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Novelists Writing Vs. Actual Childhood

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Norma EE @normajeanesays NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BROWN IN THE CITY: There was another shootout. The bullet holes pockmarked our school's brick walls. My chicas and I roll our eyes and snap gum in unison. We're all 7 months pregnant. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD IN THE CITY: I was at home, reading. chloe gong @thechloegong · Jan 28 NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP IN NEW ZEALAND: The põhutukawa trees were in full bloom. We went to the beach and talked about how nothing ever changes, bare feet burned by hot concrete. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD IN NZ: there is one mall to hang out at. the entire school is there. twitter.com/wenzlerpowers.. 7:15 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter for iPhone
Jen E 9/75 E @darlinginmyway NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BLACK IN THE SOUTH: Meemaw's hands were cracked and frail from the years of labor in the fields, but she still came home and fixed chitlins and biscuits every night. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD IN THE SOUTH: got rotisserie chicken from Publix Norma EE @normajeanesays · Jan 29 NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BROWN IN THE CITY: There was another shootout. The bullet holes pockmarked our school's brick walls. My chicas and I roll our eyes and snap gum in unison. We're all 7 months pregnant. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD IN THE CITY: I was at home, reading. twitter.com/thechloegong/s.. 8:23 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter Web App
N. K. Jemisin @nkjemisin NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BLACK IN ALABAMA: I drag myself outside to pick cotton before school. Whoops, the Klan burned our school. We learned to read from Jesus. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: Arguing with the librarian that theoretical physics should be called "math magic." DSydette @ ord camp NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP WEST INDIAN IN NYC : The herb wafted through the bleak morose concrete jungle of my crack littered hood blasting Bob Marley @Blackamazon · Jan 29 MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: I'm on a train . Forever . Over two bodies of water. Community Gardens are everywhere twitter.com/geekmelange/st.. 11:15 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter Web App
Sydette @ ord campD @Blackamazon NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP WEST INDIAN IN NYC: The herb wafted through the bleak morose concrete jungle of my crack littered hood blasting Bob Marley MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: I'm on a train . Forever. Over two bodies of water. Community Gardens are everywhere Queen Michi of Musubi, FIRST OF HER NAME SOn @Ge. · Jan 29 NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP FILIPINA IN THE MIDWEST: My family prays to the Virgin Mary constantly. No one understands winter. l'm never allowed to watch TV. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: We watched a lot of Star Trek, relatives wanted to visit in winter & we never went to Mass. twitter.com/Karnythia/stat. 1:21 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter for iPhone
Queen Michi of Musubi, FIRST OF HER NAME @GeekMelange NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP FILIPINA IN THE MIDWEST: My family prays to the Virgin Mary constantly. No one understands winter. I'm never allowed to watch TV. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: We watched a lot of Star Trek, relatives wanted to visit in winter & we never went to Mass. * Mikki Kendall @Karnythia · Jan 29 NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BLACK IN CHICAGO: Roaches were armed. Rats had crack in their paws. No cared if I lived or died. I dropped out of school at 9. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: Grandma made me eat vegetables and there were 18 people checking my grades. Including a coyote twitter.com/zlikeinzorro/s.. 1:07 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter Web App
Mikki Kendall @Karnythia NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BLACK IN CHICAGO: Roaches were armed. Rats had crack in their paws. No cared if I lived or died. I dropped out of school at 9. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: Grandma made me eat vegetables and there were 18 people checking my grades. Including a coyote @zlikeinzorro · Jan 28 Zoraida Córdova NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP LATINX:I got three degree burns making sopa de pollo with my abuela. The police came to our door and made fun of me. Tristeza means sadness. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: My brother ate my Dunkaroos what can l eat while Gargoyles is on? twitter.com/sarahnlemon/st. 12:56 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter Web App
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About • Origin • Spread • Various Examples • Search Interest • External References • Recent Images

About

Novelists Writing vs. My Actual Childhood refers to a snowclone which grew popular on Twitter in which people of various ethnicities post a parody of the way a novelist would write about their background vs. the experiences they had growing up, highlighting the humorous ordinariness of their own lives.

Origin

On January 27th, 2020, Twitter user @WenzlerPowers[1] posted a parody comparing the way a novelist would write about the American south vs. their lived experience, gaining over 5,000 retweets and 64,000 likes (shown below).


Wenzler Powers @WenzlerPowers NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP IN THE SOUTH: The heat hung like molasses in the air as we headed to the pond. We set down our poles, stripped down to our under stuff, and jumped on in. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD IN THE SOUTH: got called gay for crying during "Hardball" again today 8:30 PM · Jan 27, 2020 · Twitter for iPhone

Precursor

Jeanine Cummins' American Dirt was published on January 21st, 2020. American Dirt, tells the tale of a Mexican family attempting to cross the border to America to escape a drug cartel. Though the book was released with a large amount of hype, it drew criticism from reviewers who felt that Cummins, a white woman, did a poor job representing Latino culture. This was parodied in the Writing My Latino Novel snowclone on Twitter, which imagined a white person writing an inauthentic novel about Latino culture by littering the work with clichés about Latino people.

Spread

After the WenzlerPowers tweet, other users added their own spin to his format. For example, user @sjaejones[2] posted a tweet that gained over 410 retweets and 4,600 likes (shown below, left). User @zlikeinzorro[3] posted an example that gained over 430 retweets and 4,300 likes (shown below, right). The trend was covered by Twitter Events.[4]

S. Jae-Jones (JJ) @sjaejones NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP IN LA: After class we pulled on our wetsuits and headed out to the beach to catch some waves before driving up the 101 in our sporty convertibles. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: Never going to the beach because parking was too expensive. Wenzler Powers @WenzlerPowers Jan 27 NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP IN THE SOUTH: The heat hung like molasses in the air as we headed to the pond. We set down our poles, stripped down to our under stuff, and jumped on in. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD IN THE SOUTH: got called gay for crying during "Hardball" again today Show this thread 6:21 PM · Jan 28, 2020 · Twitter for iPhone

Various Examples


Mikki Kendall @Karnythia NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BLACK IN CHICAGO: Roaches were armed. Rats had crack in their paws. No cared if I lived or died. I dropped out of school at 9. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: Grandma made me eat vegetables and there were 18 people checking my grades. Including a coyote @zlikeinzorro · Jan 28 Zoraida Córdova NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP LATINX:I got three degree burns making sopa de pollo with my abuela. The police came to our door and made fun of me. Tristeza means sadness. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: My brother ate my Dunkaroos what can l eat while Gargoyles is on? twitter.com/sarahnlemon/st. 12:56 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter Web App
Queen Michi of Musubi, FIRST OF HER NAME @GeekMelange NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP FILIPINA IN THE MIDWEST: My family prays to the Virgin Mary constantly. No one understands winter. I'm never allowed to watch TV. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: We watched a lot of Star Trek, relatives wanted to visit in winter & we never went to Mass. * Mikki Kendall @Karnythia · Jan 29 NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BLACK IN CHICAGO: Roaches were armed. Rats had crack in their paws. No cared if I lived or died. I dropped out of school at 9. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: Grandma made me eat vegetables and there were 18 people checking my grades. Including a coyote twitter.com/zlikeinzorro/s.. 1:07 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter Web App
Sydette @ ord campD @Blackamazon NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP WEST INDIAN IN NYC: The herb wafted through the bleak morose concrete jungle of my crack littered hood blasting Bob Marley MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: I'm on a train . Forever. Over two bodies of water. Community Gardens are everywhere Queen Michi of Musubi, FIRST OF HER NAME SOn @Ge. · Jan 29 NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP FILIPINA IN THE MIDWEST: My family prays to the Virgin Mary constantly. No one understands winter. l'm never allowed to watch TV. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: We watched a lot of Star Trek, relatives wanted to visit in winter & we never went to Mass. twitter.com/Karnythia/stat. 1:21 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter for iPhone
N. K. Jemisin @nkjemisin NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BLACK IN ALABAMA: I drag myself outside to pick cotton before school. Whoops, the Klan burned our school. We learned to read from Jesus. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: Arguing with the librarian that theoretical physics should be called "math magic." DSydette @ ord camp NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP WEST INDIAN IN NYC : The herb wafted through the bleak morose concrete jungle of my crack littered hood blasting Bob Marley @Blackamazon · Jan 29 MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: I'm on a train . Forever . Over two bodies of water. Community Gardens are everywhere twitter.com/geekmelange/st.. 11:15 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter Web App
Jen E 9/75 E @darlinginmyway NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BLACK IN THE SOUTH: Meemaw's hands were cracked and frail from the years of labor in the fields, but she still came home and fixed chitlins and biscuits every night. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD IN THE SOUTH: got rotisserie chicken from Publix Norma EE @normajeanesays · Jan 29 NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BROWN IN THE CITY: There was another shootout. The bullet holes pockmarked our school's brick walls. My chicas and I roll our eyes and snap gum in unison. We're all 7 months pregnant. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD IN THE CITY: I was at home, reading. twitter.com/thechloegong/s.. 8:23 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter Web App
Norma EE @normajeanesays NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BROWN IN THE CITY: There was another shootout. The bullet holes pockmarked our school's brick walls. My chicas and I roll our eyes and snap gum in unison. We're all 7 months pregnant. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD IN THE CITY: I was at home, reading. chloe gong @thechloegong · Jan 28 NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP IN NEW ZEALAND: The põhutukawa trees were in full bloom. We went to the beach and talked about how nothing ever changes, bare feet burned by hot concrete. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD IN NZ: there is one mall to hang out at. the entire school is there. twitter.com/wenzlerpowers.. 7:15 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter for iPhone

Search Interest

Unavailable

External References

[1] Twitter – @wenzlerpowers

[2] Twitter – sjaejones

[3] Twitter – @zlikezorro

[4] Twitter Events – "https://twitter.com/zlikeinzorro/status/1222342297804857344

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A snowclone where people of various ethnic backgrounds parody the way authors write about their childhood vs. their personal experiences.

Novelists Writing Vs. Actual Childhood

Part of a series on American Dirt. [View Related Entries]

Updated Jan 30, 2020 at 03:02PM EST by Adam.

Added Jan 30, 2020 at 02:19PM EST by Adam.

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About

Novelists Writing vs. My Actual Childhood refers to a snowclone which grew popular on Twitter in which people of various ethnicities post a parody of the way a novelist would write about their background vs. the experiences they had growing up, highlighting the humorous ordinariness of their own lives.

Origin

On January 27th, 2020, Twitter user @WenzlerPowers[1] posted a parody comparing the way a novelist would write about the American south vs. their lived experience, gaining over 5,000 retweets and 64,000 likes (shown below).


Wenzler Powers @WenzlerPowers NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP IN THE SOUTH: The heat hung like molasses in the air as we headed to the pond. We set down our poles, stripped down to our under stuff, and jumped on in. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD IN THE SOUTH: got called gay for crying during "Hardball" again today 8:30 PM · Jan 27, 2020 · Twitter for iPhone

Precursor

Jeanine Cummins' American Dirt was published on January 21st, 2020. American Dirt, tells the tale of a Mexican family attempting to cross the border to America to escape a drug cartel. Though the book was released with a large amount of hype, it drew criticism from reviewers who felt that Cummins, a white woman, did a poor job representing Latino culture. This was parodied in the Writing My Latino Novel snowclone on Twitter, which imagined a white person writing an inauthentic novel about Latino culture by littering the work with clichés about Latino people.



Spread

After the WenzlerPowers tweet, other users added their own spin to his format. For example, user @sjaejones[2] posted a tweet that gained over 410 retweets and 4,600 likes (shown below, left). User @zlikeinzorro[3] posted an example that gained over 430 retweets and 4,300 likes (shown below, right). The trend was covered by Twitter Events.[4]


S. Jae-Jones (JJ) @sjaejones NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP IN LA: After class we pulled on our wetsuits and headed out to the beach to catch some waves before driving up the 101 in our sporty convertibles. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: Never going to the beach because parking was too expensive. Wenzler Powers @WenzlerPowers Jan 27 NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP IN THE SOUTH: The heat hung like molasses in the air as we headed to the pond. We set down our poles, stripped down to our under stuff, and jumped on in. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD IN THE SOUTH: got called gay for crying during "Hardball" again today Show this thread 6:21 PM · Jan 28, 2020 · Twitter for iPhone

Various Examples


Mikki Kendall @Karnythia NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BLACK IN CHICAGO: Roaches were armed. Rats had crack in their paws. No cared if I lived or died. I dropped out of school at 9. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: Grandma made me eat vegetables and there were 18 people checking my grades. Including a coyote @zlikeinzorro · Jan 28 Zoraida Córdova NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP LATINX:I got three degree burns making sopa de pollo with my abuela. The police came to our door and made fun of me. Tristeza means sadness. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: My brother ate my Dunkaroos what can l eat while Gargoyles is on? twitter.com/sarahnlemon/st. 12:56 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter Web App Queen Michi of Musubi, FIRST OF HER NAME @GeekMelange NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP FILIPINA IN THE MIDWEST: My family prays to the Virgin Mary constantly. No one understands winter. I'm never allowed to watch TV. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: We watched a lot of Star Trek, relatives wanted to visit in winter & we never went to Mass. * Mikki Kendall @Karnythia · Jan 29 NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BLACK IN CHICAGO: Roaches were armed. Rats had crack in their paws. No cared if I lived or died. I dropped out of school at 9. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: Grandma made me eat vegetables and there were 18 people checking my grades. Including a coyote twitter.com/zlikeinzorro/s.. 1:07 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter Web App Sydette @ ord campD @Blackamazon NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP WEST INDIAN IN NYC: The herb wafted through the bleak morose concrete jungle of my crack littered hood blasting Bob Marley MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: I'm on a train . Forever. Over two bodies of water. Community Gardens are everywhere Queen Michi of Musubi, FIRST OF HER NAME SOn @Ge. · Jan 29 NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP FILIPINA IN THE MIDWEST: My family prays to the Virgin Mary constantly. No one understands winter. l'm never allowed to watch TV. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: We watched a lot of Star Trek, relatives wanted to visit in winter & we never went to Mass. twitter.com/Karnythia/stat. 1:21 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter for iPhone N. K. Jemisin @nkjemisin NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BLACK IN ALABAMA: I drag myself outside to pick cotton before school. Whoops, the Klan burned our school. We learned to read from Jesus. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: Arguing with the librarian that theoretical physics should be called "math magic." DSydette @ ord camp NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP WEST INDIAN IN NYC : The herb wafted through the bleak morose concrete jungle of my crack littered hood blasting Bob Marley @Blackamazon · Jan 29 MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD: I'm on a train . Forever . Over two bodies of water. Community Gardens are everywhere twitter.com/geekmelange/st.. 11:15 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter Web App Jen E 9/75 E @darlinginmyway NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BLACK IN THE SOUTH: Meemaw's hands were cracked and frail from the years of labor in the fields, but she still came home and fixed chitlins and biscuits every night. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD IN THE SOUTH: got rotisserie chicken from Publix Norma EE @normajeanesays · Jan 29 NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BROWN IN THE CITY: There was another shootout. The bullet holes pockmarked our school's brick walls. My chicas and I roll our eyes and snap gum in unison. We're all 7 months pregnant. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD IN THE CITY: I was at home, reading. twitter.com/thechloegong/s.. 8:23 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter Web App Norma EE @normajeanesays NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP BROWN IN THE CITY: There was another shootout. The bullet holes pockmarked our school's brick walls. My chicas and I roll our eyes and snap gum in unison. We're all 7 months pregnant. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD IN THE CITY: I was at home, reading. chloe gong @thechloegong · Jan 28 NOVELISTS WRITING ABOUT GROWING UP IN NEW ZEALAND: The põhutukawa trees were in full bloom. We went to the beach and talked about how nothing ever changes, bare feet burned by hot concrete. MY ACTUAL CHILDHOOD IN NZ: there is one mall to hang out at. the entire school is there. twitter.com/wenzlerpowers.. 7:15 AM · Jan 29, 2020 · Twitter for iPhone

Search Interest

Unavailable

External References

[1] Twitter – @wenzlerpowers

[2] Twitter – sjaejones

[3] Twitter – @zlikezorro

[4] Twitter Events – "https://twitter.com/zlikeinzorro/status/1222342297804857344

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