Comments on: Guest Post: Lauren McLaughlin on Babies & Novels

By: Names, names, names … » Read, Write, Repeat.

Names, names, names … » Read, Write, Repeat. — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:43:08 +0000

[...] The names aren’t diverse. Schools today are much more diverse than they were when many authors were growing up. And unless you’re specifically writing a story where the cast needs to all be the same race, it helps to have characters who reflect the actual make-up of the schools where the book will be read. Obviously, no names belong exclusively to people of one background, but being conscious of why you chose the names you use and how they might be interpreted by your readers helps. For an enlightening look at author Lauren McLaughlin’s decision to diversify her books, read this blog post. [...]

By: Lauren McLaughlin

Lauren McLaughlin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:04:16 +0000

Thanks, Julia. I too share your hope. It’s important that we push ourselves as writers to reflect the world both as it is and as we hope it to be.

By: Diana Peterfreund Blog | What I’ve Been Up To

Diana Peterfreund Blog | What I’ve Been Up To — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:15:53 +0000

[...] blog vacation has made for some truly amazing guest posts. One of my favorites is the fabulous Lauren McLaughlin on how having a baby made her look at her fiction-writing in a totally new way. I really love the [...]

By: Julia Rios

Julia Rios — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:07:00 +0000

Thanks for this thoughtful post, Lauren. I loved Cycler and (Re)Cycler, and I think it’s worth noting that you included diversity other than racial and ethnic diversity in those books. The gender and sexuality themes you explored there are also important. I’m very much looking forward to reading your next book, and glad to see another person trying to write about the world as a place full of color. You’re right. I was in your hometown area yesterday, and it’s not all white anymore. I’m glad to see more people actively trying to reflect this in fiction. I hope that sort of consideration becomes the norm.

By: SF Signal

SF Signal — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:32:26 +0000

SF Tidbits for 2/25/10…

Interviews/ProfilesThe Agony Column interviews Laurie R. King (podcast).The Dragon Page interviews L.E. Modesitt Jr. (podcast).Dave Brendon interviews Paul S. Kemp and John Jackson Miller.Eos Books interviews Kim Harrison (video).John Scalzi’s The Big…

By: Lauren McLaughlin

Lauren McLaughlin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:10:18 +0000

Laura, your hair is indeed suckable. I caught Addie trying to suck her own hair, but it’s not long enough yet. Poor thing.

By: Laura White

Laura White — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:31:10 +0000

Great blog Lauren. Really enjoyed reading it. Your daughter is officially the best hair sucker on the planet (judging from my experience of hair suckers that is…)

By: Lauren McLaughlin

Lauren McLaughlin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:17:27 +0000

Hi Tansy. I hope you do get some time to just play with your baby without figuring out any “essential” stuff. Essential stuff can wait. Unfortunately, sometimes these epiphanies come at the most inconvenient times.

Working from home can be a challenge. I’m lucky to have a freelancing husband whose schedule is almost as flexible as mine. I also have a library that’s a ten minute walk from my house. I get loads of work done there. No distractions. Thank goodness for libraries.

By: Lauren McLaughlin » Blog Archive » Guest Post On Writing, Motherhood, and Race

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:45:21 +0000

[...] there! In the interests of promoting blog travel, today I’m posting at the always wise Justine Larbalestier’s blog. Drop in for a visit and find out what it’s like to [...]

By: Tansy Rayner Roberts

Tansy Rayner Roberts — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:14:17 +0000

Hi Lauren!

Thanks for a great post. I have also been experiencing the combination of babies and novels this last year – when my first baby was born, I had a thesis to finish, though not until after 6 months of maternity leave had passed, and my novel-writing had already been put on hold. This time around, I have deadlines deadlines deadlines, and while I didn’t work my way up to full tilt writing until Baby #2 was three months old (you make me feel like such a slacker!) it still felt like one hell of an adjustment.

I find there are many problems with working/writing from home in combination with a small baby, but ultimately I do think that motherhood and writing are jobs that can co-exist well, possibly (ha!) more effectively than either of them can be combined with other out-of-the-house jobs, though everyone’s experience is different!

I have a month long break of my own coming up once my book is delivered next Monday, and I have to say – while your revelation is exciting and inspiring and will undoubtedly make for a stronger book, I kind of hope I’ll just have a month of playing with my baby and *not* figuring out how many essential things are wrong with my own book, thanks very much.

Is it too much to hope that it’s perfect, just this once? After all, my baby is!