During vacation I spent time around lots of other people. I should, I suppose, clarify. Although writers need time alone, I really spend little of my working day, and what’s left of the day, among regular people. There are the people at work, but they hardly count. What stood out to me on vacation was just how many people have what used to be termed disabilities. Spending a few days in a crowd, it become clear that many people have difficulty getting around, or are missing limbs, or have mental illnesses. It occurred to me that it is difficult to write about people with disabilities. I fully realize this is a personal bias, but when I think of characters, I tend to think of people from the perspective with which I’m familiar. I do sometimes write from a female perspective, most of my characters are from my ethnic background and are, according to current views, not disabled. The few times I’ve tried to incorporate different ethic backgroun...
Blog of a struggling writer.