The thin ice of modern life
Feb. 5th, 2019 09:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bjornwildeOn writing...
I've been taking a break from the main story to write two different short stories that past few days; though I'm still writing with the same characters. It's been a nice break and seems a great way to dig into the characters more since I'm going into their pasts, which I don't think I'll be able to fit in very well in the book. I've done two of the ghosts from the story, giving them a happy ending after having them be traumatized by the bad guy. Then I decided to dig into an experience from Darran's childhood, him being my male lead.
I think there's at least one more short story I want to write, digging into Nico's childhood and her development, i.e. how she became the person she is.
I've also been doing Neil Gaiman's class on storytelling and writing, on Master Classes, and holy shit is it good. I am worried I'm just listening to an echo chamber, so I will move on to another writing class once this is done. I did try Margaret Atwood's class, and might go back, but it's more an extended interview with her, tbh. It doesn't seem to dig very deep into her writing process. I only got about four lessons in though, so maybe it gets better.
Between this and Writing Excuses, I've been reconsidering my book and the narrative. The book started with gender dynamics as a starting point, focusing on how men can, no really, be very close friends with women without sexual tension or romance BS. I also had ideas to show how non-toxic masculinity might look, since we men are stupid and need more positive examples, i.e. be like this. So naturally, I decided the book should be from his point of view and went with a limited third person; so like a camera guy hanging out over Darran's shoulder, who picks up some of his thoughts and feelings.
In writing, I developed a story line for Nico that is separate or not centered on Darran's, while Darran's story is centered on her and his figuring out their friendship (he also struggles with the toxic masculinity programming he grew up in and getting rid of it.) Giving Nico an expanded role, and writing one scene from her POV (first person to get a feel for her), I thought I'd play with switching back and forth between them, but then decided that might get muddled.
Now I'm back to switching between them, as it can show how much Darran misses as a cis male that women catch. Nico being a black woman and a lesbian adds more things he just wouldn't see, which she would. I'll need to be careful with this though, as I don't want to come off as trying to tell a black lesbian woman's story, by which I mean coming off as knowing what that experience is like. These things are not all she is, in fact her being a necromancer is more central to her story and character. She just happens to be these other things.
This will take more listening to the voices of WOC and lesbians, which I've already been doing via podcasts, but I also need to decide how much I want prejudice, racial and/or sexual, to be a part of this world. I want to have characters that are part of marginalized groups in my story, to show these people exist and do so beyond their labels, but I don't want to try and tell the great Black Lesbian Story, you know?
I can't help thinking there is thin ice, but I am seeing it. Or trying to, at least. I can also adjust things once the story is written and I pass it by those marginalized groups for sensitivity reading.
I've been taking a break from the main story to write two different short stories that past few days; though I'm still writing with the same characters. It's been a nice break and seems a great way to dig into the characters more since I'm going into their pasts, which I don't think I'll be able to fit in very well in the book. I've done two of the ghosts from the story, giving them a happy ending after having them be traumatized by the bad guy. Then I decided to dig into an experience from Darran's childhood, him being my male lead.
I think there's at least one more short story I want to write, digging into Nico's childhood and her development, i.e. how she became the person she is.
I've also been doing Neil Gaiman's class on storytelling and writing, on Master Classes, and holy shit is it good. I am worried I'm just listening to an echo chamber, so I will move on to another writing class once this is done. I did try Margaret Atwood's class, and might go back, but it's more an extended interview with her, tbh. It doesn't seem to dig very deep into her writing process. I only got about four lessons in though, so maybe it gets better.
Between this and Writing Excuses, I've been reconsidering my book and the narrative. The book started with gender dynamics as a starting point, focusing on how men can, no really, be very close friends with women without sexual tension or romance BS. I also had ideas to show how non-toxic masculinity might look, since we men are stupid and need more positive examples, i.e. be like this. So naturally, I decided the book should be from his point of view and went with a limited third person; so like a camera guy hanging out over Darran's shoulder, who picks up some of his thoughts and feelings.
In writing, I developed a story line for Nico that is separate or not centered on Darran's, while Darran's story is centered on her and his figuring out their friendship (he also struggles with the toxic masculinity programming he grew up in and getting rid of it.) Giving Nico an expanded role, and writing one scene from her POV (first person to get a feel for her), I thought I'd play with switching back and forth between them, but then decided that might get muddled.
Now I'm back to switching between them, as it can show how much Darran misses as a cis male that women catch. Nico being a black woman and a lesbian adds more things he just wouldn't see, which she would. I'll need to be careful with this though, as I don't want to come off as trying to tell a black lesbian woman's story, by which I mean coming off as knowing what that experience is like. These things are not all she is, in fact her being a necromancer is more central to her story and character. She just happens to be these other things.
This will take more listening to the voices of WOC and lesbians, which I've already been doing via podcasts, but I also need to decide how much I want prejudice, racial and/or sexual, to be a part of this world. I want to have characters that are part of marginalized groups in my story, to show these people exist and do so beyond their labels, but I don't want to try and tell the great Black Lesbian Story, you know?
I can't help thinking there is thin ice, but I am seeing it. Or trying to, at least. I can also adjust things once the story is written and I pass it by those marginalized groups for sensitivity reading.
