Great Conference This Weekend

[rightkindofme]

I took my kids to a writing conference this weekend because they had child care. It's been magical. I am talking to smart people about neat books! I'm talking to other writers about our systems and tweaks and things that help! It's so fun.

Yesterday I moderated a panel on overcoming internalized suppression as a writer. It was a rad panel. We talked about intersectional voices and why they are important. We talked about the differenced between internalized repression that other people want you to have and genuine safety fears. How do you learn to tell the difference? How do you know when it is worth taking the risk to your genuine safety because someone has to tell the truth? Marginalized communities take big risks when they reveal themselves.

Oh it was fun. :D I didn't get the good laughs.... I'm not a funny speaker. But people nodded intensely a lot when I was speaking. I'm more that kind of speaker. Intense. Some good points. Not so much with the funny. I'd love to bring the funny but I suck.

Work in progress!

And while I was at dinner I was emailed an invitation to come speak at an event at Stanford on Tuesday. That's in addition to the other talk I'm giving next weekend. Sustainable Ambition. How do you learn how to effectively determine what you truly can carry in a sustainable way as you work on your ambitions. How do you do time management. How do you do emotional management--it's important.

Right now, this month... this month is so fun I feel like I could explode.

 

[garden]

Wow, sounds really exciting. It's awesome that you are able to contribute to these kinds of dialogues, and that your experiences lend insight to such topics.

We talked about the differenced between internalized repression that other people want you to have and genuine safety fears. How do you learn to tell the difference? How do you know when it is worth taking the risk to your genuine safety because someone has to tell the truth? Marginalized communities take big risks when they reveal themselves.

Would love to hear more about this...

 

[The Albatross]

Laughs or not you got a lot of feedback from the listeners/audience while you were speaking. Very pleased and happy for you!

 

[rightkindofme]

Would love to hear more about this...

If you are a woman, or an ethnic minority, or from a persecuted religion, or queer or... there are lots of voices in the world that try to silence you because they are trying to support the status quo. Often this silencing isn't intentional and it isn't malicious. People are just trying to keep the world running in a way that works for them. Teachers participate in this to a crippling degree.

Almost everyone experiences that kind of situation. Everyone has been told not to talk about some things or anything or... There is a material difference between the voices that tell you that you "shouldn't" speak because it will upset the status quo and actual potential violence.

Throughout history ethnic minorities and queers in particular have been killed for writing. It is not ephemeral paranoia, it is a real thing. So it is important to understand the difference between being afraid because you are being threatened because you are in a persecuted class and... people may not like you anymore if you write. Those are big differences.

I think that there are different ways of dealing with them. If you are dealing with internalized suppression but you know that you are currently safe--I STRONGLY encourage people to push through it on their own and just do it. Just write. Yeah, those bastards don't want you to write but I desperately want to read what you have to say. Please, please write. I'm not the only one.

If you are threatened then... writing is a different thing. Before you can really put yourself out there you need to take steps for your safety. This is not paranoia. Pseudonyms are so common for good reasons. Make sure all of your contact with publishing companies goes through a Post Office box or an anonymous email account. If you are writing because gosh darn it SOMEONE HAS TO SPEAK and you know that people might kill you for speaking...

Give yourself space to cry. Find allies. Don't go through this alone. You matter and your voice matters and we need you so much. There are people who can help you. Finding them is hard. Don't listen to the voices that say silence is safer and easier so just don't rock the boat. The boat has to be rocked. It's not ok for people to live like this.

If people speak up against the truly horrifying things we can change them. As long as everyone is silent we can't even get a picture on what needs to change and how. Don't let them take your voice away. Speak.

 

[WildMermaid]

@rightkindofme Please forgive me as I get very tongue-err..keyboard tied especially when conversing with writers. Everything you've said resonates strongly and I wish I could bookmark the above post and reference it every single day! How wonderful that you spoke at the conference and how lucky were the people in the audience. Your voice rings true and clear, and you're an inspiration! I hope this month and all those that follow are filled with explosive amounts of fun!