Writing ‘The Other’

By Diana Copland

I sat on a panel at Norwescon 2012. It was called ‘writing the other’, and its subject matter, loosely translated, was how a person wrote a character that was something other than they were, themselves. One of the panelists was a man whose main character was a lesbian. Another was a woman who was white, and her main character was a black woman. Another was a white woman whose character was an alien. And then there was me; the woman who wrote gay men.

Like all of us who write, I’d heard ‘write what you know’. I have to tell you, I’ve always thought that was a load of crap. If Jo Rowling had only written what she knew, Harry Potter and the rich, magical universe that surrounded him would not exist. George R.R. Martin has never been personally involved in a ‘Game of Thrones’. Stephanie Meyer doesn’t know any sparkly vampires. And George Lukas has never been to a galaxy far, far away. I think being a storyteller means finding a way to make our readers feel a kinship with wizards, or a teenage girl with a bow and arrows, or hobbits.

I’m not a fantasy writer. I have enormous respect for those who are, but it’s not what I do. I do, however, like to feel I can tell the story of two men falling in love, even though I’m a woman. The commonality between us would be the subject matter. Falling in love is exhilarating and painful and wonderful and awful, no matter what our sex. But I’ll tell you, when I embarked on writing Danny Redmond for the middle book of the Secrets of Neverwood Anthology, “The Growing Season”, I don’t think I’ve ever felt quite as removed from my protagonist before. The main reason was that, for the first time, I was writing someone considerably younger than I am. In fact, Danny is younger than my children. And that concerned me. A lot.

Part of the problem is people in their twenties now seem to speak a whole different language than I do. They’ve grown up technologically savvy, and the internet is their playground. I will never understand as much about technology as a twenty one year old. There are other things different about when I was twenty one than it is for Danny; music, clothes, rotary telephones. I thought about it long and hard, trying to decide what would be the best way to bridge the gap between Danny and me, so that I could write him from the inside out. And I realized the first thing I had to do was give us something in common.

I was a florist for 35 years. I know plants. If the house, Neverwood, was in dire need of restoration, I figured the grounds must be, too. If Audrey, Danny and his brother’s foster mom and the woman who left them her home, had cancer, there would be at least one growing cycle of neglect. It doesn’t take long for a garden to be overrun with weeds. Gardening would be a way for me to have something in common with Danny; I could make him someone who worked with his hands in the earth, who had a way with growing things. That would give him a tangible connection with Audrey, and it would be a way for him to contribute to the restoration of Neverwood. It would also work well with his desire to keep his distance from his brothers. Danny has his reasons, but he didn’t want anyone too close. Not even the handsome landscape architect who volunteers to help while dealing with family issues of his own.

Once I wrote Danny with a love of growing things, I realized that he and I had other things in common, too. When I feel insecure, I tend to be sarcastic. Danny takes it further than I do, but he has more reason to be insecure. I know about the damage left in the wake of abuse, and the things a person will do to in the name of self-protection. And I know about the healing power of love. Danny is a very pretty twenty one year old with a chip on his shoulder the size of Manhattan, but a mother with two grown children managed to find what we had in common, and to hear his voice.

So, I guess the conclusion I’ve come to is that story telling might just be an exercise in combining both ‘the other’ with what we know. What connects us as readers to a wizard, or a war lord, or a pretty gay boy with a smart mouth is our commonality of experience. We all know fear, and pain, and joy. And love.

Above all else, we know love.

About The Growing Season

The four years since Danny Redmond left Neverwood have been heartbreaking, and past mistakes continue to haunt him, even after he returns home. Together with two foster brothers he barely knows, he plans to turn the decrepit mansion into a welcoming place for runaways once again–the dying wish of their foster mother, Audrey.

Danny has nothing to contribute to the restoration, save for a gift for growing things. But his efforts to bring Audrey’s beloved gardens back to their former glory are complicated by handsome landscaper Sam Ignatius…and the feelings developing between them, despite their fiery differences of opinion. One voice gives him hope, the only one he’s always trusted–Audrey’s.

Danny comes to care deeply for Sam, but things look bleak when Sam’s city councilman father threatens to have Neverwood torn down. Why should Danny have expected the future to be different from his past? All his relationships end in disaster…

Available at: Carina Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks and Kobo

About Diana Copland

Diana Copland began writing in the seventh grade, when she shamelessly combined elements of Jane Eyre and Dark Shadows to produce an overwrought gothic tale that earned her an A- in creative writing, thanks entirely to the generosity of her teacher. She wrote for pure enjoyment for the next three decades before discovering LiveJournal and a wonderful group of supportive fanfiction writers, who encouraged her to try her hand at original gay fiction.

Born and raised in southern California, Diana moved to the Pacific Northwest after losing a beloved spouse to AIDS in 1995. She lives in eastern Washington near her two wonderful adult children.

You can find Diana on her Website, Facebook, Twitter or email her at Diana.copland11@gmail.com.

Diana has graciously offered up an eBook copy of The Growing Season to one lucky winner! The giveaway starts now and ends July 5, 2014 at 11:59 pm. To enter, click the Rafflecopter link below!

Rafflecopter Giveaway

Please be aware that the only way to enter the giveaway is to click the Rafflecopter link above. Any comments on this post will not count towards entering the giveaway, except to verify your Rafflecopter entry.

Don’t forget to check out Susan65’s review of The Growing Season to see what she thought of it!

Good luck!