Today is Recruitment Day for one of the author groups to which I belong, the Rave Reviews Book Club. It's a great group if you're looking for some marketing and learning opportunities and you're willing to help out your fellow authors. The theme this time around is "My Responsibility as a Writer."
It should go without saying, but my first responsibility as a writer is to write good stuff; that means you need both good ideas and good execution. One without the other is pretty pointless.
I also feel an obligation for my books to have some socially redeeming value. I write supernatural fantasy at the moment. I'm not ashamed to say that it is escapism at its finest. Even so, I try to say a few things about life in the course of the adventure. I include characters that are gay, lesbian, and bisexual, and I make them real people, not caricatures consigned to serving only as villains. I include people of color as well as biracial individuals, and they aren't just there to be the first people to die. Representation matters. It matters to people of color to see themselves represented in stories. It matters that most pop culture is often white people from cover to cover. Diversity enriches the reading experience for everyone. It teaches empathy and an appreciation for what makes America great. It isn't tokenism to believe that the default race of every character needn't be white.
I feel that one more responsibility that I have as an author is to promote reading and literature in general. One way I do this is by promoting my fellow writers. RRBC is a great place to do that.
So, writers and readers, I recommend you give the Rave Reviews Book Club a glance. You might like what you find. Tell them I sent you. ;-)
It should go without saying, but my first responsibility as a writer is to write good stuff; that means you need both good ideas and good execution. One without the other is pretty pointless.
I also feel an obligation for my books to have some socially redeeming value. I write supernatural fantasy at the moment. I'm not ashamed to say that it is escapism at its finest. Even so, I try to say a few things about life in the course of the adventure. I include characters that are gay, lesbian, and bisexual, and I make them real people, not caricatures consigned to serving only as villains. I include people of color as well as biracial individuals, and they aren't just there to be the first people to die. Representation matters. It matters to people of color to see themselves represented in stories. It matters that most pop culture is often white people from cover to cover. Diversity enriches the reading experience for everyone. It teaches empathy and an appreciation for what makes America great. It isn't tokenism to believe that the default race of every character needn't be white.
I feel that one more responsibility that I have as an author is to promote reading and literature in general. One way I do this is by promoting my fellow writers. RRBC is a great place to do that.
So, writers and readers, I recommend you give the Rave Reviews Book Club a glance. You might like what you find. Tell them I sent you. ;-)
What a thoughtful blog post, A.M. You've brought the need for "responsibility" to a higher level, one I appreciate very much. And...your site is simply amazing. Kudos!
ReplyDeleteThe world is always a better place for being inclusive - which needs love and affection. Well said Anne Margaret! :-D
ReplyDelete