[Writer Post] Brewing Bruhahas

Welcome to Wednesday – all controversy ALL. THE. TIME. Yes, I should be writing. Yes, I should be ignoring the internet. The ignoring thing? Not happening.

The least of the controversies (and it’s not really) is the ever vocal “Standard Manuscript Format” which is anything BUT standard anymore. Every so often, there’s a pointless blow up over whether it’s ONE space or TWO after a period. The two-space rule is a holdover from typewriter days (which, yes, is when I learned to type, so I had to program word processors to take them out when single spacing became prevalent). There’s STILL people who hang on to that. Just like, in the Science Fiction world, Standard Format STILL requires Courier New fonts and underlines to indicate italics. But… Romance genres apparently slap people down for being so archaic as to NOT use italics for italics. Then it turns into a huge deal for anyone who believes (as I do) that following “proper” format is a sign of Professionalism. Then bru hahahas start. I remember one editor who railed on social media about how people didn’t send in stuff in “standard format” that a bunch of people jumped on (with links) about how THAT wasn’t “standard format”… so it’s crazy.

And speaking of crazy, let’s move on to the BIG controversy brewing now. The only statement I’m going to make on the Hugo Debacle… (Basically, I’m booking a space on Tracy Morris’s Nopetopus…)

Whether or not Sad Puppies did what they thought was right was ethical or not is not for me to say – it wasn’t against the rule, but that doesn’t mean it was right. The Hugos are a Fandom Popularity Contest – it’s ALL a game of one sort or another. Should they have distanced themselves from the Rabid Puppies? Absolutely, because as we’re seeing, there’s a lot of guilt by association. Yes, there are some vile people involved with Rabid Puppies who should not be celebrated for any reason, but they are fewer than are being vilified now.

However, the other side is not blameless. Boycott and vote down the vile all you want, but casting that wide net to shout down all who were nominated through the Sad Puppies? That’s not right either. Some of those authors and editors are perfectly qualified, perfectly professional (and former nominees in a couple of cases) who just happened to nominated through a process some people didn’t like. Voting NO AWARD before considering Jim Butcher, Toni Weisskopf, Kevin J. Anderson, or Sheila Gilbert just because of who may of suggested their nomination is just as wrong as any the Sad Puppies may have done.

The petty-ness of both sides. The fury over a nomination process that at times resembles a High School Homecoming or Prom Election is…disheartening. I know our industry and genre is trying to find its way in new, inclusive future – and as a woman, I appreciate that, but the way we’re going about it is not shining a kind light on us. And for a genre that is so focused on the future and space and infinite possibilities, seeing crap storms about “how things are done” and tradition and all the minutia just … there’s not enough energy in a black hole.

So I’m going to go write what I want to write. Hopefully I can find people to read it and enjoy it.

Tags: controversy, hugos, SF, Standard Manuscript Format, Writing