Review: The Witch's Familiar I think the Dalek loop is complete for the moment thanks to Steven Moffat. The Doctor has killed them, refused to kill them, transformed them, saved them, run away from them, and helped in a way, to invent them. Davros and The Doctor are the same and different. Scientist geniuses, the … Continue reading Doctor Who: Lying, the witch and wardrobe malfunctions
Month: September 2015
Authors Answer 47 – Portraying Cultures in Fiction
I’ve been thinking about this and it’s more complex than we realise. Every setting in a ‘real’ place has its own culture. I mean local customs and language idioms and expectations for behaviour and that’s even within one country or larger area. Then if we write historical fiction of any kind, the past is also a different culture, because simply, they did things differently back then, and believed in different things, and worked in different ways. I see the USA ‘South’ has having a different culture to other parts of the US. Where I grew up had different slang and mannerisms to where I went to university – so much so that some thought I was from a different country. Yet, there are enough similarities between groups that remind us that culture is overlaid across human experience. It enables us to imagine aliens of different species or to anthropomorphise animals. It’s because imagination is inherent to humanity (and who knows perhaps all life).
If you want a novel to come alive, you don’t want a generic group of people. You want some culture. Culture is an important part of life, and different cultures are often shown in novels, whether real cultures or fictional ones like in fantasy. But how do authors handle cultures?
Question 47 – How do you portray different cultures in your writing?
I don’t. I like to know what I’m writing about, so if I was to include another culture in my fiction, I would demand extensive research of myself. Research takes a lot of time, and time isn’t something I have a lot of… so… I haven’t, really, had any cultures in my writing that aren’t my own.
Great question. Doing this is tough. You have to be judicious and clever as you share aspects of different cultures, especially if you created them (such…
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Doctor Who: Told You So
AKA remembrance of things that might be retconned So yes, it's just like I said in my last review. Lo and behold, with The Magician's Apprentice we get the double bill return of Missy and of Davros. No sweating on slow burn mysteries, Steven Moffat is leaping straight into the big themes of the season: … Continue reading Doctor Who: Told You So
Doctor Who: Prologue-ic
The Doctor is almost here. It's been an epic wait. And for that we get a prologue. I have all the thoughts and no thoughts about this development. As a writer, I suspect prologues are for the artsy bits authors believe are too well written to throw out when editors demonstrate they're not needed for … Continue reading Doctor Who: Prologue-ic
A room right with WriteSpace
Part One WriteSpace: it's everything I had imagined a day devoted to writing to be. There were desks, comfy enough chairs, food and beverages, natural light, power, a thoughtful selection of writing resources for inspiration, and much kind service from our host. Quiet tapping on laptops is comforting. We happy few are getting work done, … Continue reading A room right with WriteSpace
Changing spaces
I'm going to a writing retreat. I won a place, which is nice, and I'm looking forward to it. Not sure of what to expect, or what I'll gain from it, but I hope something a bit writing related. It shouldn't matter where we write, but it sometimes it might. Sometimes, the household is full of … Continue reading Changing spaces