Date: Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014
Time: 8pm ET
Topic: Diverse Narratives and Settings
Use the #DiverseCanLit chat to follow along on Twitter (or TweetChat). Last week we talked about our writing communities, writing the Other, and writing the self. This Wednesday we’ll discuss letting go of tropes and crutches and diversifying our narratives. Below are some of the questions we may cover:
- What are some common tropes that reinforce the marginalization certain people?
- Why do these tropes persist? What do you do to subvert or avoid them in your own writing?
- What impact does the setting (time/place) have on the diversity of the characters and the narrative?
- Do you ever change the setting to have more a diverse narrative? Why or why not?
Getting Ready
- Read the highlights from last week’s chat.
- Think about the topic and questions. Come prepared to share your insight and ask more questions!
- Follow the #DiverseCanLit list on Twitter. Feel free to tweet me (@leonicka) if you want to be added!
- Subscribe to Leonicka.com in the sidebar to get the schedules, recap posts, and digests of relevant resources.
Thanks for your reply! I will link to it during the chat on Wednesday :)
I do not change my setting. The setting is important to my plot. Therefore, I try to stay true to it. I write picture books and MG. But when I start a story, I tend to pick a setting first, and then create a story around the setting. Many of my MC are diverse because I can write authentically from that point of view. I lived in diverse countries as a child – Jamaica and the US. I visited diverse countries when I was in the Army – Germany, Cayman Islands, Mexico, Bahamas, and England. I was stationed in numerous states and visited more cities and festivals than I can count. So each of these experience, find its way in the book in a unique way.