Leave Paula Deen Alone!

I don't know if you guys have been following the story on Paula Deen but it recently caught my eye and I did a little research. The article I found really reminds me of the Chick-Fil-A de-bock-le. (Pardon the pun.) CNN is states that Paula Deen has used the "N" word in her life and in a negative connotation. She does go on to explain that it was in a different time and she doesn't discriminate against race, sexuality or gender today. I mean, even if she did say it, at least she apologized! Even then, we have to remember that Paula Deen had had a lot of work done (she's pretty dang old) so during her teen years the major social problems included racism. The fact that she admitted to her past faults and went onto apologize is a huge thing. I know a lot of people her age are older (Especially in the South) that still believe interRACIAL marriage is wrong.  That's pretty bad considering now same-sex marriage is becoming legally and socially accepted. (Score!) In short, I do believe people are over reacting (like with Chick-fil-A) and because of that, companies are saving their butts.

This leads me to my next topic: Racial and other prejudice slurs in writing. Are they okay with historical context or not? Honestly I'm a fan of the real deal nitty-gritty historical recounts in writing. (As long as the author personally doesn't favor the past.) However, if Bubba Joe wants to write book about how the only real people are White, Christian, God-Fearing men then he really can go back under the rock (read trailer) he came from. When we look at books such as To Kill a Mocking Bird and Uncle Tom's Cabin (depending on which publisher's book you read) you'll see that racial slurs are used. This is because racism did happen and still does today. Slavery existed in the United States. These are true facts of history that America is now (hopefully) ashamed of. Just like the Holocaust in during World War II, these past mistakes need to be learned and taught in order to keep the past from repeating itself and head towards a better future.

Getting off my soapbox, I'll add that personal preference and comfort is also a factor in this decision. Some people aren't comfortable with swear words; I get it. That's something that should be listed on the back of a book so that those people don't find themselves blushing in a coffee shop. (Don't get me started on book ratings.) I, myself, don't personally use the "f" word slur for homosexuality because one, it's a negatively contorted word and two, it actually means a bundle of sticks used for tanks or in English slang, a cigarette. Neither of which I really talk much about (even though I like to pretend I'm British) in daily life. Nevertheless, I did bring it up in my novel where a very narrow-minded teenager is shown to use it as a slur. The main character who could be considered just as close-off reacts negatively (like really she almost kills the chick) to the word. I do worry that with the way society is that I might be criticized for this one word and maybe not even considered by publishers because of it. What do you guys think? Am I just being my usual nervous self or could this actually be an issue?

Comment below, adventurers and I'll see ya later!

Peace&<3,
Angela

Editing is the 7th layer of HELL

I never really got why Hell supposedly has 7 layers. Wouldn't it make more sense to have 6? Seven is supposedly a holy number I thought. Or maybe I'm just confused because it rhythms with Heaven. Wait... I'm getting off track.

So I'm on draft like 900 of my novel I Know How You Feel and I'm actually getting really good editing advice from a glorious editor friend. Monica is Godsent no doubt. She leaves edits but also little comments that make for a nice comic relief among the hours of hair pulling, insecure moments, and questioning if this is even worth it. Plus you can genuinely tell that she loves what she's doing. I need to figure out some way to pay her back. (Hmmm... isn't there this thing in the beginning of the book... what's it called? A dedication. Oh right!) Anyway I'm blessed to have her as an editor and even more so as a great friend!

Back to editing though, it's almost too tedious for me. I mean I usually never read books more than once or twice in a year and now I'm reading my own writing through over and over. (Oddly, enough I still love the book so maybe that's a good sign.) I want to say now that no matter what I will always hate editing! I mean to each their own but I really prefer writing without worrying about errors. I mean, people don't make painters go back and fix their abstract art! Too bad I really suck at painting. Computers and spellcheck really need to be more advanced. Although this new software for my Mac called Pages is pretty sweet so I might run it through their and see what it comes up with. The only problem is that the program is really for writing formal essays and thesis not novels.

I'm sure my publisher is close to wanting to wringe my next these days. I'm sorry though! It's just not ready! (They also do this weird thing where they call me and then leave messages with just elevator music. I think it's supposed to be passive aggressive or something. Who knows.) I think I'm gonna step up my game soon and try to tackle this beast of a novel and hopefully my fab editor will stick with me too.

That's all for my rant, adventurers!

Peace&<3,
Angela

Two Years Passed

Wow. I don't normally get too personal on this site but I guess I do have some explaining to do. For the past two years my anxiety got to it's worst and so did my depression. I was finally driven to do something about it and ever since then it's been an uphill battle. It took me two years almost to graduate high school because I had to switch to online learning. Some days I couldn't leave my house and others I couldn't even leave my bed. I lost most of my school friends but grew closer to my family than ever before. I learned how much they really mean to me and how lucky I am.

Okay, I'm done with the after-school special writing now. I hope I didn't get too cheesy! Anyway my adventure continues as I'm not self-publishing my novel "I Know How You Feel" with the amazing company called AuthorHouse. If you look at the sidebar you'll see I updated the books I'm working on. Yes, I have kept writing and I even won another award even during the rough time. I am an official Merit Scholar in Novel Writing now. It's pretty sweet but I won't brag too much. Getting that award for "I Know How You Feel" gave me the confidence to to publish it.

Also, I'm in college this summer at a local(ish) college and planning on attending SCAD next fall. So not much has changed with my future plans. I kind of want to be a screenwriter now though. Or have the title "Director/Screenwriter/Producer" under my name in those behind the scenes clips and such. My plan of becoming a published author will happen soon though and it's EXCITING! (I just have to, ya'know edit my novel)

I still roleplay at OUAC and now I'm also roleplaying on tumblr. (Though college is killer with that. I'm gonna have to cut down. ) It improves my writing and helped me make really cool friends all over the globe. I know two people from Wales and one from England now!

Holy moley, I'm talking a bunch. I really miss blogging (tumblr isn't the same with all the reblogging and stuff) so I'M HOPING I'll be back soon.

Tata, adventurers.
Peace&<3,
Angela