Writing an Identity Not Your Own

This is a FANTASTIC book to help writers improve their writing craft, teaching writers how to better understand the harm of writing characters unlike themselves from their POV is not only harmful but will end in backlash from people who KNOW you don’t know anything about what you’re writing. It’s about accountability, and treating characters with the respect you would show the very people they represent.

I really enjoyed this read and believe it should be taught in classes and workshops if people need help getting out of their limited perspective. It puts into words just how limited our view of life is until someone else’s life and experiences affects our own.

Fantastic read.

Writing an Identity Not Your Own, is an informative book to help writers connect with the characters they create.

In this day and age it’s important when representing diversity, to write with care and knowledge.

This book will help in the beginning stages as you pre-write and start to connect with characters and the direction of your book.

You’ll learn about writing different race/ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, disabilities, nationalities, and more.

This process will help writers gain an understanding in writing other identities and how we need to give these characters the justice they deserve.

While this book was informative, at times could be difficult to understand or follow. However, I do recommend to all writers especially now more than ever.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

📚 PRE-PUBLICATION REVIEW 📚

"Writing An Identity Not Your Own: A Guide for Creative Writers"
By Alex Temblador
Publication Date: August 13, 2024

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Synopsis:

This book is a practical guide to help authors authentically write and edit a character whose identity is different than their own. Temblador discusses one of the most contentious topics in creative writing: crafting a character whose identity is historically marginalized. The book will guide writers through the pre-writing phase to the editing process so they can gain a full understanding of the complexities of writing other identities and why it's important to get it right.

My Review:

This book is a phenomenal resource for writers to utilize as they begin any new writing project! It's absolutely a book I will refer to, time and time again, as I'm creating characters and checking to ensure I'm considering the authenticity of each character's voice and perspective.

What I particularly loved, was the way that Temblador walked through the process step-by-step, starting with definitions and a basic understanding of terms used in the book -- wanting to be certain the writer begins this process from the most informed spot possible. I especially loved the section about unconscious bias, confirmation bias, and bias blocks -- so helpful!!

From there, the author includes a guide to walk the writer through the process of creating characters who are authentic and genuine. Temblador raises considerations that I'm not sure all writers would consider in character creation, and yet these considerations are SO IMPORTANT. I plan to use this book each time I'm preparing a character in a new project. The information is versatile for multiple genres and types of writing, yet individualized enough to work through on a regular basis in one's writings.

I'm grateful to Net Galley and St. Martin's Essentials for this advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review!! This one will stay on my bookshelf and be an important resource in my writings!

#NetGalley #WritingAnIdentityNotYourOwn
#AlexTemblador

I typically don’t read much nonfiction, but when I saw Writing an Identity Not Your Own as an ARC in NetGalley, I was intrigued. Anyone who personally knows me is aware I believe representation is important, and should be represented authentically. I had high hopes, and this book delivered.

Writing an Identity Not Your Own is an AMAZING resource for every person– while this focuses on authors/writers, I think anyone can read this and learn something new.

Something about nonfiction that has always bothered me was how dry the genre can be (at least to me), but this book reads like a story and isn’t dry at all– I was happily surprised. The book is broken into sections and the information is given in small chunks, which makes it very manageable to read.

Alex Temblador (the author) touches on so many important topics, and does it well. She makes you aware of stereotypes, tropes, gives you examples, exercises, suggestions, and so much more.

I want to stress that EVERY writer should read this– we all have biases and stereotypes in our heads that society has fed us, and this does a good job of helping you realize that.

Writing an Identity Not Your Own by Alex Temblador comes out on August 13th!

And thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of the book!

By far, this is the single most important book that EVERY writer should purchase. Not only does Alex do a deep dive into all the aspects of writing characters that you do not identify with, she also gives an inside look as to what is happening in the publishing world. I found myself hanging on to every word as she described (with wit and intelligence) the ins and outs of inherent biases that we all carry.

I also loved that she owns we are all flawed but that we must, as writers, do the research and seek answers because it is our responsibility to do so. I will admit that I am now questioning my own work in progress and wondering how the hell I'm going to ensure the communities I am writing about are a correct representation of them - I'll likely be adding even more sensitivity readers to my list!

Also, I've already pre-ordered this book for all of my writer friends - it's that good and that important!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What an incredibly important book! I'm so grateful to Temblador for writing this. As an author, it's important to me to include people different than myself in my books, to try to fully represent the world around us, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because I want my friends who are all unique individuals and many of whom are very different than me, to see themselves in my books and others' books as well. I also like that this book discusses issues of misrepresentation, appropriation, and stereotypes (per the back cover copy). I never try to write a main character who is an identity other than my own, but in. my real life, I am surrounded by all sorts of people, all colors, all genders and sexual orientations--I think it's so important to reflect reality in my books, but I want to do so in a respectful way that doesn't merely reflect stereotypes. While this is a constant practice, learning every day, I feel as though this book is an excellent guide book, a great start.

Writing an Identity Not Your Own is a much needed, eye opening resource. As a writer I learned so much from this book. Things I had not previously considered in my own writing. I highly recommend this book to writers of every type. Adherence to the advice and tools found in this book will save writers from heartache and possible legal woes in the future. This is definitely a book I will be adding to my library.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book.