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NaNoWriMo: What is it?

Put the ice queens, princesses, witches, monsters, pirates, Doctors, and whatever other costume the kids wore away.  Halloween is almost ove...

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Rambling of Current Events to Unknown

With all the unrest in the United States, I couldn't help but wonder about a few things this week. First, I guess I should explain a small thing, at least, small to me. I don't pay as much attention to current events as I should. It's not just that I don't have television, either. I just got tired of trying to watch the news as a kid for more of the important events and finding glorified horror stories. Quite honestly, if you're a writer and need a plot bunny, you likely don't need to go much further than the evening news.

The next thing I should explain is that when it comes to Facebook or social media of any kind, I am the least likely of persons to actually use said outlet effectively. I use Facebook as an example, but the same is true of Twitter and any other social media site I have an account with. It's not because I don't wish to connect with other people, though. I just don't heave enough time in a day for everything I want to do as well as need to do. And even though I'm of the generation that can still add, subtract, multiply, and divide using either pan and paper or a calculator; I'm not as computer savvy as people seem to think.

When users on Facebook used a rainbow filter on their profile pics back when the United States legalized same-sex marriages, I did not. It's not because I have a thing against it either. No, I honestly believe that so long as a person believes themselves in love with another person they should be allowed to be together in marriage if that's what they truly want. I'm just to lazy to edit a profile pic that shows support to something I'm just not paying attention to in the news because I have too many other things to worry about(like Christmas gifts for numerous nieces and a few nephews!)

So, after explaining that no, I'm not current events aware and that most of my information is minimum secondhand (though more likely fifthhand...) I must admit I started wondering why people have to be politically correct. And by politically correct, I mean the BS of speaking the “correct” term to describe someone's description. If I said a black man did something or claimed that someone is black because that is the color I perceive their skin to be or that someone appeared Asian by look, suddenly I'm prejudiced, according to some. These are most likely the extremists, but it colors our whole way of communicating.

The biggest thing on my mind was when did we decide saying the truth was so offensive as to reasonable grounds to call someone else prejudiced? It's not like we weren't all raised differently based on the values of those who raised us. Our experiences also likely changed our opinions as well as what we've read and watched through various forms of media. I started rewatching some old shows and I've found that when some of these shows have a strong female character, they don't make them realistic. Some books or short stories are the same. If you read fanfiction, I'm sure you've noticed that some of the characters are taken to the extreme “never wrong” standpoint. This actually annoys me and I find myself enjoying shows that center on males.

This is not the way things should be. Yes, jokes about women or blacks or gays are going to be commonplace. Just as jokes about Pollocks, geeks, blondes, and moms (I've heard numerous relating to all of these over my 29 years of life, and don't find them offensive if delivered in a way that indicates the joker is actually telling a joke) are abundant. However, when I'm reading a story or watching as a story unfolds on a screen of any kind, I want to be able to relate to the characters personalities. I referenced a quote in an earlier blogpost, Tyranny through Shamefor what we Read?, about YA reading defenders admitting that part of the enjoyment of reading YA had to to with escapism. I could not and still cannot nor will I argue this point. I agree with it. Lucky for me, this particular point plays to my advantage in this post.

When I read or watch something, yes, by now I'm very well away of what the ending is likely to be. The guy and girl end up together, the villain is defeated, and everyone lives happily ever after. Or at least that is the general premise for most stories. Sometimes it's annoying. Today I find myself looking for the romances that people seemed to fall into with their personalities rather than their hearts (mostly catered to in fanfiction.) I've started looking for more in relationships that are meant to only be either close friendships, frenemy status, or sibling-like. I'm not saying it's wrong. It's just something I'm looking for that's different. Mysteries end up with the lead detective or team figuring out the case. We know everything will be wrapped up with a pretty little bow and “happily ever after”. What we don't know and that which intrigues us, is the journeys taken. That's why we tend to be drawn in. It's the characters that keep us there. I can't get behind a female who is always right, but lords it over her friends or family or both and gets away with it. Characters that are able to manipulate everyone around them and when their victims realize it, the perpetrators are forgiven. They don't even hold or show resentment for what the person had done!

It doesn't seem realistic enough even if it's in a fantasy world. No matter how much time is given or how much someone claims to have forgiven someone, there is still a little piece of resentment in their heart at what was done to them. Mercedes Lackey managed in her Dragon Jouster series to weave it in such a way that while yes the main character held resentment toward and for a certain person due to circumstances outside of their control, the resentment was still there. It would peak through in some of the interactions when they were of equal status again. Yes the character understood and appreciated everything he'd done for him, he also resented that the man had been a part of the system and never seemed to try to fix it.

The journey is what is great. When I read I jump in head first. When I watch a show, my brain keeps trying to see things that don't quite exist or relate it to what I'm aware of. The authors and creators don't worry about being politically correct because they exist in a different world where what they say while expected to be grammatically correct isn't expected to be inoffensive. The characters take on lives of their own and it's a lot more noticeable in written works than it is in a show or movie. The nuances are in both, just more readily received through the written word rather than a visual representation.

I know I got off whatever I was originally going to type up for this post and part of that is because I managed to get sick earlier this week. In fact I got sick just as I was going to finish this post, edit it, and schedule it for posting last Sunday. It didn't happen so instead I'll just have to post this this Sunday and hope you understand what I've ranted about. Feel free to ask for clarification or rants about something else. Yes I still plan to type up Session posts for LANZ, but I'll probably start them back up after the New Year.


Yes I do plan to go over last year's resolutions and decide if they'll be the same this year or if some of them may change. Last year's resolution post can be found as  Resolutions for 2015.

Sunday, December 6, 2015

NaNoWriMo 2015 6/6

So, this is the last of my NaNoWriMo 2015 updates.  The biggest question is, did I win?

The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write a 50,000 word novel in a single month.  I already rebelled against this by deciding to work on a fanfiction that just wouldn't leave me alone.  Yes this has become perfectly allowable by the NaNoWriMo website.  In fact during their write-ins, fandoms have been just as inspirational for prompts as historical pieces.  Even so, it's not the original purpose of the event.  I also must admit, I have yet to actually reach 50,000 words in the month.

I am proud of what I did get done, however.  I managed to complete a rough copy of the first two chapters.  I also managed a total of just over 25,000 words.  That almost doubled my total NaNoWriMo lifetime word count. (I hope that makes sense to you.)  Anyway, I want to get a few more chapters written up before I start actually posting them on my Fanfiction.net account.

Also, I was working on Saturday, but it was so slow(my guess: people were still eating leftovers,) I started wishing I had a notebook or recording device because my mind started spinning other possible crossover instances.  Like dealing with Agent Booth from Bones, but mistaking him as Angel...or I'm positive I had a few dozen other things that I managed to think of.  If I do end up with more than just it being a Leverage and Librarians crossover, I likely will move it to AO3, where I've noticed a bit more flexibility in stories that would crossover into multiple source materials, including a section that is dedicated to original works.

So for those who met or beat the 50K word goal, congratulations.  For those who did not, look at what you managed to get done and remind yourself it's better than where you were 30 days ago.  You managed to complete something, even if you didn't get the big goal, you tried.  That's winning in my book.