tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post5277144040765861037..comments2024-01-26T10:20:37.836+00:00Comments on Diary of a Goldfish: 10 Things Fiction Writers Need to Remember About Disability (1-5)The Goldfishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213378454070776331noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-44129435406481067172014-08-29T14:56:23.446+01:002014-08-29T14:56:23.446+01:00The fact that there are few female disabled main c...The fact that there are few female disabled main characters stuck with me. It motivates me to write an awesome story about a kickass woman who doesn't focus on her disability but the story she has to tell. Thanks for the direction!Janelle Filahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08743237704560984222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-28798794586246630962014-02-17T03:46:14.268+00:002014-02-17T03:46:14.268+00:00Really enjoyed this, though think you're makin...Really enjoyed this, though think you're making some generalizations that could actually harm disAbled peoples' process.<br /><br />Some of us Do study our *acquired* impairments especially when disAbility itself is characterized as being something only horrible in the communities in which we come from. Know when i got my brain injury, i had to research it to better adapt & coexist to my "non-disAbled" surroundings. Too i had to do a great deal of educating others - so that i became something of a detective otherwise my accommodations wouldn't happen (with both disAbled & non-disAbled peoples)...healing.free.from.judgementhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17107217901490174745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-51943231126487029912012-07-09T21:53:14.236+01:002012-07-09T21:53:14.236+01:00Thanks for this! For anyone who loves the Kai Lung...Thanks for this! For anyone who loves the Kai Lung books, I want to mention that Ernest Bramah also wrote stories about blind detective Max Carrados. Although these stories are a textbook example of the "disabled person develops near-magical compensating abilities" genre, they are entertaining, well-written, and based on actual people that Bramah knew.John Galehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478899585526834264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-54356629286785061352012-07-09T02:12:30.842+01:002012-07-09T02:12:30.842+01:00There’s private investigator Vicki Nelson in Tanya...There’s private investigator Vicki Nelson in Tanya Huff’s Blood Book series who has retinopathia pigmentosa. Mind you, eventually she gets turned into a vampire, which clears up the eye problem Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-37064114989393819702012-07-08T19:43:46.573+01:002012-07-08T19:43:46.573+01:00Thanks everyone for the recommendations of disable...Thanks everyone for the recommendations of disabled detectives! I have read Dorothy L. Sayers (not all, but quite a few) and somehow missed the PTSD. Must have been a while.<br /><br />@Maijai - sorry, the spam filter ate your first comment, but sent it to my inbox anyway, so I thought it had published! Great to hear about your fiction. :-)The Goldfishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15213378454070776331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-39678756557631163352012-07-08T15:04:02.359+01:002012-07-08T15:04:02.359+01:00In addition to Ian Rutledge and Lord Peter Wimsey,...In addition to Ian Rutledge and Lord Peter Wimsey, there's another detective with PTSD after WWI: John Madden in Rennie Airth's dark, convoluted, brilliant crime trilogy: River of Darkness, The Blood-Dimmed Tide, and The Dead of Winter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-62183198192390153222012-07-07T20:03:49.230+01:002012-07-07T20:03:49.230+01:00Lord Peter Wimsey had PTSD after WW1 - it's pa...Lord Peter Wimsey had PTSD after WW1 - it's part of who he is but I think Sayers handles it well, better than many more recent novelists.Annenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-26726588433171700162012-07-07T12:49:04.714+01:002012-07-07T12:49:04.714+01:00I wonder what happened to my long comment?I wonder what happened to my long comment?Maija Haavistohttp://www.fiikus.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-82421621540502868962012-07-06T18:32:30.007+01:002012-07-06T18:32:30.007+01:00About the disabled character going bad meme, there...About the disabled character going bad meme, there was a disabled man in <em>EastEnders</em> who had a long-term girlfriend in Libby, one of the few genuinely nice characters in the whole soap. His time in the soap ended when he cheated on Libby by demanding sex from another female character in return for helping her with her exams, then when found out, accusing Libby of being his girlfriend only out of pity for his disability. This was completely out of character. I suspect the purpose was to puncture any sympathy for him so they could write him out of the show. Maybe they also wanted to demonstrate that (some) disabled men could have sex, but there were other ways that could be done.Matthew Smithhttp://www.blogistan.co.uk/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-69004462825168175052012-07-06T18:02:21.788+01:002012-07-06T18:02:21.788+01:00I've written a trilogy of cripfic novels (fict...I've written a trilogy of cripfic novels (fiction about people with disabilities) and the disability is central in the stories. I felt that was something missing in Finnish literature and literature in general. Of course the novels also tackle other themes and topics besides disability.<br /><br />Part #1 of the trilogy (published in late 2011) had otherness as the theme, part #2 was about life being on hold and #3 was about shame and secrets - all concepts that are familiar to most people, whether disabled or not, and explored both from the perspective of disability and other perspectives.<br /><br />My next novel will be about fears, some of which could also be considered disabilities (being severe enough that they restrict everyday life) while others are more universal (like the fear of death). It has become difficult to write stories where no disabilities are involved! Probably because most of my friends are disabled in some way, so it feels like the norm instead of a "niche".<br /><br />I've written an essay/article about writing disability fiction titled The Cripfic Manifesto, which was recently published in Breath & Shadow. <a href="http://www.abilitymaine.org/breath/spr12g.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.abilitymaine.org/breath/spr12g.html</a>Maija Haavistohttp://www.fiikus.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-21974175999221196792012-07-06T00:01:09.629+01:002012-07-06T00:01:09.629+01:00Yes! This! And THIS! And THIS!
Lois McMaster Buj...Yes! This! And THIS! And THIS!<br /><br />Lois McMaster Bujold is good at incorporating disabled characters into her stories--including as main characters! -- without making them "all about disability." They're simply people first and foremost. And yes, the disability usually matters and does shape their lives and characters in important ways. But many OTHER things that have nothing to do with disability *also* shape their lives and characters in important ways. <br /><br />Check out her Miles Vorkosigan series (sci fi) and the Sharing Knife series (fantasy). <br /><br />Thanks for the links to "Writing the Other" which also looks helpful.Andrea S.http://gdrl.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-74832311293580500542012-07-05T19:28:53.332+01:002012-07-05T19:28:53.332+01:00Another main character (policeman) with a disabili...Another main character (policeman) with a disability in stories that do not revolve around his disability: Ian Rutledge, in the Charles Todd novels, has PTSD and auditory hallucinations.<br /><br />I'll probably think of some others later...Katjahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14146656003138371520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-88183609299027992002012-07-05T18:39:04.279+01:002012-07-05T18:39:04.279+01:00AWESOME post! Of some relevance to point #4: July ...AWESOME post! Of some relevance to point #4: July is National Minority Mental Health Month... I wonder if there will be some awesome fiction floating around in July that focuses on non-whites with disabilities...!L capitanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06105570701427879602noreply@blogger.com