4-Week Generative Class: Writing Across Boundaries “A writer’s work begins and ends with empathy.” — Brandon Taylor, “There is no secret to writing about people who do not look like you” Should playwrights, novels, poets, non-fiction authors write about “the other”? Is this my story to tell? Don’t artists have the right—nay, the duty!—to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes? What happened to the freedom of speech? Simple-sounding questions like these arise wherever writers are gathering, often met by even simpler solutions. Based on questionnaires, peer responses, and even sensitivity readers, writers “give up on” or “defend” their works-in-progress as if our only options were STOP and GO. In this 4-week class, we will set aside the black-and-white of SHOULD/SHOULDN’T and hang out in the gray area of WHY? WHAT? HOW? …AND THEN WHAT? In this fertile terrain, writers of diverse backgrounds and identities will be invited to experiment, to challenge themselves, to try on new perspectives, to notice assumptions, and to tolerate uncertainty as a necessary part of writing and publishing. Through weekly writing exercises, discussion, and research prompts, each writer will explore the following questions (inspired by writings and talks on the subject from Matthew Salesses, Brandon Taylor, Alexander Chee, Kit de Waal, Mat Johnson, and Roxane Gay): WHY? Why do you want to write this particular character? What would change were you write the story from a different background? What, if anything, are you afraid to write about regarding this character? What assumptions are you making about your audience? WHAT? What is the history of representation of groups from this character’s background? What are common stereotypes of this group? What are your sources of information? HOW? How can you research your character(s)’ background or identity group? How can you make them feel as real as a character based on yourself? How will you approach possible reactions to your creation? …AND THEN WHAT? What do you see differently now than you did at class one? What are your next steps and questions? What happens when you learn something new? Writers of all genres are invited to participate in this interactive, 4-week, online class. Weekly class work will consist of ~1-2 hours of at-home writing, research, and short readings from writers of many genres, including Talib Kweli, Erika Sanchez, Matthew Salesses, Alice Oseman, Bryan Washington, Ijeoma Oluo, Min Jin Lee, Anna Deavere Smith, and others. Luke Dani Blue is on Instagram San Diego Writer's Ink on Facebook + Instagram
