Category: Musings

Wednesday random thoughts

Last week, I typed that I would be attempting to read a number of books, I unofficially DNF’d. In true self-sabotage fashion, I didn’t listen or bring up any of them on a tablet or laptop, in the last seven days. I constantly know what I have to do, procrastinate, and then rush to get things done before the deadline. I also do this, type about my shortcomings on this blog. It is supposed to be accountability but I am very good at typing how sorry and miserable I am for not doing what I am supposed to do. I also type these things in commiseration. I know there is a writer like me out there thinking that they are the only one that is not meeting their writing goals. Not just you, not just me there are thousands of us out there in the ocean of the internet. Some of us have legitimate reasons, work, family, mental state, and environment. Some of us have valid meh reasons. It doesn’t matter that it is meh, the important part is that it is valid. Working through fear, doubt, judgment can take a lot out of a person. On a really good writing day, I might bask in Asian dramas and anime for the next 3 days following. My brain, completely numb to the next part of the story. One of the reasons I wanted to start to write creative non-fiction. I wanted to level up my writing skill. Then the real Universe worked against me.

Here is another random thought, I don’t think we, people in general are going to say at the end of the year, “this was a good one, sad to see it go.” Many of us are like 2020 can go to hell, 2021 should follow it, with gasoline draws. but maybe wood this time b/c gas is expensive. Some of us want a redo but we can only change ourselves not the past.

Back to the first thought, what to do when none of your goals are being achieved? The one thing I have found effective is accepting the past. Shake off the negative thoughts. Apologize if it is helpful and then do the work for change. This may not work the first time. Please remember that positive change takes time. It has been said it takes about 28 days to change a habit. Expect the same and also prepare for not reaching the goal next time. This is not a one-and-done type of situation. Write down positive affirmations, feelings and prepare to do better.

Remember the only one that can write your story is you. Please leave a comment, like, and subscribe.

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Place Holder 06

Hello thanks for the likes and follows. 

I usually only write that sentence with the update posts but let us be real.  These place holders are unofficial updates.  Except for this one because I am not writing about my work or what my week will be like.  This is just a response to a question.  It is my opinion, and it could very well be wrong.  However, this is where I am today. 

Last week on the YouTube channel Casually Comics, the host Sasha posted a video she titled: The return of Supergirl, Is Kara being exploited? The episode consisted of how Supergirl or Kara Zor-El came back to the DC Universe after being killed off in a Crisis event.  A question came up that is paraphrased by me like this: Is there a double standard for female fan service as opposed to male fan service?   Dick Grayson/Nightwing’s booty is admired by fans and characters in the comics on many occasions. His body had been ogled and taken advantage of, in the comics and animations, look up Batman and Harlequin 2017.  However, hackles rise when it is Supergirl. Full disclosure I am attuning my response to the images shown on CC and memory of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse 2010.  I have not read the comics that this Supergirl was based on.  I was pleasantly surprised in the movie Kryptonian actually sounds like Esperanto.  I would also like to add that I focus more on story than artwork even in comics. 

For me, the cringe factor grew as they emphasized her age. Kara should be older than her cousin, however, due to science magic, and happenstance, she is younger and underage.  She is 17 years old in mind and body, adults are looking at her with inappropriate thoughts.  Yes, I know she is a fictional character.  I don’t get the same cringe from Nightwing.  I think that is because he is an adult.  I don’t admire his body when he was Robin.  Only when he is a young adult or new adult in his mid to late ’20s.  It all sounds ridiculous to think this hard about a subject.  But consider this situation, in Nightwing #93.  Nightwing is sexually assaulted by another “superhero”, her name is Tarantula.  The issue came out in 2004.  I don’t know when it was outright called rape, but I first saw an article about it in 2018.  There was a lot of shrugging off the issue by the writer and DC comics editors that green-lit the whole scene. I believe the situation would’ve been stopped immediately if Dick Grayson had been a 17-year-old boy.  No one would be questioning if it was rape or just “nonconsensual sex” as if one is not like the other.  A situation like that cannot happen to 17-year-old Kara because people would call it out for what it is, immediately.  The fact that Nightwing is an adult, despite emotional trauma, plays into what people think of the whole situation. So maybe we are just twisted individuals on varying levels.  

During the episode, I didn’t feel offended, I knew a number of images were taken out of context, but I did feel a whole lot of cringe for Kara Zor-El/Supergirl. There will be a number of fans who don’t see this and a number of fans who will, and a percentage of that number will also have inappropriate glee from it.  This is what puts a shadow on most of my feelings the idea that some jerk is enjoying the scene for the ick value. This brings another thought to mind, exploitation is easy.   

When Sasha asked my thoughts on the issue, too many words came into my head. I don’t think a dissertation needs to be written in the comment section of a YT video. I would have liked to put up a compare and contrast pictures but didn’t want to be sued. So enjoy the peaceful science view of the mountains. There will be people who read this or watch Sasha’s video and say that this does not matter. I of course, don’t agree with that. I don’t condemn the writers or artist that drew the characters they way they did or the wrote the stories the way they did. I do believe we should be free to analyze them from all angles. For some these images and even the situations are harmless for others they are trauma triggers. We should be able to face both sides with rational thoughts. Not have these things retconned or pulled from publications because a percentage is upset. This is not for every image and situation, I believe in case by case.

I am truly amazed I had so many words on the topic. I hope this video finds everyone doing well. Please leave a comment, like and subscribe. The week is still new and full of opportunity.

Happy Holidays.

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Updates November 15 – 26

Hello,

Thank you for the likes and follows. 

I hope everyone is doing well. I am well. It is the third week of Nanowrimo and I am still in it to win it.  I have reached the limit of the recycled words. All the scenes written now will be new words from my brain. Amazing right?   

This time because I made friends through the Writer Mastermind Discord. I have more buddies. Some of the writers are 1000 words ahead of me and some are behind, but we are all encouraging each other to be all that we can do.

While listening to my manuscript, I do that once a day. I’m a nano rebel. I realized that I don’t have enough scenes in which my two main characters interact with each other. Overall, I have 4 scenes, the meet-cute, flirting, an ambush, and a confession. That is not how characters fall in love. I also have one character slow-burning and one character hyper-aware. It doesn’t feel like they fit but trust me, contemporary love is in there someplace. I have looked over the obligatory scenes list and I have four more to write with serious attention.

I think I have stated before that I am a linear writer. It has taken a lot out of me to break that habit and start writing from other angles in the story. It has helped but I have a scene that is one of my main characters dealing with his agent and another dealing with her mother. Usable scenes now but will they stay in the book. That is a revision question and since I am not there yet. I will wait to make that decision. Non-linear writing is difficult for me, and you will be reading about whining about it until Nanowrimo is done.

This week will be busy as usual. There is a thanksgiving meal to plan. I will not be hosting the meal, but the person hosting has asked me to prepare some dishes. I am still nervous about preparing meals for Thanksgiving. After being sick, the taste of some foods is different from what I remember. So, I am a little nervous.  

The books I’m reading are the Promised Queen by Jeffe Kennedy; The Bromance book club by Lyssa Kay Adams and Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins. These are all audiobooks. I have started each one but haven’t finished it. The stories and the writing are not the problems it is me.  I can’t listen when writing Star Crossed and I don’t want to listen before I go to sleep. I will fall asleep in one chapter and wake up in another. That is not fun. I am also listening to the Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass. It is a book about writing. I will also be reading Bewitching the Vampire by Selena Illyria. This will be an actual read. I don’t have this one on audio. It is a spicy ebook. I also think it is a short read as well. It has been in my library for months but after watching Khadija Mbowe on YouTube, she did an episode about Vampire Diaries creator Julie Plecc and how she treated her black characters. I felt finding and reading an interracial vampire/witch romance was called for. I have read other books by Illyira, they have explicit scenes, I expect this one to be no different. Not everything mentioned here will get done. They are mentioned here because they are on the list.

Besides the major writing project, there are 3 small projects, the Wednesday post, the outline for the place holder, and a short story. It is more difficult than I thought. As stated earlier, I am in to win.

That is what this week and the following will be looking like. Everyone has a non-traditional Thanksgiving traditional dish, ours is curry- it will either be goat, chicken, chickpeas and potatoes.   I would be interested to read what are yours? Leave a comment. 

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The real Universe is against me

Third day of NaNoWriMo and I and doing well. I hope you all are too.

My first day of Nanowrimo was a slow day, I didn’t think I was going to make my first 1600 words, much less the extra 500 I challenged myself. I know I won’t be able to write every day, for the next 30 days, I only have 25 days to win. My personal word count was adjusted to 2100 a day.

I made the 1667 word count and got the badge. I stopped writing on the project for that day at 1760, 20 minutes after midnight. I was tired and happy not close to my personal goal but better than my previous first days. In fact, I don’t think I have ever updated my word count on the first day of Nanowrimo. So happy dances all around.

Late nights for me these days, lead to late mornings, November 2nd in New York City was a cloudy day. I heard that is the day of the dead, for those that follow that culture. It was also Election day. The media was focused on Virginia. I live in New York City and we have a new mayor. My plans were to catch up on my word count.

I set up my area to start writing, getting into the story has been difficult. I was also preparing a meal to eat for brunch, an Amy’s vegetarian frozen dinner. While sipping a coffee, and reading what I wrote earlier that morning. Then the oven, the lights and the fridge all shut down. At first, I thought it was a breaker for the kitchen only. But then I realized as I moved around the house, the modems in the living room were off as well, so no internet or phone service. The house was completely dark and eerily quiet. I used my cellphone’s flashlight to check the breaker in the basement. There was nothing I can do there. At the time, I had limited service on my cell, I had to find some free wi-fi just to make a phone call. I was totally cut off from everyone and the feeling was odd. I would have been fine if I knew what was going on.

I was able to turn my cellphone into a hotspot. However nothing was reported in the news or the Con Edison website. I found out that this problem was not only in my house. The neighbors were suffering as well. There were no traffic lights at a major streets. Businessess had to shut down b/c their computers were not working. I empathize with the people who were washing their clothes at the laundromat. The lights were on but the machines were dead. The service was gone for four hours. I was looking around my house for flashlights, candles etc. What I learned was that we were not prepared for any real emergency. It was sobering realization, especially when other disaster have happened, warning those who are save to get prepared. Once the service was back on and stayed on, I mellowed out enough to write. I am still under my personal goal but that is okay.

I had enough time and mental energy to relate this story and keep my goals to post 4 days a week. I know that later on this month it might be more difficult. but I will persist. Because there will always be something attempting to hinder me from writing. The 3rd day official word count is 5001, my goal is 6300. I am hopeful that at the end of the day I will be closer to 6000. Good luck to everyone that is participating, officially or unofficially.

Go, Writers Go!

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