Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2012 3:59:54 GMT -5
I have read an article and spoken to a wheeler with CP, that have both said about how they would like to see disabled characters in a story which does not overly draw attention to the disability. Basically the story doesn’t centre around their disability.
“We also need books that include disabled people as heroes and heroines alongside the rest of the characters, without any reference to the fact that they happen to be disabled” Alexandra Strick, a book consultant.
How does this work then? ….. Do you just describe a character using crutches or a wheelchair without going into the details of why. And isn’t the why a natural default question most people think when they come across someone using mobility equipment?
A children’s author countered this by saying “ I have a real concern that should popular authors attempt to write about something which they know little or nothing about, the effect could be counter-productive. The people best placed to write on this subject are disabled people themselves… More significantly, it should still be realised that disabled children are different from their able-bodied peers. They are not the same as “normal” children. Being disabled is very complex and personal attribute, which affects every disabled child differently.” Tony Seymour from the Writers Forum #132.
I just have been thinking about this….
|
|
|
|
Post by ruthmadison on Sept 21, 2012 6:35:52 GMT -5
I agree with Ms. Strick. I think it would be great to have more stories where the disability is not the central story.
To me this means that the character has a disability and its effects are described, but the plot of the story doesn't revolve around them having the disability.
Now, in a romance that is difficult! Because the disability is an issue to be dealt with as the characters are falling in love.
With what I've read of the Evan mystery novels, Jesse's character's disability doesn't have too much attention drawn to it.
It's all well and good to have some books about the experience of waking up in a hospital, adjusting to being disabled, going through rehab. But right now that's pretty much all that we've got!
I think it would be fine in these books for the nature of the injury to come up or for someone to ask the person who was born disabled and for them to explain, but the thrust of the plot and conflict is generated by something else.
If you have a disabled character, the fact that he is disabled does not need to BE the plot.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ximena on Sept 21, 2012 7:59:38 GMT -5
Ruth, I was also thinking of Jesse Blackburn as an example of a character in a novel where the disability isn't the primary focus... However, I think "ignoring" the disability and the issues that arise from it is a situation you often see in poorly written, poorly researched books and films. Part of what makes Jesse so awesome and work so well is that Meg Gardiner doesn't ignore his disability--it might not be the main plot, but she doesn't gloss over the fact that he has SCI. Still, that doesn't prevent him from being a badass and saving Evan's ass every time  ! He might not be your "typical" hero, he may have to figure out different ways to do things, but he does them, with awesomeness. (Can you tell I'm in love with him?) This is why he feels so real as a character, I think. I love this quote that Jesse says in CROSSCUT: I think characters like Jesse should be the goal. "Normal" (like you could call Jesse normal!) people who happen to have disabilities. Yes, their disabilities are part of their life, but it isn't the only part. |
|
|
|
Post by ruthmadison on Sept 21, 2012 9:59:50 GMT -5
Ximena, exactly! I think it shouldn't be entirely ignored as the one article suggests. Just not too fixated on (except in romance some fixation is normal).
Lucretia, I've been reading Outlander to my boyfriend and he loves to make fun of how many times she describes Jamie's hair and its color!
I just interviewed the author of A Life Worth Living, which is very accurate in its disability details. Turns out she did it all from research and talking to people! I was impressed (Interview won't be up on site until Monday).
|
|
|
|
Post by dolly on Sept 21, 2012 10:39:48 GMT -5
well, as a dev... i love the details and focus!  i'm always disappointed when that aspect is glossed over (or is inaccurate). i do wish there were more movies, tv shows etc. with disabled actors/characters where the disability is not the focus or a big deal. that is something i feel very strongly about. but as a dev, reading a book... i'd be disappointed and annoyed if the details weren't there.  however, it definitely doesn't need to be the focus of the story. it would be awesome to have more fiction about other topics featuring disabled characters. as an example, off the top of my head (and i've only read one of the books so i am just going by that one), the jeffery deaver books featuring lincoln rhyme seem like they may straddle that line quite well? Honestly, I think I want to punch the children's author in the face, even if he/she has a point in there somewhere. Of course disabled children ARE like ''normal'' children. Even that sentence makes a distinction and creates an ''us vs. them'' mentality. And saying that only disabled authors should write about disability is like saying only women should write about women, men about men, race about race... and is patently ridiculous. There is a little thing called research. Helloooo...? yes. |
|
|
|
Post by ruthmadison on Sept 21, 2012 10:53:08 GMT -5
well, as a dev... i love the details and focus! i'm always disappointed when that aspect is glossed over (or is inaccurate). i do wish there were more movies, tv shows etc. with disabled actors/characters where the disability is not the focus or a big deal. that is something i feel very strongly about. but as a dev, reading a book... i'd be disappointed and annoyed if the details weren't there. however, it definitely doesn't need to be the focus of the story. it would be awesome to have more fiction about other topics featuring disabled characters. as an example, off the top of my head (and i've only read one of the books so i am just going by that one), the jeffery deaver books featuring lincoln rhyme seem like they may straddle that line quite well? The first book is good for it, but with each book that goes by there's less and less about his disability. By the fifth book, I didn't feel like there was anything! I'm reading 400 pages of forensic thriller for a paragraph of dev material. Sigh. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2012 10:56:56 GMT -5
Ruth i really love outlander or when i read it it was called cross stitch. Jamie is an unbeatable male mc for me and my yardstick. I was just thinking about the Bone Collector where his disability is a main storyline but yet balanced well and intertwined well with the thriller component. But novels should be realistic and in life when you Have a person with a disability in your group it is a consideration eg advanced planning if somewhere is assessible so to have a character with disablities and ignore the extra dimension that the disablity brings would seem wrong to me.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ximena on Sept 21, 2012 11:09:43 GMT -5
But novels should be realistic and in life when you Have a person with a disability in you group it is a consideration Eg advanced planning if somewhere is assessible so to have a character With disablities and ignore the extra dimension that the disablity brings would seem wrong to me. EXACTLY. That's why I appreciate Meg Gardiner's handling of Jesse so much. Too many books will have a guy with SCI but gloss over important issues of how he got in a certain place or whatever. To me, that doesn't strike of "overlooking" the disability but lack of research and/or lazy writing. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2012 12:28:30 GMT -5
Oh some of the moments is Bone Collector had me screaching at the book I so wanted them to get it on... they were sooo right for each other.
I actually do get strong dev feelings with Outlander and I think the sequal as he is badly injured quite a few times and that it why I have read and reread it. Sigh....
|
|
|
|
Post by ruthmadison on Sept 21, 2012 13:59:17 GMT -5
Oh some of the moments is Bone Collector had me screaching at the book I so wanted them to get it on... they were sooo right for each other. I actually do get strong dev feelings with Outlander and I think the sequal as he is badly injured quite a few times and that it why I have read and reread it. Sigh.... OHHHH. That explains it. I keep having devs recommending Outlander to me and so far there's nothing devy except some scars. lol. Not that Jamie isn't sexy, he is, but it wasn't as devy as I was thinking it would be. Maybe it's the sequel that I need. |
|
|
|
Post by devogirl on Sept 30, 2012 19:32:08 GMT -5
If you have a disabled character, the fact that he is disabled does not need to BE the plot. ^^^^ THIS^^^^^ Thank you Ruth for putting it in words so succinctly. I love the details and focus, but I am so sick of the same few plots being recycled over and over by writers with no clue how cliched they're being. I don't want to read another injury/recovery story. I don't want to read another romance between a blind guy and a girl with a scarred face. I don't want to read about another hero who feels he must refuse the heroine's advances because he is disabled, or who feels he can't have children because he is disabled. I don't want to read another story about a recently blinded guy and a girl who tricks him about her identity, ugh, those are the WORST. Seriously, are those the only stories you can tell about a disabled guy? WTF writers? I was just looking at new releases on Amazon, and it's just the same shit over and over. |
|
|
|
Post by Ximena on Sept 30, 2012 20:54:16 GMT -5
If it helps, that's not what any of my books are about! |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2012 1:29:33 GMT -5
I don't want to read about another hero who feels he must refuse the heroine's advances because he is disabled, I agree, Devogirl, except for this one as it was a topic recently visited on here and discussed and is quite interesting topic but agreed it usually is dealt with in a very simplistic way by authors. I have to say that I do love Aurora because RyooT has written something completely fresh and I am quite frankly envious that my imagination didn't come up with it |
|
|
|
Post by devogirl on Oct 1, 2012 7:39:35 GMT -5
Yes! I know I'm not being fair because there are so many great dev authors here who are not writing cliched crap like that. I'm so excited for us to make the leap from posting online to publishing with Ruth's imprint. Maybe we will make a difference. I just get so discouraged, not only seeing the new releases that are just more of the same old crap, but all with glowing reviews as if the author had come up with a brilliant and original idea, like this one: amzn.com/B007VPVAP6What initially got me thinking about this was Ruth's interview with Lorrie Kruse on her blog. When Ruth asked her where she got the idea to write A Life Worth Living, she said, "I was trying to come up with what I hoped to be a creative way to get a man and a woman together. I thought that it might be interesting if a man fell in love with his physical therapist, which led to why does he need a physical therapist, which had me then creating the reason. " Ok, so it sounds like she still managed to write a good, accurate book, despite not knowing anything about SCI at the outset, because she was careful about doing research. But it seems that 99% of romance authors have the same inspiration-- "I know! What if he had....a disability?" believing that no one had ever thought of that before. It's not just that they don't bother to get the details right, but they don't even realize from the start that it's not an original idea, and the disability gets reduced to a plot device, the thing that keeps the hero and heroine apart. |
|
|
|
Post by ruthmadison on Oct 1, 2012 9:03:53 GMT -5
So true! Same stories over and over and over. And sometimes they are done really well, but I'm really ready for something new!
|
|
! He might not be your "typical" hero, he may have to figure out different ways to do things, but he does them, with awesomeness. (Can you tell I'm in love with him?) This is why he feels so real as a character, I think.
i'm always disappointed when that aspect is glossed over (or is inaccurate).
