Just a few random bits of news and links for a weekend morning…
…If you saw our earlier post or any of the other kidlitosphere blog posts about the passing of L.K. Madigan, you might like to know that a trust fund has been set up to help provide for her son Nathan’s college education–go here for details on how to help, and a heartfelt post from her husband.
…Another Kidlitosphere regular has had one of her books challenged: author and blogger Cheryl Rainfield‘s book Scars was challenged by a library patron in Kentucky. Read more about the challenge here, here and here, and read Cheryl’s response.
…Ending on a thoughtful note, aspiring YA author Nicola Richardson raises some interesting points about writing race in YA in a guest post over on the YA Highway blog. Nicola says that, for her, “writing about other races and culture is always about the two R’s: Respect and Research.”
Your personal beliefs and thoughts almost always bleed into your writing and if you have any misconceptions or stereotypes about any race, don’t write about them, because it will seen. Instead, think about why you feel or think that way. Work through it. Take a hard look at yourself and ask some very tough questions. If you can’t do this, leave diversity alone.
Of course, I think that it can be very difficult to know all of one’s misconceptions and stereotypes and whether they’ve bled into one’s writing, even when you’re doing your best to be authentic. My opinion is not that one shouldn’t necessarily write about another race or culture for fear of writing a stereotype–rather, I think there’s a third R, and that’s Readers. Have someone read your work, and give you their honest opinion about what isn’t hitting the mark. You’ll have the potential to learn more that way than if you never try at all, right?
