News — sensitivity
What If We Do Wait?
culture own voices representation sensitivity social justice writing
Amy LeibowitzRecently, I shared the above meme. The text of the main point reads:
Some people took this to mean hetero-washing or...
Write what you know
own voices representation sensitivity writing
Amy LeibowitzIt's one of the oldest and most common pieces of writerly wisdom: Write what you know.
At a glance, it seems easy to pooh-pooh. After all, science fiction writers have (presumably) never met an alien from the planet Zork, and to my knowledge, no one has personal experience becoming a werewolf. In real-world terms, everyone writes things outside their own lives, even if it's only the main character's age or career or home town.
On the other hand, there's something to that when it comes to certain things, particularly the emotions that ride...
This month's theme: Sensitive content
Amy LeibowitzWhat's the first thing that comes to mind when you read or hear the words "sensitive content"?
For me, it's growing up in an era in which that was sometimes how adults labeled things they thought were "not for children." Ironically, sometimes those things were literally about children, such as family issues like abuse and addiction.
As an adult and an author, I tend to think of sensitive as referring to things that may be emotionally heavy for readers. I try to make sure I indicate when content may...