writing quotation from Toni Morrison

Writing Quotation: “It seems to me there’s an enormous difference in the writing of black and white women. Aggression is not as new to black women as it is to white women. Black women seem able to combine the nest and the adventure,” says Toni Morrison.

Question: Is it really an adventure if you’re still in the nest?

Toni Morrison’s writing quotation continues: “[Black women] don’t see conflicts in certain areas as do white women. They are both safe harbor and ship; they are both inn and trail. We, black women, do both. We don’t find these places, these roles, mutually exclusive. That’s one of the differences.”

Comment: In my Inspirations for Women blog, I do tend to separate finding yourself/pursuing your dreams from staying safe in your cocoon. It sounds like Toni Morrison is saying that black women writers pursue both adventure and security at the same time.

Toni Morrison’s writing quotation continues: “White women often find if they leave their husbands and go out into the world, it’s an extraordinary event. If they’ve settle for the benefits of housewifery that preclude a career, then it’s marriage or a career for them, not both, not and.”

Writing tip: Whether you agree with Toni Morrison or not (myself, I think it's a little stereotypical, a little too "black and white"), think about her ideas. Different cultures - even in the same province, state or city - give us different mindsets and perspectives. This is why kids raised by the same parents in the same household grow into totally different people.

When you're writing, consider how culture affects your readers. Culture can be narrowed all the way down to family, and broadened all the way out to country or even continent.