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Actually working on the new novella/book now. Chapter Ten now. I like watching my characters grow up, mature. And take new directions (not the writer's directions).
Thinking about MammothFail/RaceFail 2.0. Now, I have not read Patricia Wrede's The Thirteenth Child. It is speculative fiction... but it is also abhorrent, whereby the writer has dismissed the presence of Native Americans, effectively erasing them off the map. Okay, speculative fiction - but let me see: what would happen if I write a tale where all the white peoples are erased off the planet? I can almost hear the screams of white fans going "Racist!" Now, that's the same situation with Wrede's book.
You cannot write off a race of people, just like that. It is literary genocide, to put it bluntly.
I am all for envisioning new futures. Erasing someone's race and ethnicity is not part of my envisioning. It is bone-deep wrong.
And Bujold's comments. People of color fen, non-white fen have been around, even before the advent of the Internet. Attendance at conventions? I remember being one of the handful of non-white folks. But yes, we are present. These esteemed writers need to realize that people of color fen are also reading their books. Is this a malaise in the whole sff/speculative fiction industry? Yes.
Sometimes, just sometimes, it makes me afraid to dip my toes into sff writing and fandom.
Now, there are my personal comments. Your mileage might vary.
Thinking about MammothFail/RaceFail 2.0. Now, I have not read Patricia Wrede's The Thirteenth Child. It is speculative fiction... but it is also abhorrent, whereby the writer has dismissed the presence of Native Americans, effectively erasing them off the map. Okay, speculative fiction - but let me see: what would happen if I write a tale where all the white peoples are erased off the planet? I can almost hear the screams of white fans going "Racist!" Now, that's the same situation with Wrede's book.
You cannot write off a race of people, just like that. It is literary genocide, to put it bluntly.
I am all for envisioning new futures. Erasing someone's race and ethnicity is not part of my envisioning. It is bone-deep wrong.
And Bujold's comments. People of color fen, non-white fen have been around, even before the advent of the Internet. Attendance at conventions? I remember being one of the handful of non-white folks. But yes, we are present. These esteemed writers need to realize that people of color fen are also reading their books. Is this a malaise in the whole sff/speculative fiction industry? Yes.
Sometimes, just sometimes, it makes me afraid to dip my toes into sff writing and fandom.
Now, there are my personal comments. Your mileage might vary.
