A recent controversy in the writing world might make us wonder: What do the calls for better handling of diversity and inclusion mean for our writing and story ideas?

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What Do the Calls for Diversity Mean for Our Writing?

With the rise of self-publishing, we’ve probably seen books that label the content inside, but if we’re not sure whether we should consider using trigger warnings, Bran L. Ayres is here to share their insights and tips on why they’re important and how to use them.

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Should We Include Trigger Warnings for Our Story — Guest: Bran L. Ayres

If we write genre fiction, we might bemoan the lack of respect, but the same lack of respect occurs at the reader level too. Readers of science fiction, fantasy, graphic novels, young adult, and romance have also been looked down on. Many outsiders have attempted to make readers ashamed of their reading choices by judging by subjective measures.

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Subjectivity and Reader Shaming

At some point, we’re likely to run into negativity in our writing-lives. Feedback might be filled with cruel “give up” put-downs. We might be attacked by internet trolls. Reviews might rip apart us, personally, instead of focusing on our book. So the question then becomes, what are we willing to do to avoid it?

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How Do You Handle Negativity from Others?

This week is Banned Books Week, an annual event sponsored by the American Library Association celebrating the freedom to read. Many have already blogged about the political aspects of this event, so I’m tackling this issue from a less serious perspective. Sort of. *smile*

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Banned Books? Or Freedom to Write and Read?

The recent talk of watching what we say on the internet and being aware of our brand has brought up several ways people come to odd conclusions about us as writers. Despite all our work to ensure that our behavior supports who we are and what our brand is, people will always form their own impressions.

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Author vs. Characters: Can Our Morals Be Different?

This must be the week for me stepping into controversial topics.  It’s a good thing I’m still wearing my flameproof jacket from my last post on plot vs. character.  *smile* It’s been a while since Meghan Cox Gurdon’s article at the Wall Street Journal and her contention that young adult (YA) books are too dark.  I’m

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Should Books Have a Rating System?