Something I now think more about it is the importance of incorporating the voices of the people whose stories you aim to tell in a respectful way. It is hard to do. We talked about this with our discussions on Keene and Hartman. Although we didn’t agree on an exact way or guideline to do this, (because I don’t think there is a straightforward answer), it definitely is something to constantly think about. Specifically, I’d always thought about stories surrounding slavery and how they have become basically “trauma porn.” So when trying to tell stories of slaves or other people that haven’t been told before, it is important to consider voice. However, there are limited sources so it’s hard to fill in the gaps in history. I think this is an important conversation to keep having in regards to historical fiction.

The discussion around the James Baldwin assigned readings made me think more about audience. Specifically if something is written to be private or public. Or what it means if something is written to be private or intimate, but made public. This has made me think more about the audience for my project and how formatting (letters) changes the interpretation of the pieces. Also, this made me think about novels that are told entirely through letters because there’s a sense of intimacy and privacy because of the format, but it’s being read by a large audience. I would be interested in exploring writing through letters more in the future.

Question: In terms of writing, I wonder what types, genres, or formats are most effective in inspiring change amongst the everyday person? I honestly would be interested in seeing this as a psychology study.