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Writing the Other: A Practical Approach (Conversation Pieces Book 8) by [Nisi Shawl, Cynthia Ward]

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Cynthia Ward

Writing the Other: A Practical Approach (Conversation Pieces Book 8) Kindle Edition

by Nisi Shawl (Author), Cynthia Ward (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

156 ratings

Book 8 of 82: Conversation Pieces

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During the 1992 Clarion West Writers Workshop attended by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward, one of the students expressed the opinion that it is a mistake to write about people of ethnic backgrounds different from your own because you might get it wrong—horribly, offensively wrong—and so it is better not even to try. This opinion, commonplace among published as well as aspiring writers, struck Nisi as taking the easy way out and spurred her to write an essay addressing the problem of how to write about characters marked by racial and ethnic differences. In the course of writing the essay, however, she realized that similar problems arise when writers try to create characters whose gender, sexual orientation, and age differ significantly from their own. Nisi and Cynthia collaborated to develop a workshop that addresses these problems with the aim of both increasing writers’ skill and sensitivity in portraying difference in their fiction as well as allaying their anxieties about "getting it wrong." Writing the Other: A Practical Approach is the manual that grew out of their workshop. It discusses basic aspects of characterization and offers elementary techniques, practical exercises, and examples for helping writers create richer and more accurate characters with "differences."

“The book is excellent. I highly recommend it. It should be read by every ‘dominant paradigm’ writer for that is its true audience. Recommended also for schools, colleges, and creativity workshops, and sociology classes.”
—The Compulsive Reader

“Along with personal experience and examples, the book presents exercises to help writers step outside their own ROAARS. The exercises, developed from workshops the authors have conducted, reward writers with learning more about developing characters—including those who are ‘just like’ themselves—and understanding past and present stereotypes.”
—Paula Guran, Writers.com Newsletter Vol 9, no. 3

“This book can help interested writers develop characters to exhibit the complexity of the human experience (and, since we’re talking genre here, multifaceted non-human experiences as well) [...] What I like best about this book is that Shawl and Ward encourage people to acknowledge their fears and concerns, but also to try anyway.”
—Broad Universe, November 2007

Print length

128 pages
Language

English
Publication date

November 1, 2011
File size

192 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

The exercises, developed from workshops the authors have conducted, reward writers with learning more about developing characters including those who are ''just like'' themselves and understanding past and present stereotypes. --Paula Guran, Writers.com Newsletter

This book can help interested writers develop characters to exhibit the complexity of the human experience (and, since we're talking genre here, multifaceted non-human experiences as well)[...] What I like best about this book is that Shawl and Ward encourage people to acknowledge their fears and concerns, but also to try anyway. --Broad Universe, November 2007

Just raising awareness about this writing challenge is a literary service[...]Such exercises clearly help flex writerly muscles. --Seattle Times, February 3, 2006 --This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

Nisi Shawl is a member of the Board of Directors of the Clarion West Writers Workshop. Her stories have appeared in Semiotext(e), Asimov s SF, Strange Horizons, and in the award-winning Dark Matter anthology series. She writes a regular book review column for The Seattle Times. A collection of her short fiction, Filter House is forthcoming from Aqueduct Press.
Cynthia Ward has published stories in Asimov's SF Magazine, Bending the Landscape, and other anthologies and magazines. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0065MZ26O
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Aqueduct Press (November 1, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 1, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 192 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 128 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #208,788 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #15 in Literary Criticism Reference
- #100 in Literary History & Criticism Reference
- #122 in Literature Encyclopedias

Customer Reviews:
156 ratings

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4 star		21%
3 star		7%
2 star		4%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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The Masked Gamer

Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2018

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If you think you are struggling with how to write people of a different race, religion, ability, gender, etc. than you, you should read this book; if you think you aren't struggling with how to write people of a different race, religion, ability, gender, etc. than you, you should read this book. Shawl and Ward lay out all the issues and pitfalls involved in attempting to write someone "other" to your own experience, while also remaining encouraging about the attempt (the need, really) to be inclusive in one's writing. The book includes not only advice and explanation, but writing exercises, essays, recommended reading, and an except from a novel written by Shawl herself. I found this book not only educational, but supportive, and I feel more confident in my ability to keep trying at being more inclusive as I move forward in my writing. If you are writing fiction today, this is essentially mandatory reading; for everyone else, it is highly recommended.

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

Toinette

I wish there was more to it.

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2021

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I read this book in August of 2020 and am reviewing it in January of 2021. I took a creative and reading hiatus shortly after reading this book. This book was disappointing but not devastating. Considering I read it during the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement I might have been extra sensitive to the content, but it honestly felt lacking.

The book started off well enough and seemed to have really good intentions but it just constantly came up short. The activities didn't always make sense to me and some of the examples seemed too one-sided. Still, if you've never tried to write a character unlike yourself, this is a good place to start.

I wish there was more to it. I can't give this book a 1-star rating because I didn't hate it and I won't give it a 2-star because I did actually finish it.

Not sure I'd recommend it, but I would definitely discuss it with someone else who's read it.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jill

A rip off for the price, less than 60% of the 120 pages advertised are the actual book.

Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2019

Verified Purchase

I was looking for much more from this book. I'm particularly miffed that I paid $12 for a book so small in the first place, but the last FORTY PAGES are excerpts from other books. The actual book is only 70 pages, so for that, $12 is unreasonable.

I'm on the fence about keeping it or returning it.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

AJ.

A Good Beginning for Writing Diversity

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2014

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This book is a departure from my usual fare -- it's one on the art of writing. I'm writing a novel, and one of my fears is that, in attempting to write diverse characters with experiences different from those of my own, I will do something terribly wrong. This book was recommended to me as a way of thinking about character diversity.

It's a short book, and it really is no substitute for "primary sources." If you're writing a young black man from a poor neighbourhood, it's better off to read The New Jim Crow than to merely imagine the "otherness" that comes when writing such a character as a young, white female from a privileged background. Even so, the authors provide several interesting writing exercises and key points about privilege and difference.

The most useful part of this book was the discovery of the term, "The Unmarked State" -- that is, the 'normal' state of an individual in society. In the US, this is white, male, single, 20s/30s, not disabled, with English as a first language, etc. Any character you write who differs from this is 'marked' in some way. It certainly is a way to frame characters.

The book also makes a case against using diversity for the sake of diversity itself -- basically, how authors get diversity wrong. In all, it's a short read and worth the time. Much of it is common sense, but since MBA student will pay tens of thousands to be imbued with it, you can spend the ten bucks to get this book and learn how you can better write characters who are not you.

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

Important resource for writers

Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2020

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This is an invaluable resource for all writers. A practical, approachable guide on how to make writing more realistic and accurate when including perspectives unlike your own. It includes common mistakes that writers often make when writing cetain marginalized groups so they can avoid them, with concrete and specific examples. I will revisit it with my writing group so we can do the exercises together.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Mary Waugaman

Characters and World Building

Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2018

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I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Nissi Shawl offers insight into character creation and through that she teaches you about important mechanics that go into world building. I originally got this book in order to help me write more well rounded believable characters and, because I’m a white woman of privilege, I had a difficult time understanding the fundamentals of the perspective of “the other”. But I want to fill my worlds with diverse and realistic characters, I want to create cultures that are vibrant, original, true to its origins and believable. This book has helped me have a clearer understanding of certain areas where I was lacking and what I was doing wrong. Thank you, Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Sherry King

If you are a writer this book will be very helpful.

Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2020

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“Writing the Other: A Practical Approach” by Cynthia Ward.

This scholarly work is bound to be or interest to all writers and everyone who has wanted to understand better what sets us apart or unites us as people. I am planning at some point to do all the exercises in this book!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Jessaca W.

Great introductory help

Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2019

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This is a great guide for anyone unfamiliar or uncomfortable talking about race, gender, sexual orientation, ability status, and more forms of oppression. Emphasis on the word "introductory". If you're looking to deepen the work you've already done on writing characters who don't reflect your personal identity around those topics, then the information and suggestions that are presented might not be helpful.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Richard Wood

On the other hand

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 21, 2012

Verified Purchase

There are a few books available that can teach you something about yourself that you didn't know before. 'Writing the other' uses a conversational style, writing exercises, and book extracts to challenge your own preconceptions as a writer. It will get you a better suite of characters when writing fiction. Your own invented characters can often just be other aspects of you; apply some of the techniques suggested in this book and your imagined characters will surprise you and perhaps take your narrative somewhere you didn't expect. It doesn't matter what age, race, or sexual orientation you are, this book will get you to another point of view.

6 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Good overview

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 1, 2019

Verified Purchase

Covers the basics and gives some decent examples to follow and to avoid to make your writing more diverse and characters more believable.

Megan T

Full of helpful ideas, clearly and concisely explained

Reviewed in Canada on April 19, 2019

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This book will give you some good ideas on how to approach writing "the other" intentionally. It doesn't hand out all the answers (because I believe there's no such thing as "all the answers"), but will suggest how to think critically and come up with your own answers. A solid introduction to broadening your perspectives.

mrl

Writing outside one's comfort zone

Reviewed in Canada on September 3, 2021

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The writers provide guidelines/suggestions for including characters in our stories whose lives and cultures may be different from our own. They suggest practical writing exercises.

Anonymous

A must read for anyvand every fiction writer

Reviewed in the Netherlands on December 24, 2020

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There's so much about this book that I love, but it's the practicality of it that I enjoyed most. There really is no reason to include more and better representations in your writing and this book gives you the tools to do so.

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