Culture and Writing

Hello, today I wanted to talk about two major things that I'm studying/doing right now. The first of the two is about Culture.

I've started taking cultural anthropology and studying Deafhood (which dives into the culture of the Deaf). I am not a cultural relativist, I am far from it. Despite my views on it, I am learning a lot of interesting things about language development and other things that develop differently depending on the culture.

With Deafhood I'm having some problems with culture shock. Deaf culture is very different from hearing culture and that's going to be hard for me to overcome. And then you hear them raging against hearing people because of what we've done to them. As a result, I would end up exhausted on my short day. What I'd like in the class is transparency, for example, where are the sources for this information? (Students are required to cite sources, teachers should be held to the same standard) Was there anything that hearing did that was good? (If you constantly push the negative then you have the potential for jaded students.) Why is it bad for hearing people to help? Nurses don't get ragged on for wanting to help, why should interpreters have to put up with it?

With writing, I am close to the end of editing my 3rd chapter in my book. I am hoping to get it up in a couple of months. I am also still working on my prequel (When the roads ran red) and I'm unsure of when the first chapter will be up.

Thanks for reading!
(Questions, comments, advice is encouraged)
Sam

Writing Disabilities

Today I am talking about how to write disabilities. I am obviously no expert, but I think some of these things could help other authors with writing. (Published or unpublished)

I have two disabilities I have written before (unpublished/fanfiction) and I think there is always something to be learned about writing it.

1. Blindness.
You need to be very careful with how you depict any person with a disability. It can become very easy to offend people by acting like they are unable to do things. (Driving is a given but even some legally blind people can, technically, drive.)
The first thing you need to do is get educated on the subject. If you aren't informed you will come off the wrong way.
The second thing you should do is get to know the people. Go out of your way to meet blind people. Be transparent about what you're doing. Being honest is the best way to go.
The third thing you should do is read literature (fiction) that focuses on blindness. It will give you a general idea on how to write it.

2. Deafness
Again, you need to be extremely careful with how you depict any group of people. This applies for deafness as well.
The first thing you need to do with this is take some ASL courses and/or a Deaf culture class. This will help you become mildly educated on the subject. I would also suggest reading a variety of books on the subject.
One such book is called: Inside Deaf Culture. This particular book brings you back to the eighteen hundreds and earlier (if I remember right) and details Deaf culture from that point forward. I am currently a little more than halfway through it.
The second thing you should do is go meet some Deaf people. Take an Interpreter with you if you know you won't be able to understand. Be transparent about what you are doing, they will appreciate your honesty.
And the third thing is read literature that focuses on it. I haven't read much literature with Deaf people in it, unfortunately, but there is a Manga called A Silent Voice and is an excellent manga. I am very picky about what type of Manga I will read but that particular one is and always will be one of my favorites. I have read the first three and will soon have more on hold at my Library.

Thanks for reading. This just scratches the tip of the iceberg but I hope it can be of some help.

Sam

5th chapter

Hello! My last post was so short, I apologize. I know I have no followers and very few views, but I enjoy pretending like more people look at my stuff. (=

Today I started working more on the 5th chapter which is from Moses's point of view. I'll probably have at least three points of view in this chapter.

"I grabbed the guy's wrist the next time he came after me and twisted it until I felt it crack. His mouth opened in a silent scream of pain. I'm sure it wasn't silent, I'm sure it was bone chilling, but my lack of hearing helped with that."

So, with college starting up it isn't likely that I will get the next chapter out until sometime in September. I hope to be writing a little in my free time after all my schoolwork is done. I also hope to gain a better perspective of Deaf culture so I can effectively write my Deaf character. 

Thanks for reading!
Sam