A lot of great things have been said about “Southern hospitality,” and to that I say “no.” Southern hospitality is not as hospitable as some might think.
The thing with Southern hospitality is there is almost always the patima of superiority about it. It is a subtle one upmanship where people try to outdo each other in small ways. There are subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) shades of condescension; as if a “bless your heart” is never far away.
I asked Representation Project staffer Cristina Escobar what happens when boys read only books by males, about males. She said that they will be “taught that girls are objects, that they are prizes that they can win,” and that “boys go out and do things and girls sit back and wait to be rescued.”
This “Weekend Redirect” takes you to Caroline Paul’s excellent article about the need for boys to read “girl books.”
In the latest post on LionAroundWriting, the subject of “writer’s freeze” is addressed.
Specifically, this refers to a total writer shutdown when panicking about word counts and trying to keep your subject as brief as possible without cutting everything interesting out of a story.
This is more than a post; this is a conversation. So please join in the talk!
…ANYONE ELSE GET THIS? Maybe this terror of going over a word limit began at university with 2000 word limits on essays. I get the freeze when I’m writing a short story. Maybe freeze isn’t a great word for it but I’ll explain. Sometimes I will be writing a piece and I’m so conscious of word count that I end up writing lazy sentences, freezing up; instead of describing the world and filling in those all important details that bring a story to life, I’ll write stubby sentences, providing a skeleton but little else as a result of being way too mindful of the number of words. It’s some form of mental block.
And if I plan to write for a WordPress post, I’m always trying to keep it snappy, under about 5-600 words, and the freeze begins again. I’m so habituated to strive for 500 words online…
View original post 44 more words
Please pardon the lack of posts for the last (and next) few days. I’ve travelled half-way across the US to look for a new house. We’re relocating AND PASSING THE SAVINGS ON TO YOU!
Anywhoozle, I’ll be back to posting with the Weekend Redirect, then on to more opinions, writing prompts, and unnatural discursions.
TTFN!
Amanda McCormick brings up an important notion in this “Weekend Redirect:” how to handle criticism. Not constructive critiques, but full on “you suck” verbal assaults.
Read on to learn her excellent suggestions which DON’T feature a kick to the sternum or slowly walking away from an explosion.
The BIGGEST minutiae 