BANNED BOOKS & REBELS

I might be wrong in guessing that most writers are rebels, if not out front, open and proud, then in the closet, but I doubt it. Respecting and nurturing your inner rebel is necessary to the writing journey, which has a lot of bumps, many of them in the form of others constantly telling the writer what to do. Well-meaning friends, readers, other writers and critics will always have an opinion about your work. Whether those opinions are good or bad, encouraging or not, should not be taken to heart, but viewed like snow on your shoulder soon to dissipate. Here and there, you might take hints about what direction to go in as a writer, but the meat and potatoes, so to speak, will always be yours to conjure, develop and serve. Trust your gut first and that precious guide that is your true best friend and teacher, your inner rebel.

Speaking of rebels, I will soon be moderating a banned book club and I can't wait. First on our list is Alice Walker's classic, The Color Purple. Other banned classics on our list include Lolita, Brideshead Revisited, and Fahrenheit 451. So many banned books are LGBTQIA titles and I so look forward to revisiting them and being surprised by new books too that I haven't read. 

Would your books be on a banned book list? If so, congratulations! Happily, my books are geared toward liberal-minded literati, queers, free-spirits and rebels, so they must be dangerous too! 

#writers #readers #blogger # literati #banned #bannedbooks #rebels #LGBTQIA 

   (Arya F. Jenkins photos)