@mynameismarines: #stitch with @astoldbyalahni ❤️‍🔥 I wanted to address a little piece of this video, but more broadly, my video is for anyone looking at SJM and wondering for themselves if they should write outside their identity. Here’s what I think #books #BookTok #authortok

cashkaez :

„when you look HISTORICALLY ON TIKTOK“ is truly a line😭😭😭

Dana Strider :

Sarah j Maas was racist from the beginning she was against Irish. she is so bigoted she went against other white people.

Princess Weekes :

And just to add in, you can be within a community and still not totally understand everything and still need to do research. Part of growing up in white supremacy is having to unlearn it over and over again.

Erica Lieberman :

I write the characters i see in my head. if that means I do some research to make sure they make sense then I do that.

Aleee :

Username554454545454 :

Artists are going to continue to create, whether you like it or not.

Katie 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪 :

The idea that writers should only write about their own culture feels like a very modern and very American constraint on literature. Much of the greatest writing in the English language exists precisely because authors imagined worlds beyond their immediate experience. Shakespeare wrote about ancient Rome, medieval Denmark, Italian city-states and kings he never met, yet works like Hamlet, Macbeth and Julius Caesar remain timeless because they explore universal human themes — power, ambition, jealousy, love, betrayal. If writers were restricted only to their personal cultural experience, literature would shrink dramatically. Historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and much of world literature would simply disappear. Good writing isn’t about identity policing — it’s about empathy, imagination, research and craft. The role of a writer has always been to explore the human condition, not to stay confined within the borders of their own biography.

tobie🍂 :

i think r.f kuang said it perfectly when she said “it’s less about who has the right to tell what story but how well you’re doing it” and that only writing within your own identity only results in boring autobiographies. writing SHOULD be creative and in any case if you’re putting anything out there, are you prepared to handle criticism if your work is not perfect, KNOWING it won’t be

xRootyTootyx :

Having to put myself into other people’s shoes and experiences to write them as characters makes me a better more understanding person

Evil Alastair 🕷️👁️🐑 :

YOU NEED ERROR AND CRITIQUE. ITS IMPORTANT TO GROW AS A PERSON.

Kyle Tan Webb :

I understand the idea of writing from experience, but I've always felt like not being inclusive in writing is a cop out because authors can write these sweeping epics, which clearly takes talent and research to put into words. So why not take the time to workshop your characters more and ask for opinions

Vampyr Bat :

there are sensitivity readers for a reason. and you can hire and pay for people to check you. our goal should always be to understand eachother and those who are different so that we may better advocate and help those who are different. the idea of you can never understand isn't helpful. because also marginalized people are not a monolith. and media and real life are different. and learning about how to accuracy represent other groups is always important. learning stereotypes and how to avoid them. is important. especially because most media is not made by one person. the more creative who can navigate a multitude of identities.

Keekers :

Doing research??? you mean my favourite activity ever??? I'm down

Mal Thee Highbrow 📚🎬 :

My question is, why is it so hard for people to hold both things?? You can enjoy a work and recognize it's more problematic elements as well as the authors. Acknowledging a weakness doesn't mean you need to throw the whole thing away, why do they act like critiquing a work is the equivalent to burning a author at the stake??

Dayakar Padayachee :

Write with empathy

Meu🍂🍃 :

“Moralizing the enjoyment” i really liked this phrase 👏

Nikolas/Niki :

As someone who is trans, I wish for people to write more trans characters, and I don't mind, if the author is queer or not. If you write a character, that's truly a character and not just there for being inclusive, I am happy. Do research, or at least try to sometimes reflect, how you wrote certain groups. Are the characters just there for being inclusive, or do they have beliefs and are a valid characters

WyldfirehydrantVT :

it's fine for authors to write diversity and inclusiveness for their story, as long as they do the research and treatment with respect then it's fine

julia :

suzanne collins did a great job with this i think

Charlie :

It’s also frustrating how ppl act like criticism = ppl hating on you/your story. Audiences can be harsh, but they also try to look at works from a holistic view. If the overall work is fine, ppl will move past it. I think Frank Herbert’s Dune is an example of this

Nyxis :

if I'm writing and including groups I'm not apart of, then i do research. simple as that. i ask questions from friends that are parts of those groups.

stephinetly :

I think Shanon Chakraborty is a good example of a white woman writing outside their identity with intention and doing a good job. She does share part of the identity but she's also spent decades researching and making sure shes representing the topic accurately

ally :)) :

i feel like people forget like it’s okay to search up things you may not know about a culture/group of people. you aren’t expected to know every single thing about every person on earth but doing a little bit of research to broaden your perspective is so awesome i’m creating a slice of life story with a bunch of children of immigrants and learning about those other cultures has been the best time i’ve ever had writing

Andy :

This is damned if you do damned if you don't. It is true though that many stories are better when you right what you know rather than shoe horn in what you don't. Like friends creator wrote from experience and that's why it's good.

bita 🖋️📚 :

thank youuuu for this because im currently being snapped at on threads because of this and i feel insane i forgot her fans were so defensive 😭 i agree with everything you’ve said and you put it so well.