥� though they use other terms 鈥� which is good advice, but doesn鈥檛 teach you a thing about writing about 鈥渢he other鈥�), and basically preach about stuff someone with a bit of common sense and the ability to observe other people should already be doing (like not comparing people鈥檚 skin colour with food).

鈥淭hey discover they鈥檙e gay or lesbian.鈥�

As someone who has done a lot of research (and writing) about LGBTQ+ people, this was a jarring, insensitive sentence. Use your brain鈥�

Two essays by Nisi Shawl included in this book was rather good: 鈥淏eautiful Strangers: Transracial Writing for the Sincere鈥� and 鈥淎ppropriate Cultural Appropriation鈥�.

The only 鈥減ractical approach鈥� I found in this book was the use of exercises in each section (though even those felt forced and a bit bigoted as the expectation was for the person doing the exercise to be racist/sexist/whatever while using their reptile brain when writing and then fix it when editing. Which assumes that all people are at their core racist/sexist/etc.).

Also, if you鈥檙e going to write a book about various races, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities, nationalities, abilities, religions, etc. you should probably have people contributing to the book that are from the various 鈥渙ther鈥� you want to cover. As one Filipino reviewer remarked: in the Philippines, he is from the majority and not the minority (the other). Which brings us back to the primary assumption in this book that everyone reading it is from the US鈥� and male, heterosexual and white 鈥� 鈥渢he unmarked鈥�.

Not recommended for anyone 鈥� unless you really don鈥檛 get what 鈥渨hite privilege鈥�, 鈥渟traight privilege鈥� and 鈥渕onochromatic鈥� means (in life and in fiction).
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Sep 25, 2020 Tyrean rated it it was ok

So, I started out by liking this book and wanting to like it. In fact, I recommended this book on Instagram based on the first chapter, then wished I hadn't. I met Nisi Shawl in person at a writer's conference and thought she was brilliant in the class she taught there. I felt like I learned a great deal in her in-person class, more than I did from the book.

While I do agree we need to take a practical approach to writing the other, I don't know if this book hit enough of the right bases at the ...more

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Nov 01, 2020 Toi Thomas rated it liked it

Shelves: rated, reviewed, nonfiction, writing

I read this book in August of 2020 and am reviewing it in January of 2021. I took a creative and reading hiatus shortly after reading this book. This book was disappointing but not devastating. Considering I read it during the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement I might have been extra sensitive to the content, but it honestly felt lacking.

The book started off well enough and seemed to have really good intentions but it just constantly came up short. The activities didn't always make ...more

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