We’re doing a new webinar through WritingTheOther.com as an intro into our more in-depth classes. Description:

Discussions of diversity in literature often boil down to a version of this basic question: Should white authors write characters of color? Should cisgender authors write trans characters? Should abled people write characters with disabilities? Should heterosexuals write QUILTBAG characters? The list goes on.

Though framed as a yes or no question, the answer is complicated and complex. Yet it’s the same one for every permutation that gets asked. In this 3 and a half hour webinar, authors Nisi Shawl and K. Tempest Bradford will give you the answer.

When: April 21, 3PM – 6:30PM Eastern (Click to see when this happens in your time zone)

Where: Online via Zoom meeting

Price: $50

If you can’t attend the live class, there is a video only option (you just don’t get to ask questions in the live Q&A). There are scholarships and sliding scale registrations available.

For all the details, including schedule, accessibility, technical requirements, registration, and more, click over to the Writing The Other website.

Nisi Shawl is teaching her seminar on dialogue in a 2 week deep dive format. This class focuses on how dialogue works when attempting to write inclusive fiction and how to navigate the tricky skill of rendering dialect on the page. We start at the beginning of April and there are still spots available! Plus, there are scholarships available and sliding scale registration for folks who can afford some, but not all, of the price. Class description below, more details on the website, and you can register down below.

If you’re a person of color or Native writer interested in the class, ping me via email for a discount code before you sign up.

When: April 2 – 15, 2018
Where: Online — Available everywhere and at your own pace
Price: $200

Class Description:

An essential part of creating a character is understanding how that individual speaks or communicates. For writers who are working to create inclusive fiction with characters from races, cultures, and backgrounds different from their own, crafting appropriate dialogue is more than just idealizing and compressing speech to make it seem natural. It may also mean figuring out how to get across the nuances of language, accent, or dialect without Othering or exoticizing characters or the real cultures and identity groups they represent.

We will guide you through this aspect of writing inclusive fiction through lectures, hands-on exercises, and feedback. At the end of class you’ll have a wealth of resources for further study and practice.

Instruction begins Monday, April 2 and ends Sunday, April 15, 2018. The course does not have set meeting times. You can access class material and discussion and participate in class at any time, day or night, from anywhere in the world as long as you have an Internet connection.

This class is capped at 20 students. Continue reading “Next Writing the Other Class: Dialect and Dialogue Deep Dive” →