Wednesday, 8 February 2017
quote [ America—specifically young America—is currently more diverse than ever. As writers attempt to reflect these realities in their fiction, they often must step outside of their intimate knowledge. And in a cultural climate newly attuned to the complexities of representation, many authors face anxiety at the prospect of backlash, especially when social media leaves both book sales and literary reputations more vulnerable than ever to criticism. Enter the sensitivity reader: one more line of defense against writers’ tone-deaf, unthinking mistakes. ]
If you're writing about someone outside your cultural experience, you can hire readers to point out where you're making an ass of yourself while you can still edit.
Or, use your own personal history to qualify as a sensitivity reader as a side job.
This may be an American thing right now, but I'd think it will soon apply everywhere, thanks to social media ragefests. Literary bonus: Margaret Atwood says the next big dystopian novel ought to be a newspaper serial. #writing #culture
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