Tag: Toi Thomas

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IWSG

#IWSG Mar. 2023- Author Envy is a Thing #writingcommunity

IWSG

Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more or sign up.

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Optional Monthly Question: Have you ever read a line in a novel or a clever plot twist that caused you to have author envy?

This happens to me all the time. I don’t know how anyone who loves stories doesn’t feel this from time to time. Even if you are an avid reader with no desire to write your name on the dotted line, I think a small part of you wishes you had the creativity to come up with some of the things that make you love reading.

On the flip side, I’ve also had moments when I thought, “I can do better than that.” For me, it’s all part of the reader/writer journey. If I stop being able to appreciate the writing of other people, that’s a problem.

Still, even with a bit of author envy, I’ve never taken it too far. Yet, I’ve heard of other authors who’ve tried to sabotage their perceived competitors. I hope these are just rumors. Personally, I feel that most writers are supportive of other writers, but that doesn’t mean all writers are friendly. There are writers in this world I don’t like but I can still acknowledge whether they have talent and or creativity. I can still be inspired by someone I don’t like if what they’ve written speaks to me, whether in a positive or negative way.

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The IWSG Book Club Presents:
Falling Down Rabbit Holes
by Toi Thomas, images by Ronel Janse van Vuuren – first appeared in the IWSG March 2023 newsletter, additional images added.

It’s the year of the Rabbit.

So, what does that mean for the IWSG Book Club?

Well, did you see that Tubi Superbowl commercial?

This next book club phase is all about discovering rabbit holes in your reading. We want you to discover or re-discover the joy of reading through exploration.

As an additional tool provided by the amazing Insecure Writers Support Group, the book club will never lose sight of its original objective to help writers hone their skills. Plus, we still like having the option to spotlight the talents of this dynamic group. So, while some things will never change, it’s time to shift gears and remember why we all started this journey- the joy of reading.

We’ve decided to place the book club in a position of comfort and support, giving each member a chance to shine their own light on what matters most to them as a reader. We are keeping our craft books and member spotlight books but will only be hosting discussions every three months. This is a perfect opportunity for those who’ve wanted to participate in a group read in the past but simply didn’t have time to join in.

As always, we set up our discussions in a way that’s easy for anyone to participate in, even if they haven’t read the books. We are returning to our three-question format because people seemed to like it better. Sometimes the discussion is a good place to ask questions and learn more before committing to reading the book(s) if you haven’t already.

In addition to quarterly discussions, we’ll offer monthly activities and encouragement for members to pick and choose from, and perhaps, fall down a rabbit hole or two.

Each month we’ll offer a themed reading challenge where you call all the shots. All we do is provide the theme and some suggestions (which you are welcome to ignore). This is another opportunity to be part of the crowd but on your own terms. You pick your genre, your platform, your medium- it’s up to you. You could take the challenge each month or join when the theme calls you. (Sooo hoping to see some memes on this one!)

via GIPHY

Each month we’ll host a discussion called, “What are you reading?” This will be an opportunity to talk about the books you are excited about, apprehensive about, or reading for work/education. Tell us all about it. We want to know. Perhaps we’ll add one of your books to our TBR or provide you with some encouragement to get through a tough read. So go ahead, get on your soapbox, and let us know, “What are you reading?” (Wouldn’t mind seeing a few memes here either.)

via GIPHY

Last but definitely not least, in the grand IWSG tradition, we’ll host a monthly check-in poll allowing members to update the group on their reading progress. Perhaps they are taking the Goodreads Challenge, the book club challenge, or some other personal challenge or goal. Tell us all about it and we’ll be there to root you on.

Our first quarterly read is starting a little late but that’s okay. We have to start somewhere. For those interested in our quarterly spotlight reads, the first official discussion will be on April 27, 2023 (Yes, that’s 2 months, not 3 months, away). The featured titles are:

IWSG Member Book:
Spiral of Hooves: Goodreads | Amazon

Craft Book:
Fight Like A Girl: Goodreads | Amazon | Bookshop

The first themed challenge in the month of March is: Horse Crazy. Click this link provided to view the challenge and learn more:

So, whatever it is that you are or aren’t reading, The IWSG Book Club is here to offer you encouragement. Remember, you can participate as little or as much as you like, but we truly hope to see you around. We wish you all the best with every rabbit hole you dive into.

Now, on to the personal updates.

Long story short- I wrote a little, read a little, did some stuff, but mostly I lost a bunch of email subscribers when my subscription plan ended without notice. You can watch my WIP Update video on YouTube if you’d like to learn more. If you were following me via email, you’re not anymore. Here are ways you can follow me if you’d like.

EMAIL | FEEDLY | BLOGLOVIN | WORDPRESS

BLOGGER– enter the URL- https://etoithomas.com

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Here’s an idea I’m playing around with. What do you think?

Ever had author envy?
What do you think of the book club changes?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog.
My response time has gotten slower but I’m still making my rounds.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Diedre Knight,
Tonya Drecker,
Bish Denham,
Olga Godim, and
JQ Rose!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #28).

Thank you for making it this far down the virtual page. Kudos to you! I’d love to know what you thought of this post in the comments below. Stay safe and be blessed.

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About Toi

Controversy- Nothing New Here #cancelculture

I was recently asked to give my opinion about a controversial article by the person who wrote it. I’m not sure they knew what they were getting into. I don’t even know if my response was accepted since my comment came several days after the article was posted and some blog platforms have cut-offs for comments. In any case, below is the comment I submitted, even if it didn’t get posted (but it might have).

I want to be clear in stating that I personally do not feel that the person who wrote this article is a mean or bad person in any way shape or form. They have an opinion that is different from mine about this particular issue. This person does share my opinion about some other things. (It is possible for people to agree on some things and disagree on others.) This person is willing to be open and honest and have conversations that others would like to gloss over or “sweep under the rug” and for that, I admire her.

My response to her article is very one-sided, and I will not apologize for it. I am aware of what’s going on in the world and do not believe for a moment that “my struggle” is the only one in existence, but the opinion that I expressed was based on my gut reaction. It has not changed. If someone wants to point out global issues that I didn’t address in my comment, they are welcome to do so.

So, below you will see my response to an article (which you can find HERE) written about the film, Gone With The Wind. If you are not interested in reading any opinion that may not be exactly the same as your own regarding this film, please skip it. I’m not here to change your mind and don’t need you to try to change mine. You are welcome to leave a comment, but I will only be responding with the following statement, “Thank you for reading the post and sharing your opinion.”

Since this comment is being reposted here, I have cleaned up some typos, but grammatical errors may still be present since I didn’t want to edit my words too much. And while I don’t say this in my comment, Gone With The Wind (GWTW) is a work of fiction, an interpretation of events based on the historical past, but even HIStory is told from SOMEone’s perspective.

BTW- On a personal note, I’ll be attending an annual fashion show this weekend which raises funds and awareness for the fight against human trafficking. I may be posting about it afterward.

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“I’m not offended by this article, but I also don’t agree with it.

This isn’t something I haven’t heard before and I’m sure I will hear it again.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with appreciating GWTW for its cinematic historical significance, but I personally feel the movie is overly praised for its depiction of the Civil War south, which is only accurate from the white perspective.

I’m not saying that unicorns never existed, but I’ve never personally met a white person who has said that Roots was their favorite movie. Yet, so many people will defend GWTW if someone else doesn’t love it. I don’t care if someone doesn’t love Roots, but other people get emotional if I say, “I don’t love GWTW”.

If people wouldn’t ask me questions about this movie, I would never give it a second thought. I’ve seen it. It has entertainment value. It’s visually stunning and the story arc is complex and inspiring, but so are a bunch of other movies. Beyond the things I’ve listed, it’s just another movie about white people, for white people, that just happens to feature black people according to the period in which the movie takes place.

What it boils down to is the statement, “Slaves on the Tara plantation were generally happy and loved their masters.” That statement explains what’s wrong with this film.

Slaves can’t be happy. Yes, they can be content, optimistic, and have hope, and even be forgiving, but they cannot be happy. Slaves cannot be happy because they do not own their own existence.

Prostitutes don’t love their pimps. Dogs don’t love the people who keep them chained up and force them to fight other dogs just so they can live another day to do it all again. Rape victims don’t love their rapists. And slaves experience all these things and more, whether physical or mental. To say that “Slaves on the Tara plantation were generally happy and loved their masters”, undermines the millions of slaves who were treated unfairly and makes the assumption that just because Tara slaves weren’t mistreated that they were happy. Since when does a lack of mistreatment equate to happiness? (So, yeah, I’m not going to beat you but you can’t leave and need to do all my work so I can take it easy). If one slave is mistreated, all slaves are mistreated.

As long as, people watch this movie and think that the slaves were happy, black people will continue to condemn this film. Allies to the cause of true freedom will continue to fight against the glorification of slavery that this film represents. If the white community could come to a consensus and admit that this depiction of slavery is wrong, then maybe we all could view this film for its cinematic historical significance, instead of its part of the ongoing problem.

I have a high opinion of this blog author and this opinion has not changed, but that’s only because I stopped trying to get non-POCs to understand the POC perspective a long time ago. They will either eventually get there, or they won’t.

I was asked to offer my honest opinion and here it is.

Colleagues of this blogger have deemed me “an angry black woman” in the past, but then all black women are deemed angry in the eyes of white society if we aren’t smiling and keeping quiet. I don’t think this blogger sees me that way and I appreciate her willingness to express her true opinion even if I don’t agree with it. With her, and hopefully others, the conversation is at least happening.

I don’t think GWTW should be canceled, but I also don’t think it should be on a pedestal. It needs to be talked about.

Thank you, Denise.”

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Thank you for making it this far down the virtual page. Kudos to you! I’d love to know what you thought of this post in the comments below. Stay safe and be blessed.

Categories
Book Club

Is Book Tok a place you like to hang out? #iwsgbookclub

This is a transition month for the book club. In March we’ll be launching a new format for the book club activities but for now, we’re curious: Are You on Tik Tok? Is Book Tok a place you like to hang out?

Click the image to visit the poll.

Voting starts on: Feb 08, 2023, 09:00 PM PST

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Thank you for making it this far down the virtual page. Kudos to you! I’d love to know what you thought of this post in the comments below. Stay safe and be blessed.