tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post2355997438764597790..comments2024-02-18T00:24:05.514-08:00Comments on The Zoë-Trope: THERE ARE NO STANDING OVATIONSZoë Marriotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275368005359548134noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-37502873952847291272012-05-15T13:00:21.114-07:002012-05-15T13:00:21.114-07:00Isabel: Thanks. It isn't a great situation - w...Isabel: Thanks. It isn't a great situation - we're never going to get where we want to be with diverse books for young people if writers who go there end up being disadvantaged because of it. But I hope that things will get better, especially if we talk about it.Zoë Marriotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01275368005359548134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-58866872799907104962012-05-15T12:56:12.369-07:002012-05-15T12:56:12.369-07:00Wow, excellent post! I'd really never thought ...Wow, excellent post! I'd really never thought about the situation in this way before, and it is very disheartening. Thank you so much for bringing it up!Isabelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11342147057396470743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-21917701445133837112012-05-15T04:35:39.523-07:002012-05-15T04:35:39.523-07:00Zoe: Thanks for that: I'll have to put a bit...Zoe: Thanks for that: I'll have to put a bit more thought to my early descriptions (though I do rather like challenging the reader's preconceptions, I must admit. Not every time, though.)<br /><br />As for disabilities - my comment there was meant to be a little tongue in cheek. All my characters are flawed in some way - isn't everybody? - my heroine has a phobia which threatens her relationship with the hero (gosh, must find a better way to describe them) as it is directly related to his job, and another is struggling with a background of abuse, which he's tried to keep secret, but which is now threatening to overwhelm him.<br /><br />There are some lighter moments in this!Rhianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-81371432779505850442012-05-15T04:19:04.724-07:002012-05-15T04:19:04.724-07:00Rhia: Well, it's good that you're thinking...Rhia: Well, it's good that you're thinking about it! But remember that for a lot of readers, hinting won't be enough. If you don't tell them flat out that your character has dark skin or whatever, they will assume 'white' and be shocked and horrified later if they realise they were wrong.<br /><br />Also, with the disabled hero/heroine: you're right that it's hard to write a fight scene if the main character is in a wheelchair. But being confined to a wheelchair isn't the only form of disability in the world. What about a character who has a mental illness? A learning disability? Has scars or a physical deformity like am arm that was badly set in the past, forcing them to fight in a different way? Or suffers from a persistent health condition like migraines or epilepsy? These are all things so many people in the real world deal with and still manage to live full, exciting, heroic lives. Thinking outside the box like this can make a story so much more interesting and unique :)Zoë Marriotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01275368005359548134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4098049071459822748.post-1065019917780364612012-05-15T04:12:01.874-07:002012-05-15T04:12:01.874-07:00Thank you for another useful and reassuring post!
...Thank you for another useful and reassuring post!<br /><br />I try not to describe characters in too much much detail, just pop in an occasional hint so that the reader eventually realises 'Oh, so that's what she/he looks like' (although it's essential to my present WIP that the hero - for want of a better word - has flaming red hair, which cuts down on the cultural diversity a bit!)and I've had to do some heavy revising when one of my characters turned out to be a really nasty piece of work, and I realised that I was - quite unintentionally - well on the way to racial stereotyping.<br /><br />And sometimes you just can't do it - I just can't write an action-hero/heroine who's in a wheelchair, for example, and to make them the brains behind the whole thing is just sooo cliched... for me, anyway.<br /><br />InCreWriMa is really helping me. Can't wait to report in this week..Rhianoreply@blogger.com