Sex/Gender in the Writing World

By now, you've probably seen it--the article in Jezebel about V. S. Naipaul's comment, or the one in the NYT, which mention the man's comment that he can detect the gender of a writer before he finished the second paragraph. In response, if you still haven't seen this, there's also the quiz hosted by the Guardian so you can see if you're as "cool" as Mr. V. S.

I'm thinking one of those initials is a tad off.

Naipaul commented that this knowledge is based on how he (mis)understands women, because they aren't "Masters of their own house" and sentimental, and thus will never reach his personal greatness.

Anyone feel like boycotting yet? I have some ideas about what he can do with that personal greatness....

Of course I think he's wrong. In fact, I tried much too hard to look for these silly indicators when I took the Guardian's quiz, and only got 5 of 10 correct--which, if thrown into a probability meter, means that I have mastered the art of random guessing and no more. At least I've got that going for me.

Every writer has his/her own voice, which may lean toward the sentimental or the... what's the opposite of sentimental in this context? Analytical? Anyway, Each writer has her/his own leanings in how they want to narrate a story. Each voice is unique, with different levels of sentimentality v. the-opposite-of-sentimentality.


What do you think? Without foreknowledge, do you think you could tell the difference between men's and women's writing? Do you even care enough to try?

I wonder, however, how much our own experience and the societal limitations of our genders play into our writing. I only bring this up because I'm struggling with male-male dialogue. Frankly, and this shouldn't surprise you, I've never been involved in a conversation that only involved men. How could I? I'm not one. I pondered this on Facebook about two weeks ago. Male buddies I haven't heard from in years stumbled from the woodwork to add their 2+ cents (really, their words were worth more than measly pennies). Of course, they're all different, too, so the answers conflicted, sort of. And perhaps I came out a little more confused than when I began.

So, despite the sexism that prompted me to write this, do you think our genders and the social "restrictions" associated with them affect your work? How do you get around it? What do you do to make your characters' conversations authentic, even if your own gender isn't present for said chit-chat?

Changes, Constants, and the Big Announcement

Anyone know what happened to Blogger over the past few days? I suppose that’s what I get for delaying my announcement.

So, as some of your may know, I just finished my time in graduate school. Hurray! I’ve decided to move on to other things—like writing (plus a part-time gig)—to while away the hours. For a while it didn’t look possible, but my husband was offered a pretty nice new job with his shiny new PhD. We’ll be moving in August, though just across town. My life is full of changes right now, though they’re all for the better.

But I’ve got one consistent thing in my life… okay, yeah, I’ve got TONS of them, considering we’re not moving to South Dakota or Peru or something. But, when it comes to the relevance of this blog, I have something that’s strongly consistent.

The blog itself.

May 31st marks my one-year blogiversary!

And you know me. I HAVE to celebrate. What does that mean?

BLOGFEST :)

To celebrate, I’m hosting the What’s the Score Blogfest.

On June 1st, post any number of songs, artists, composers, posers, who/whatever that you might want to include in the soundtrack to your WIP. YOU’RE IN CHARGE! You make the soundtrack the way you want it.

Don’t have a WIP? Is your WIP’s soundtrack personal and not something you want to share? No problem! Take your favorite book, or the book your reading right now, or a book you remember well, and make a soundtrack for it.

Want to enter? The Linky List is at the bottom of the page.

Are you thinking, “Meh. Too much work?” Can I add a little incentive?

No celebration is complete without prizes, right?

Prizes:

• Every person who participates is automatically entered to win either a $20 AMAZON GIFT CARD.
• Every person who participates is automatically entered to win a BOOK OF HIS/HER CHOICE from Amazon.
• Anyone who WANTS to have their name added to win either a CHAPTER CRITIQUE or a QUERY CRITIQUE, just let me know in a comment ON THIS POST.

Odds of winning?

Honestly, I have no idea, and I’m horrible at statistics, so I can’t really answer that.

HOWEVER, would you like a better chance to win?

• +1 participating
• +2 current follower (as of 5/13/11) / +1 new follower
• +1 for Tweeting (max. 3; include @rosieanabelle in your Tweet)
• +1 for Facebook post (please provide a link)
• +3 for adding the graphic to your sidebar (please provide a link)
• +5 for posting about it (please provide a link)

That’s a total maximum of 15 points. Talk about increasing your odds!

Well, I hope the announcement was worth the wait, especially with Blogger being funny. Hope to see you on June 1!

Where Do Your Emotions Come From?

Okay, so I was inspired by a comment from Amanda on my Real World Writing post from last week.  She wrote:

It's impossible to create a compelling piece of fiction without the real world. Even with fantasy, one HAS to write in real emotions and human issues. Too often, though, people look to other people's issues instead of their own.

Everything she wrote is 100% true (imho).  But the last sentence made me pause.  Why is it that people look so much beyond themselves to find emotions and stories and don't look inside?

I open this question up as a forum.  I have my own ideas, but I'm going to save them until later in the week.  Do you agree with Amanda?  Or do you think writers use more of themselves and less of everything around them?  Or do you think writers pull their ideas from thin air?

Inquiring minds and all that....