Poetry and activism have long intertwined. This article explores that history and analyzes the techniques of activist poetry.
We’ll start with more recent history. If you’ve been on social media, you’ve seen the surge of activist content around BLM, Pride Month, and other important social issues like climate change and voting. The drive of activism is not only to enact change in unjust systems, but firstly to expose people to injustices they are unaware of. Poetry is an accessible art form, and has been detailing injustice for centuries. Poetry does three things well: Reaches an audience, Expresses emotion, and Draws attention to existing inequalities.
0 Comments
One of my favorite movies to this day is Almost Famous. It follows the dreams of a teen journalist, William Miller, set out to interview his first band for a Rolling Stone article. It’s his deep-rooted passion for music and writing that really connected me to the character. In almost a naïve way, I wanted to be in his place. It’s music journalism week in TYWI’s Nonfiction camp, and I’ll be sharing tips and steps to finding your first band interview.
Before we begin I should emphasize I’m from a very small-town, as in I-live-behind-a-cornfield kind of small town. So, it’s likely unnecessary to search through all the resources I provided if you live in bigger cities. Of course, I could be wrong, follow the advice that applies to your situation. Now onto some preliminary advice. What do you think of when you pick up a mystery book? A dark and stormy night? A dead body lying in a mansion? A moustachioed detective wielding an enormous magnifying glass? Many people have a stereotypical view of the mystery genre. However, excellent mystery and suspense stories rarely follow this fixed and tired formula.
Nowadays, crime fiction features more than a dozen subgenres, each with its own set of rules and reader expectations. There are even sub-subgenres! Authors such as Agatha Christie, Lee Child, and Liane Moriarty may all be plunked under the umbrella of Mystery and Suspense, but if you have read any of their books, you would know that their stories are worlds apart. There are books for every mystery fan. It’s just a matter of awareness of the different genres and which ones suit your reading (or writing) tastes. Let’s check out a few common subgenres, their distinguishing traits and tips if you’re interested in trying your hand at scribbling a story. Outlining Tips6/9/2021 As you sit down to begin writing your story or novel, a few important questions might be running through your mind: How does this story begin? What happens in the middle? How is the conflict resolved? These parts make up the basic structure of a story—beginning, middle, and end—but it can be difficult narrowing down your ideas.
Here are some quick tips to help you through the writing process as you embark on your writing journey this month! William Shakespeare’s works continue to leave an impact on the literary world after four centuries. Looking at Hollywood alone, you’ll see his plays being retold in film after film — “The Lion King” was inspired by Hamlet, and “10 Things I Hate About You” retells The Taming of the Shrew. When discussing poetry, it would be criminal to not mention Shakespeare’s influence, especially when it comes to the sonnet.
Quick Tips on Writing Homophobia6/7/2021 Recently, I picked up The Cruel Prince, a book that made it clear the sexual orientations of the characters did not matter. There were LGBTQ+ relationships in the background, and homophobia was only referenced after the characters entered the human world.
LGBTQ+ characters are vital in any novel (be on the lookout for a post explaining why!), but fantasy has a choice with homophobia. Most books set in the real world do not. Most LGBTQ+ people have to come to grips with homophobia, whether that be upsetting news about the consequences of being LGBTQ+ in another nation or living in an unaccepting area themselves. So, how do you write it? Inspiration in Writing6/6/2021 It’s 2am and you’re sitting on your bed, pillow against your back, laptop dimmed and a blank document lies in front of you. Your family is asleep and your life at school floats to the back of your mind. There is a soft aching in your chest, where your heart should be but you no longer feel its presence. You look out the window and it’s pitch dark, with only the grids of office windows alight. They form a pattern in the night, so distortedly assembled yet silently rhythmic. The hurting travels from your heart up to your mind. You are tired of being human.
Maybe that’ll be the first line: i am tired of being human. If you’re writing a book for the first time, especially from more than one character’s point of view, balancing your characters can be tricky. Have you noticed that all your characters sound or act the same? Here’s how to make them sound unique without being caricatures. Here’s how to find your voice.
Similar to tone, voice is the way an author describes things. I’m writing in a voice right now! A voice I hope is informative, casual, and encouraging. Almost every bubbly youth who has read Little Women can relate to the free-spirited, tomboyish, enthusiastic, and sensitive heroine of the timeless American classic. Jo March, however, was a lot more than just a rebel of the conventional ways and norms, she was well and truly the upholder of the modern, open, passionate craft of writing.
Writing Bisexuality6/3/2021 Creating an authentic character means putting in an effort. When it comes to bisexuality, I struggle to find books where I feel like a bisexual character is given a personality. Or worse, it’s highly eluded in their actions that they’re bisexual, but the canon never confirms these speculations. Writing bisexual characters doesn’t have to be hard, if the characters are developed. Also: The Young Writer’s Initiative, the companion group to JUVEN, is a great spot to get feedback from other young readers/writers for your project. And when in doubt, it’s okay to ask a bisexual person to look over your character’s interactions to see if they’re realistic or stereotypical.
Categories
All
Archives
May 2023
|