Writing Wednesday: Why I'll Never Get Published

"You think you’re all strong and silent, bro, 

but you’re a book with its spine cracked open

 and its pages falling free."

- Martin Amis, House of Meetings

For a few job interviews I've had recently, I've been asked about my long term goals and I've been telling them that I want to be published. And that is so sadly true, that my goal is to publish at least one book. Why is my goal not larger? Because I have come to realization that if I'm so afraid of even letting my friends and family read my work than how am I going to let an editor or publisher read it? 

I really need to get better about my confidence in my writing. But its hard when I know people who write so terribly and post their so-called poetry all the time. They post it on Tumblr with typos. How can I compete when my competitors are confident enough to post poetry on the internet that has TYPOS? 

So maybe I will never have the confidence in my writing to become a published author, but at least I won't post poetry with a misspelled title?

To anyone who reads this blog, how do you find the confidence to do the things you love?

Writing Wednesday: Writing feminist children's books

To get news from a source other than Facebook, I often look at the website for Bitch Magazine. After reading these two articles: How do you find feminist children's books? and "Mad Men" actresses reluctant to call Peggy and Joan "feminists" I have this to say: we need to stop allowing feminism to be a bad word.

I'm sorry but from my view of feminism Peggy and Joan ARE feminist. And what the hell is wrong with that? The association that this means they hate men, and they don't shave their legs? That's not feminism exactly. I find feminism to be about equality, and Peggy and Joan prove and fight to be seen as equal in the workplace and in the home. I don't think feminists hate women who want to be mothers either. It is about the choice to do so, rather than an obligation.

As a writer, I want to combat this problem by writing for younger audiences with a feminist intent. My hope is to write YA novels, and children's book that are about being yourself and having the choice to live life the way you want. Not the way society tells you are supposed to live your life.

Interestingly enough, a short story I wrote for children has a main character named Peggy. I started writing it before I new anything about Mad Men other than it being a show about the 1960s.

Now my question to the blog world:
What do you believe 'feminist' means?
Have you read any books for children you find to be 'feminist'?

Writing Wednesday: The obligation to write non-white characters

 “In this country American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate.” 

-Toni Morrison

This is a touchy subject, but one that has been brought up a lot throughout my writing classes, and even in conversations with friends. I was reminded of this subject, once again, after reading the article: Young Adult Books Too Often Present a World Without People of Color from Bitch Magazine the other day. I agree completely that we too often have to read books about white characters without any mention of people of color, and that if there are characters of color they are read as white rather than as the ethnicity the author intended. Anyone else remember the racist posts on Twitter about The Hunger Games film? Oh, how I wish those were some terrible joke.

Is the problem with the writer? Or is the problem with what is published? Or is the problem the readers? I find the problem to be all three.

What is a white author's obligation to write non-white characters? Having spoken to several professors about it, the obligation seem to come simply from being a writer. You don't only write about your boring life. You write about other experiences, other worlds, other timelines. Why not write about someone who doesn't look like you? The moment this idea really hit home for me was when a professor asked, "You don't worry about a man telling you don't understand the experience of the male you are writing, do you?"

As a writer, I find the problem to be choosing the right words.There is no way to please everyone, but in matters of race and ethnicity I feel as though there is no winning with anyone. Either I blatantly describe my character as Hispanic and someone tells that I know nothing about the experience of a Hispanic person, so I'm a bad writer. Or, I subtly have my character speak Spanish or have a Hispanic name and someone still reads the character as white, so I'm a bad writer. This problem usually causes me to stick with names I deem to be "American" and let people imagine them as anything. But we live in a culture that has raised us to read all characters as white unless told otherwise. We need to rectify that problem.

In the end, no one has an "obligation" to write characters into their novels that aren't white. But do you really know no one of another ethnicity? Are you too scared to write about "them"? My biggest question to the people who publish books that are only about white people is WHY? There are plenty of writers in the world who are better writers with better ideas who aren't afraid. Go find some better writers and publish them. The world will thank you for it.

Recommended reading:
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

"Most men, they'll tell you a story straight through. 

It won't be complicated, but it won't be interesting either."

- Big Fish, screenplay by John August

 I've tried to write blogs before and for some reason I always end up losing interest. This blog may not be able to keep my interest, but I'm starting it because starting over is probably better than continuing a blog I already lost interest in. 

Keep reading this blog if you are interested in hearing my opinions/reviews about the television shows I watch. Those are The Good Wife, How I Met Your Mother, Pretty Little Liars, Modern Family, The Vampire Diaries, Grey's Anatomy, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and Parenthood. There are more but those are the ones that currently come to mind. 

My blog will also include my struggles, successes, and thoughts on writing. I will be reviewing books I read, movies I see, and new TV shows I try to start. Most of my work includes a feminist opinion, and those will be shared on this blog as well. 

The rating system I have established for myself is as follows: 

1. The lowest score. These are books/TV/ movies I have a hard time finishing because I find something about the writing, or acting unbearable. An example of a book with the score of 1 would be Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.

2. A score of a 2 means the book was readable, but I didn't care. The book either made me feel annoyance or nothing at all. Example: Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. 

3. Maybe the book I deem a 3 isn't that well written on an English class scale but something made me love it. Example: Looking for Alaska by John Green. 

4. English class level writing but still enjoyable to any reader. A 4 should be something I gush over without any hesitation to someone who is judgmental about author choices. Example: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.

5. Books I call a 5 should be amazing. Maybe people don't like these books but it's not without millions who love them and the chance for them to be remembered forever. My example of a 5 is The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. 

I will officially start this blog on Monday, with a rundown of the TV shows I watched the week prior. Have a good weekend everyone!

Just finished reading: The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick 
Currently reading: Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach Test edited by Mark D. White
and Watchmen by Alan Moore