[stylist] writing about blindness

Donna Hill penatwork at epix.net
Wed Nov 12 16:32:10 UTC 2008 

Makes sense to me.  After all, there's a little thing called research 
which is a valuable tool when writing about anything.
Donna

-- 
For my bio & to hear clips from The Last Straw:
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Apple I-Tunes

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Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind
www.padnfb.org





Aziza wrote:
> It is also up to the author's level of education and understanding 
> about the disability he or she is choosing to write about. I do not 
> hold a lack of knowledge against an author, I hold the fact that they 
> chose to write about something they knew little about in a way that 
> suggests they know more then they do against them.
> If someone does not know about blindness it is not necessarily their 
> fault, but when they choose to write and make up facts in there mind 
> and try to persuade people that their "facts" are true, then it is 
> their fault.
> I'm not sure if that made any sense, it did to me. Lol. (That doesn't 
> always mean much.)
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Judith Bron" <jbron at optonline.net>
> To: "NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 8:03 PM
> Subject: Re: [stylist] writing about blindness
>
>
>> It is up to the author to paint their character as normal.  There are 
>> many books that focus on issues surrounding the mentally 
>> handicapped.  Is that because mental illness is more obvious, that 
>> some mentally ill people are more violent or because society has 
>> reached a level of acceptance of the mentally ill?  I think it is up 
>> to the author to create his characters in such a way that society 
>> sees them as equals rather than different.
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "helene ryles" 
>> <dreamavdb at googlemail.com>
>> To: "NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 6:11 PM
>> Subject: Re: [stylist] writing about blindness
>>
>>
>>> My book has blind characters in it. I think that there are so many
>>> negative examples of blind and disabled characters in fiction that it
>>> would be a good thing if blind authors with possitive views on their
>>> blindness would educate people by including a character or two in
>>> their novels.
>>> As for me. I write to make sense of my world. If I was told the
>>> publishers wouldn't accept disabled characters I would still include
>>> them and hope that one day that would change. After all Van Goth
>>> didn't have any of his paintings sold in his life time. But they are
>>> famous now. Maybe people will be more open minded about the disabled
>>> in the future?
>>>
>>> Helene.
>>>
>>> On 11/11/2008, Angela fowler <fowlers at syix.com> wrote:
>>>> I wonder if writing about blind characters who are just ordinary 
>>>> people,
>>>> maybe even having a minor role in the story and publishing it 
>>>> mainstream
>>>> would help to transcend that divide?
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org 
>>>> [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>>> Behalf Of Judith Bron
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 2:37 PM
>>>> To: NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List
>>>> Subject: Re: [stylist] writing about blindness
>>>>
>>>> If you are going to write about a minority, be that racial, ethnic or
>>>> handicapped, you  might want to try publishers or periodicals that are
>>>> dedicated to that particular genre.  Yes, there are times that you can
>>>> transcend the divide, but you have to write with the audience you are
>>>> writing for.
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
>>>> To: "NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 4:34 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [stylist] writing about blindness
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Jim,
>>>>> You make a couple of good points here.  I am very conscious that, 
>>>>> if I
>>>>> intend to market a short story, having it be about blindness may turn
>>>>> off a publication.  I do have several ideas that I've been sitting on
>>>>> which are about the ironies of how blind people are viewed and
>>>>> treated, but, as I say, I'm sitting on them.
>>>>> Donna
>>>>>
>>>>> -- 
>>>>> For my bio & to hear clips from The Last Straw:
>>>>> http://cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill
>>>>>
>>>>> Apple I-Tunes
>>>>>
>>>>> phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=259244 
>>>>>
>>>>> 374
>>>>>
>>>>> Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind
>>>>> www.padnfb.org
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> James Canaday M.A. N6YR wrote:
>>>>>> Aziza,
>>>>>> that's one problem we're up against as blind people in this society:
>>>>>> very very few examples or role models in the media, the books, etc.
>>>>>> whether to write a character as blind or not is honestly not the
>>>>>> first thing on my mind because I'm more interested when I have an
>>>>>> idea, I want to write a story about some particular struggle, some
>>>>>> puzzle to be unravveled.
>>>>>> it is also important to remember that sometimes having a major
>>>>>> character who is blind makes your story harder for some readers to
>>>>>> get into, have the verisimilitude, because they don't experience
>>>>>> blindness and don't know a blind person.
>>>>>> so there is also a catch-22 about it.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ***
>>>>>> personal update:
>>>>>> by the way I seem to be getting sicker with more of the flu-like
>>>>>> symptoms getting very bad: headache; other aches; stiffness; etc.
>>>>>> apparently I will get worse before I get better.  last thursday I
>>>>>> started the once-a-week shot to treat my autoimmune disorder.  thank
>>>>>> you for praying if you do.
>>>>>> jim
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Jim Canaday M.A.
>>>>>> Lawrence, KS
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> At 01:14 PM 11/11/2008, you wrote:
>>>>>>> I suppose I could write about blind people better, but I read a lot
>>>>>>> of fiction books, and most of them have sighted characters. I draw
>>>>>>> from those descriptions, also in class, you don't see the teacher
>>>>>>> teaching many texts with blind people in them. I think I can write
>>>>>>> about fiction sighted characters as well as I can blind fiction
>>>>>>> characters. I may of course be wrong.
>>>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Angela fowler"
>>>>>>> <fowlers at syix.com>
>>>>>>> To: "'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 12:07 PM
>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [stylist] writing about blindness
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I guess it depends on your frame of mind at the time of writing.
>>>>>>>> While blind fiction writers can depict blind characters obviously
>>>>>>>> far more accurately than sighted fiction writers, we limit
>>>>>>>> ourselves if we stick exclusively to blind characters or blindness
>>>>>>>> issues.
>>>>>>>> As for articles, I've been writing about a lot of blindness 
>>>>>>>> related
>>>>>>>> stuff lately. Its funny, I went into my historical research and
>>>>>>>> writing class vowing I was going to write about anything but a
>>>>>>>> blindness issue, and ended up writing about the way the ADA 
>>>>>>>> effects
>>>>>>>> blind people. Go figure.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>>>> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>> [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Aziza
>>>>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 10:00 AM
>>>>>>>> To: NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List
>>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [stylist] writing about blindness
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I don't write about being blind either. I mean unless it's my 
>>>>>>>> articles.
>>>>
>>>>>>>> But
>>>>>>>> when I write storries, all my characters can see, and have other
>>>>>>>> problems they must overcome in their lives.
>>>>>>>> I don't think it's denial at all.
>>>>>>>> Aziza
>>>>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>>>> From: "Judith Bron" <jbron at optonline.net>
>>>>>>>> To: "Stylist" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 8:51 AM
>>>>>>>> Subject: [stylist] writing about blindness
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I'm not in denial nor do I ignore the fact that I do have a 
>>>>>>>>> handicap
>>>>>>>>> that I have to overcome on a daily basis.  However, when I am 
>>>>>>>>> writing
>>>>>>>>> I seem to go into a different world.  I write about people who 
>>>>>>>>> are
>>>>>>>>> ill, some of my characters die and others fall into the 
>>>>>>>>> clutches of
>>>>>>>>> bad people.  If I say that blindness bores me, you might come 
>>>>>>>>> out with
>>>>>>>>> an arms length of causes for my symptoms.  However, a person 
>>>>>>>>> does not
>>>>>>>>> necessarily want to write about those things they live with 
>>>>>>>>> and rise
>>>>>>>>> above on a daily basis.  I am fat.  Writing about being fat falls
>>>>>>>>> under
>>>>>>>> the same category as blind.
>>>>>>>>> Live with it.  Fight against it as much as possible, but it 
>>>>>>>>> shouldn't
>>>>>>>>> dominate every facet of your life.  Again, you may think I'm 
>>>>>>>>> in some
>>>>>>>>> kind of denial, but I'm not.  I won't drive a car into a 
>>>>>>>>> crowd, try
>>>>>>>>> sewing a garment while it is on the back of my would be victim 
>>>>>>>>> and I
>>>>>>>>> won't pretend to read the paper when I can't even make out one 
>>>>>>>>> picture
>>>>>>>>> in the blasted thing.  Judith
>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
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