Showing posts with label pronouns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pronouns. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 2, 2022

#IWSG #PassorPages Romance Query and #AtoZChallenge Theme Reveal 2022

#AtoZChallenge 2022 tribute badge #AtoZChallenge 2022 Theme Reveal
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/2022-badge-graphics.html


I plan to have my #AtoZChallenge 2022 theme as

speculative fiction from a dreamer.

What I feel would really put this over the top is if I could get some prompts from you, my blog visitors.
A name, a setting, a scenario -- anything that could be dreamed up and used in speculative fiction. 
Please leave it in the comments (or send me a DM on Twitter @JLenniDorner).
Before March 25, please! Thanks to everyone who helps. 
(And if you use Twitter, leave me your handle so I can give you a shoutout when your prompt is used.)

Speculative Fiction Annie Speculative Fiction


You'll notice this year that we've added pronouns as an option. Not only to avoid people being misgendered (Me! This happens to me online. Doesn't happen offline, though my hair is now long enough to strangle a person... just ask my Snookums. 😍😄), but also to encourage the normalcy of stating pronouns. If only certain groups offer pronouns, then it becomes exclusive instead of inclusive. Of course, it will remain OPTIONAL, because no one is ever required to share their pronoun preference with anyone.

- J Lenni Dorner (team captain) 👨 he/him or 🧑🏽 they/them 



ISWG

Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today: Janet Alcorn, Pat Garcia, Natalie Aguirre, and Shannon Lawrence!




March 2 question - Have you ever been conflicted about writing a story or adding a scene to a story? How did you decide to write it or not?




There is a scene in the second Existence book that I've deleted and put back and deleted again. I wrote it long ago. Then it happened. Like, actually happened. So I tried to rewrite it, but then it didn't work in the story. I left it as it was, but then another year went by, and it felt like I took from the headlines and wrote something in poor taste. Which isn't true because, as I said, I wrote the scene before it came true. (Granted, it probably didn't come true because of my character. There is logical science.) 

There was also a scene in Fractions of Existence, the first book in the series, that came true. But the book was published a few months beforehand. And only a handful of people know that it happened, so it isn't as big of a deal. (Though you could have knocked me over with a feather when a scroll on social media showed a picture of the scene from my head.)

Please also visit: The Insecure Writer's Support Group Book Club on Goodreads.

Operation Awesome Happening at OperationAwesome6.blogspot.com


Please share that with a retweet. Thanks!

And there are 5 days left on this signed book giveaway: https://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2022/02/christine-herbert-answers-13questions.html
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Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Pronouns and #IWSG Define Success as a Writer

Pronouns:

There has been a rise of "normalize sharing pronouns" on social media lately. It might not seem important to a cisgender person (a person whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth). "Only transgenders need to tell you their pronouns." 

But that is exactly why it's important to normalize sharing pronouns. If the only people who present their identity by including pronouns are trans, then it becomes a label, a spotlight. Not everyone wants or is ready for that. But if allies also present their pronouns, and it becomes just a "normal thing people do," then it isn't a way to seek out trans people (perhaps to target them for cruel reasons, which happens); instead, it just becomes normal. The way saying "hello" became normal instead of "ahoy." 

It's also helpful for people like me, who keep getting misgendered online. (Never in real life. 😄 No, definitely not offline. Except by coaches, who think all humans are ladies. I still don't understand why that is, do you?) Trying to cross cultural barriers with how names work is actually incredibly difficult. There are, apparently, a great many unwritten rules that people seem to "know," but not well enough to explain.

(For example, Lenni-Lenape is translated to mean "Original People." The vowel at the end of "Lenni" is not a gender or sex indication, it's just how some European decided to translate our Algonquian language using their language and alphabet, and then some other Europeans probably changed it some more to their languages. 🤷 My tribe also recognized/s more than two genders/ sexes.)

- J Lenni Dorner (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them)

Useful articles for further reading:
a beginner's guide to being an ally to trans people
A Guide To Pronouns for Allies

Pronouns J Lenni Dorner social media Pinterest Twitter


ISWG

Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today: Rebecca Douglass, T. Powell Coltrin @Journaling Woman, Natalie Aguirre, Karen Lynn, and C. Lee McKenzie!




September 1 question -


How do you define success as a writer? Is it holding your book in your hand? Having a short story published? Making a certain amount of income from your writing?

For me, success as a writer means not giving up. Every time that a writer writes (or edits, brainstorms, reads, promotes, etc), that's the path to success. 

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. - Winston Churchill


That's a good quote. Here's one I like even more:

If I wanted to become a failure, I would seek advice from people who have never succeeded. If I wanted to succeed in all things, I would look around me for those who are succeeding, and do as they have done. -Norman Vincent Peale


Of course, none of this is an answer to the question, it's just vague accuracy. 

In my opinion, to be a success, one needs to set goals and achieve them (or alter them to achieve the most desirable and possible outcome given changing situations). Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound -- SMART goals.

It's also important to know what you can and cannot influence. For example, it's unwise to set the goal of "publishing a novel that everyone will love." Even the best-selling novels of all time are disliked by some people. A goal could be set to get a certain amount of reviews, but you can't control who will or won't review your book. (Okay, there are ways, but they tend to violate rules.) An author can, and certainly should, promote their book everywhere that their target audience of readers might be found. On average, a person needs to see a book title mentioned on three different viewings before they'll look into it. (Three seems to be the magic number for the brain to think, "Oh, everyone is talking about this! I should learn more.") While you can't control sales, you can set yourself up to be noticed multiple times. 

I don't feel that someone is very successful if they have nothing to give back to their community. Stephen King, for example, is successful not only because of his long list of publication credits and bestseller status, but also because he does give back to the community of writers and filmmakers. 

I consider myself a success because I've published a novel, a short story, two reference books for writers, have books in the editing stage, and am active in the writing community via Operation Awesome, IWSG, and the A to Z Challenge. 






OTHER NEWS


I won a handmade bookmark from the "Rise and join the Giveaway (The Cure Release Week Celebration)" at Patricia Josephine's patriciajosephine.com/blog.



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