Class affects so much of life, and it’s galling how it affects how pleasant your work environment can be. I work at a university, so there are minute sub-stratas of classes in the staff. Your class is partially indicated by how much privacy you have. The top tier have large, Read more
In software development circles, I often encounter a sort of one-upmanship of difficulty. Who has written their program in the most painful, least assisted manner? I can say without equivocation, I started with one of the hardest editors you can imagine. No auto-indent, no text coloring, not even an undo Read more
Nyla requested this one, a post on mistakes middle class writers make when writing about working class people. And oh wow. If you’ll listen to me I will talk your ear off. Though first, obviously: I can only write from my own perspective. I know what it’s like to be Read more
I was at a con, talking to a lady who runs a grant program for under-represented and minority writers, and she said, “Oh you totally count. You’re still working-class in background, even if you’re white-collar now.” I demurred, and said I’d rather more needy people applied. It got me thinking, Read more
I’ve often found myself frustrated that the stories I pick up are always from the point of view of the starship captain and not the person who swabs the decks. Everything seems to be about millionaires and industry leaders, super-stars. Once I asked a writer why he didn’t write more Read more
When I started writing fiction, and thought of my potential audience, I knew who I wanted to appeal to: Everyone. Well, okay, that’s impossible, but I had this idea there was a sort of mass of “normal” people out there who were dominant. I should write for them, the normals. Read more
Ronald Reagan figured out a way to develop support for the right among the working class. It was brilliant in its simplicity: Lie. Pretend you already did. He spoke in his speeches about a silent majority of conservative Americans who wanted fewer social services, lower taxes, and a dogwhistle in Read more