#writeroftheweek

[thewriterg]

♡𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤♡︎

Est; 11-21-22 — 11-25-22

Hello Writers! So I was thinking of how I could show you guys some appreciation for all the love you guys show for me and my work and I thought about Writer Of The Week or WOTW

So basically this is for my Writers who I personally see support the most from Following, liking post, re-blogs, leaving comments, etc.

I’ll choose 5 of you guys every Friday sometimes more if we’ve had a busy week

I’m trying to thinks of litte gifts I could give you guys but for now my main gift is if one of you request something it would be kinda my top priority pushing all my other request below yours. But you would have to request w/o anon so I could see your @ but you can let me know and I’ll just reveal it as anon in that story

Sometimes some of you guys @s won’t pop up so forgive me I’ll just message you separately!

If you have any more ideas for gifts I could give you guys Let me know!

Alright enough talking let’s get to it!

1st; @shythegreenskeleton

2nd; @queen-peach-blog

3rd; @pussy-drunk

4th; @littlefoxgirl-13

5th; @queenpotatouwu

Thank you guys so much for your support it means a lot if you didn’t get Chosen don’t feel bummed there’s plenty more opportunities to see your name on that list!! See you next week writers!!

[10tickle-blog1]

[hub-pub-bub]

Maybe you just want to write a book and get it into people’s hands, but there are more dangers out there than you might realize.

To set the stage, I’ll go back to a recent event: the Amélie Wen Zhao controversy. You could be forgiven for not having heard about it, given that it’s only a big deal if you closely follow the world of young adult novels, and in particular the young adult communities on Twitter and Tumblr. I’ll do my best to summarize what happened.

Zhao is a young woman, born in Beijing, raised in Paris, educated in New York City and currently living there. She scored a 6-figure book deal with Delacorte Press, the first book of which was to be Blood Heir. Some reviewers got advance review copies. Then, a couple of things happened: Twitter user @LegallyPaige posted a tweet (since deleted) accusing Zhao of taking screenshots of tweets made by people who disliked her or her book, and of stalking and possibly harassing critics; marketing descriptions of the book, as well as tweets by advance reviewers like Ellen Oh, suggested that the book was racially insensitive as it focuses on an indentured servitude system with parallels to American slavery. There were also accusations of anti-blackness based on the treatment of a character who was racially ambiguous, at best, as well as talk of plagiarism that, as far as anyone who has read the book can tell, are not really credible.

Again, if you don’t run in these circles this might all sound like a pretty minor controversy–a mild storm that Zhao could easily weather. But YA Twitter doesn’t work that way. It is a microcosm of Twitter as a whole, dominated by clout-chasing “influencers” and full of cliques who follow what their preferred influencers say. If a book is presumed to be problematic, or the author presumed to be bad, it is a small matter to organize mass review-bombing on Goodreads, Amazon, or anywhere else one can have a say. If you speak out on behalf of someone accused in this way, you are inviting legions of opposing followers to come after you. The old adage is true: the only way to win is not to play the game.

Zhao herself chose not to play the game, as well. She wrote a thoughtful apology letter in which she announced the cancellation (or at least postponement) of Blood Heir. I’m not here to take issue with that decision, as it is a highly personal one. My purpose is to critique these cycles more generally.

All cards on the table: I’m a white man. I consider myself anti-racist as well as a feminist. I recognize the vast structural oppression that exist essentially everywhere, as well as the specific history of anti-black racism in the US. I am always on the side of social justice, which is why I think it’s necessary to call out the excesses of such movements.

For perspective, of course, in this case nobody died, nobody lost their livelihood. Zhao’s publisher stands by her and she will likely publish other books, and possibly Blood Heir itself after some revisions. What happened to her isn’t censorship, nor even what I would consider abusive. It’s more unfortunate than anything else.

What is concerning to me is the tendency to manifest an online mob on an extremely thin basis, and that the people who have large enough followings to spark these controversies know the power they wield, and don’t seem to have much sense of responsibility about it. Consider that this particular incident was sparked by an essentially anonymous accusation of screenshotting–an activity which is petty, at worst–and spiraled into allegations of racism.

As a writer, I do think it is very important to be sensitive to the issues of the world around me. It is entirely possible, even likely, to fall into unintentional racism or sexism. The best of intentions do not necessarily lead to a piece of writing that is free from the biases and inequities of our world. It is important to write mindfully, and to be careful not to reproduce oppressive cultural messages. This can take many forms, though. Some people object to depictions of racism, violence against women, and other horrors in the first place. Even if the purpose of portraying them is to critique them and make clear how awful those things are, there are readers who would rather not encounter such material in the first place. It is an understandable position to not want to read something like that, as it can mean having to face bigotry in fiction that you get enough of in your daily life. People who don’t want to read books like that are absolutely welcome not to!

Where I take issue is the idea that because someone doesn’t like a particular book, no one should be allowed to read it–that it should be withdrawn altogether. The comparisons to historically ineffective book bans apply pretty well here. In addition, it just seems like a big waste of energy. In a country where Donald Trump is President and is actively enabling literal Nazis to march in the streets and kill people, spending a lot of energy attacking a book that may not have anything all that wrong with it seems totally absurd. Yes, people can care about more than one thing at a time–but time and energy are finite resources.

I used the phrase “manufactured outrage” in the title, and that was with good reason. I have been around long enough to know that most of the time, these controversies are not drummed up out of a genuine concern for people who have been harmed, but to raise one’s own profile, and to demonstrate power as an influencer. (Note that all you really need to be an “influencer” is a lot of social media followers!) The emergence of the “#MeToo” movement, which has achieved some real accomplishments in terms of dislodging sexual predators from positions of power, has also put wind in the sails of online controversy-seekers. Everyone wants to be first in line to “cancel” the next “problematic” public figure. A writer faced with such a backlash might be inclined to simply ride it out, and hope the furor dies down after a few days. It usually does, but there is another problem: media coverage.

Only 15% of Americans actually use Twitter, and an even smaller share of those use it regularly. It would not have much influence over public debate except for one thing: it is massively popular among journalists and freelance writers, almost all of whom have column space to fill. Going out and investigating is difficult and expensive; mining Twitter for the latest clickbait topic, by comparison, is easy and free. Thus, these relatively tiny kerfuffles (consisting of a few hundred or a few thousand people, at most) get elevated to the level of national or even international discourse. Dozens of articles get written about online scuffles involving handfuls of people, and you’d think there was a real crisis brewing. The reality is just that journalists and freelancers tend to be Extremely Online (to use the Twitter jargon) and know that drama pulls clicks. This is a big part of the “manufacturing” of the outrage. We’re generally not talking about mass movements, here. “#MeToo” is a mass movement. “#Cancel[WriterOfTheWeek]” isn’t.

Another part of the “manufacturing” is that these outrages often emerge from circles that are not just insincere, but actively malevolent. Imageboard site 4chan and *chan sites of similar formats have forums where the entire point is identifying targets and organizing social media outrage against them. They tap into social justice circles and plant whisper campaigns that a particular person is problematic in some severe way–maybe the target is a sexual predator, or plagiarized parts of their book. If this can get picked up by a prominent influencer, the mob does the rest. Likewise, infighting is fomented by inventing wedge issues, a couple recent examples being “Santa shouldn’t be a man” and “pedophiles belong in the LGBT+ umbrella.” Yes, those are real things stirred up by bad actors and I did not make them up.

The point of all this is that it can be easy and exciting to focus on drama, to be an active participant in fomenting it. It might even feel good to play a role in getting someone to pay penance for their perceived wrongdoing. But it’s hard to say that any of it makes the world a better place, or actually serves any of the causes social justice is meant to. In Zhao’s case, one would think that her identity as an immigrant, a woman, and a person of color would bless her with the benefit of the doubt–but those things are instead liabilities, as she is held to a much higher standard than, say, the middle-aged white men who churn out sexist drivel every year.

A common piece of writing advice is to simply ignore critics. Critics will always find something to hate–it is essentially their job. That’s still true, to a great extent. It is sometimes necessary to publicly respond to criticism, but the best way to handle that is to take the high road. Let people know that they are heard and you are taking their advice into consideration–and then, decide for yourself what that means, and how it should change your work, if at all.

If you write a book condemning injustice, and people attack you and say you aren’t condemning it correctly, odds are there’s not actually anything wrong with your book–just the people doing the attacking.

Post written by J. D. Huffman so direct all fanmail to him <3

[c4nindia-blog]

#WRITEROFTHEWEEK : POOJA KOCHAR TALKS ABOUT HOW MOTHERS ARE EXPECTED TO HIDE IN A TOILET TO FEED THEIR CHILDREN

“Women are emotionally very vulnerable during pregnancy. Nothing prepares you for how raw and exposed you feel post childbirth. When a woman enters motherhood, the learning curve is massive. She is not just creating a new life but is also completely responsible for their wellbeing and nourishment. New moms struggle with a lot of self-doubts, lack of body confidence and guilt mainly because we are unsure about everything.

“There are women who may have never had a bad experience with nursing their child in public and I am glad they escaped the negativity but there are many who did face it. The issue exists and it’s high time we acknowledge it without bias.

“It takes a while to figure out that there is no right or wrong way of dealing with parenting issues. Breastfeeding in public has always been a touchy topic, and being shamed for nursing your child in public is not a rare incidence. Apparently, a woman feeding in public is more offensive than a man eve-teasing in bright daylight.

“Taking my own example, it has been three months since I delivered and I haven’t gathered the courage to go out with my son because I know that if he is hungry, I have no place to nurse him unless I am back home. For me to start getting back to my normal life, run errands, and start working again, I need to have the freedom to nurse my child whenever and wherever. Breastfeeding is a natural act, but there are so many stigmas attached to it that the mother is automatically put on a guilt trip. “How can you flash it in public?” This is a massive issue which will take decades to change, but all we need is some empathy and a secure space to nurse and not feel judged.

“As a mom blogger, I tried to make a list of areas reserved for nursing your child in public places, and the results were as expected – disappointing! Few malls have a table reserved to change and nurse in the restrooms; we are expected to feed our child in a public toilet, the most unhygienic place there is. A lot of mothers prefer feeding in dark car parks to avoid public attention. Most of the airports also follow a very similar pattern, barring only a few where there is a large area blocked for mothers to bond with their young toddlers while feeding them.

“The problem is that we are living in a culture that has sexualised breasts so much that it is hard to look beyond it and accept the fact that they serve a bigger purpose in our lives. I am a millennial parent belonging to the privileged, well-educated section of our society. Yet I do not have the confidence to fight the stares and the unwanted attention that may come my way if I decided to feed in public.

“I am more comfortable staying home and waiting to lead a normal life until my child grows older, but is this the right way to treat yourself? Shaming women who refuse to nurse their child behind a dirty wall or a toilet is very judgemental, especially because everyone has been a part of this natural cycle at some point in their lives.”

Pooja Kochar was trolled massively for her point of view regarding breastfeeding; nevertheless, she is going to continue writing about issues that need a voice. She stood by her opinion hoping to make a difference for all those women who go through the same uncomfortable situations.

Pooja’s blog 30ish and Her  Facebook page.

[Keep yourself updated at]

C4N India’s Facebook Page

www.c4n.in

[You can also share your story on]

c4n.india@gmail.com

Share Your Story

[trynewwritings-blog]

Based on the likes and impressions, Vinitha Vijayakumar ( @vinitha_vidhya ) grabs the title "Writer of the week" for this week. Let us all congratulate her for repeatedly weaving such amazing pieces of art without losing the trend and flavour. This is what all she had to say: "This platform 'Try New Writings' delivers heart melting quotes and eternal thoughts. It gives an awesome recognition for all the writers out there. And the funds given for some well being is such an awesome thing. No page has taken such an effort. Keep going." We are hoping for you to be the next writer of the week. Go-ahead and submit your tales in our website: www.trynewwritings.com #trynewwritings #writeroftheweek

[thewriterg]

♡︎𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤♡︎ 002

Est; 12-5-22 — 12-9-22

Hope everyone had a great week! I’m a day late but we’re here now🤭

So let’s get to this weeks winners!

1st; @ravenclaw-princess333

2nd; @t0mbstxne

3rd; @maybankslover

4th; @onlyfredslibrary

5th; @selena1251

Congratulations Writers! Go ahead and send your request

Stay safe and have a break weekend!

[thewriterg]

♡𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤♡︎ 001

Est; 11-28-22 — 12-2-22

Hey Writers here we are with our 2nd post for WOTW 🤭 I hope you all had a great week it’s finally Friday and for December I’ll be posting all the way until Christmas as a count down so go check out advent calendar

For my last weeks winners I swear I’m on your request now! I wanna say I’ll get them posted before next Tuesday but yk me when it comes to posting dates 😬 so if not Tuesday sometime next week for sure.

Alright now let’s get to this weeks top 5!

1st; @princenoodlez

2nd; @nico-coco

3rd; @idk1021

4th; @tojisimp1

5th; @marsfunzon22

I also would like to add another person for this week @oatmilkholland usually I would state that the GIFs I use in my stories aren’t mine and they get rightful credits to there owners and they showed me that it was kind of hurtful to the creators that spend time making the GIFS and I want to say that I am greatly sorry and I apologize deeply I wouldn’t feel great if someone took one of my stories and didn’t give me full credit so from now on I will take the extra step and @ creators I use a GIF for once again I really do apologize and it won’t happen again.

Congratulations to this weeks writers thank you so much for the support go ahead and send your request if you have any and I’ll get to it! Stay safe and have a great weekend!

[thewriterg]

✍︎︎ Writer Of The Week

Introduction | week 1 | est. 11-20-22–11-25-22

001 | week 2 | est. 11-28-22–12-2-22

002 | week 3 | est. 12-4-22–12-9-22

[hollybargo]

Watch the video interview with @UniversalByDesign and Holly Bargo about Daughter of the Deepwood - featured along with her supervisor, Brutus the Cat https://t.co/zZ0nCp07LD #WriteroftheWeek #HollyBargo #cats #interview #books #publishing #reading #relaxation #fiction