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mbarkerWriting Excuses 13.3: What Writers Get Wrong, with Aliette de Bodard
From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2018/01/21/13-3-what-writers-get-wrong-with-aliette-de-bodard/
Key Points: What do writers get wrong about pregnancy and motherhood? First, even though pregnancies, children, and motherhood are common in real life, in fiction, they often disappear. Pregnancies often are depicted almost as Alien, a monster taking over your body and emerging. There are also things to love, like the baby moving. Amazing? The baby taking its first breath. Or the organs shifting back into place. Surprising? When the brother or father finds out what it's really like! The way a pregnant woman, especially late in pregnancy, stands up. Very cautious. The little problems of pregnancy, like vitamin shortages. The length of time labor takes! Cross your fingers, and pack the wound with moss.
( Take a deep breath, and push... )
[Dan] And, spoiler warning. Time for your homework. No? So…
[Laughter]
[Dan] Who has homework for us?
[Howard] I… I've got this. In anticipation of the year to come, what I'd like you to do is sit down with a piece of paper and identify… Make a list of the subject matter experts in your life. Maybe this person is an auto mechanic, maybe they are a rocket scientist, maybe they are a schoolteacher, maybe they are a physician, I don't know what they do, but they have expertise in a thing. As you are making this list, don't make it by topic. Make the list by thinking of a person you know, and then asking yourself, "What is it that they are an expert in?" Make the list as long as you can. Then, during the course of this year, keep that list handy. During the course of this year, check off those folks as you've taken the opportunity to go talk to them about the thing about which they are a subject matter expert. This is not going to make you an expert. But, over the course of the year, it's going to open your mind to all of the things that you don't know that you may want to.
[Dan] I think that's fantastic. I want to encourage you, as you're making that list, don't just think about professions, don't just think about those kind of experiences, look at people from different backgrounds, people with different gender identities, people from different cultures. There's a very broad spectrum of stuff about which we can learn this year. So… Fantastic. This has been Writing Excuses. You are out of excuses. Now go… Interview all your friends.
From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2018/01/21/13-3-what-writers-get-wrong-with-aliette-de-bodard/
Key Points: What do writers get wrong about pregnancy and motherhood? First, even though pregnancies, children, and motherhood are common in real life, in fiction, they often disappear. Pregnancies often are depicted almost as Alien, a monster taking over your body and emerging. There are also things to love, like the baby moving. Amazing? The baby taking its first breath. Or the organs shifting back into place. Surprising? When the brother or father finds out what it's really like! The way a pregnant woman, especially late in pregnancy, stands up. Very cautious. The little problems of pregnancy, like vitamin shortages. The length of time labor takes! Cross your fingers, and pack the wound with moss.
( Take a deep breath, and push... )
[Dan] And, spoiler warning. Time for your homework. No? So…
[Laughter]
[Dan] Who has homework for us?
[Howard] I… I've got this. In anticipation of the year to come, what I'd like you to do is sit down with a piece of paper and identify… Make a list of the subject matter experts in your life. Maybe this person is an auto mechanic, maybe they are a rocket scientist, maybe they are a schoolteacher, maybe they are a physician, I don't know what they do, but they have expertise in a thing. As you are making this list, don't make it by topic. Make the list by thinking of a person you know, and then asking yourself, "What is it that they are an expert in?" Make the list as long as you can. Then, during the course of this year, keep that list handy. During the course of this year, check off those folks as you've taken the opportunity to go talk to them about the thing about which they are a subject matter expert. This is not going to make you an expert. But, over the course of the year, it's going to open your mind to all of the things that you don't know that you may want to.
[Dan] I think that's fantastic. I want to encourage you, as you're making that list, don't just think about professions, don't just think about those kind of experiences, look at people from different backgrounds, people with different gender identities, people from different cultures. There's a very broad spectrum of stuff about which we can learn this year. So… Fantastic. This has been Writing Excuses. You are out of excuses. Now go… Interview all your friends.
