2016 is knocking on the door and waiting not-so-patiently for us to welcome it in. But we'd just be rude hosts if we didn't take at least a moment to remember all the good times we've had with 2015.
*cues up "Through the Years" and tries to make it not-so-plural*
And, for someone like myself, who spends most of her reflective time staring at the calming, peaceful sight of an overcrowded bookshelf, what better way to think about these last twelve months than through the tomes I so adore?
So, based solely on their lovely titles, here's what 2015 looked like for me....
Since yesterday’s historic decision regarding women in combat, I’ve heard a number of different responses, but I feel compelled to
respond to one of them. There are some who are citing the occurrences of rape
of women in the military by fellow officers as a reason why they should not be
allowed into combat situations.
I so appreciate that these people are coming at this from a
place of concern, but the way to stop rape from happening is not to deny women
the same opportunities as men because some men are predators. In terms of
allowing women into those conditions, every 107 seconds another American is sexually assaulted.
These dangerous conditions for women are not exclusive to the
military, they are an every day reality in the world in which we live. And if
we’re arguing that women should not be allowed into situations where this is a
constant threat, we’re arguing that women should not be allowed to live in this
world. But this is the only world we’ve been given, making the only viable
option to work to change it.
Removing possible victims from the situation does not stop
rape, it merely postpones it. It is also impossible to remove all possible
victims, as men are victims of rape as well – a fact which this argument of
protecting women from combat situations ignores and devalues.
The way to stop rape is to show that we, as a society, have
a zero tolerance policy toward it. That we, as a society, do not marginalize
the victims rather than dealing with the perpetrators. And that we, as a
society, fully believe in and support equality between men and women.
Rape must stop happening in the military and it must stop
happening in all other areas of the country and world. And the only way to stop
it is to make a conscious and constant effort to change the way society views
women and sexual assault.
I’ve heard some people saying that they are all for
equality, except for combat situations. This is a mutually exclusive sentence.
One can not be all for something except for when they’re not. And if we want to
live in a world where rape is not a constant threat we must be truly all for
destroying these double standards and this culture in which women continue to
be placed on a different level than men.
As a woman, I don’t want to be looked down on as less than.
And I don’t want to be placed on a pedestal to be adored and protected.
Equal footing. Nothing more, nothing less. Anything else
perpetuates the toxic aspects of our culture that feed into the frequency of
rape.
Women having equality in combat situations is one step
closer to that changed world. And I am excited and proud to see it on the
horizon.
Hey folks! In the mood for some ghosts and ghouls this Halloween week?
I'm over at the Opera House Arts blog every day this week blogging about different folks who have made the after-life decision to spend all their time in theatres. I don't know about you, but I can see the appeal...
I'm so excited to be back on the blog. Way back when I last posted I mentioned the craziness of the upcoming summer season here, but I had every intention of at least posting occasionally during that time. Silly, silly Past Kelly and her outlandish goals.
But it's fall now, and as I've mentioned in the past, winter is my favorite time for writing and revising, which makes it very convenient that fall is when I feel my most creative. All my best researching and outlining gets done as the weather gets gloomier. My guess is that its all the season's ghosts clamoring to have their stories told...or something like that. Regardless, the old brain's a-percolating, which is always exciting.
Recently, during one of my customary where-did-I-put-that-thing-I-suddenly-can't-live-without searches, I came across my old fifth grade journal. I gave it a quick once over and decided that in this chilly weather/warm brain season, what better way to start my writing sessions than with a quick trip back to the early days....
Things learned: As the story goes on characters shouldn't always love the same things they loved in the beginning. Life happens. Things lose their shine. However, characters shouldn't turn their back on all their original interests. Some loves are forever.
Case in point: I no longer have an affection, or even patience, for soccer. The Best Friend Formerly Known As Roomie can attest to this. Hocus Pocus, on the other hand, still rocks.
I have officially embarked on my first summer season with Opera House Arts. And it is ALL THE THINGS.
First off, it's always fun being the new kid on the block.
The folks I work with are buckets of awesome and completely the right kind of crazy - casually dropping into conversations their love of Empire Records and Step Up 2: The Streets.
Plus, they frequently request mid-day singalong/dance breaks.
And very little could eclipse the collective joy we felt when Magical Intern tracked down that taxidermied seagull we all wanted.
Then, of course, there's the place itself. Seriously, look at this view:
Which sometimes includes pirate ships.
It's July, which means that it's not completely freezing in Maine anymore.
And the summer artists are arriving.
There are so many amazing shows coming up, it's bananas. Of course, this means we're a little bit busy...
...but that just has us holding ourselves to a higher standard...
Each day we set out to tell our tales. And we like to believe that in at least our own stories, we are the heroes. I believe that this is a very achievable goal. Issues crop up when we start to think of our stories in relation to all the other stories unfolding around us.
The truth is, no matter how awesome we are in our own stories, we are very unlikely to be the hero of someone else's. That doesn't mean that we're the villains. It's just that at best we're supporting characters, while most likely we're really extras. Background to that person's story.
But we want to be heroes.
So, when we hear about the obstacles cropping up in other people's stories, we rush to defend ourselves.
We did not cause that obstacle. Because we are heroes. And we understand everyone's obstacles, whether or not they're ours. Because we are heroes. And it is important that other people know that the obstacle in question was not created by us. Because...well, you know. The whole hero thing.
Except that isn't really important. And we have no real way of understanding the obstacles of someone else's story.
But we act like we do, because heaven forbid we look ignorant.
When I was a kid, my little sister would ask me all sorts of questions. More than half the time, I wouldn't know the answer, but there was no way I was telling her that. So, instead, I made crap up. Because I was her big sister and it was my job to have answers for her.
I went through two years of pre-school, K-12, four years of undergrad and a two year Masters program and never managed to shake the fear of a teacher asking me a question to which I didn't know the answer. Most of the time, I didn't even care whether or not I'd retained the knowledge I was supposed to. I just didn't want everyone else knowing if I hadn't.
Because no one wants to look ignorant.
But even for the smartest, most well-educated people, it's impossible not to suffer some degree of ignorance when it comes to other people's stories.
I identify as a lot of things. Here are a few:
Female. White. Heterosexual. Catholic. Daughter. Little sister. Big sister. Aunt. Godchild. Godmother. Friend. Niece. Cousin. Rape Survivor. Writer. Reader. Storyteller. Development and Communications Director. Former Federal Employee. New Yorker. American University Alumni. Star Wars Fan. Obsessive Quoter of Movies. Nerd. Scrapbooker. Greeting Card Giver. Owner of Embarrassing Number of Adult Onesie Pajamas. Christmas Nut. Superhero Wannabe. Believer That Life is a Musical If You Make It a Musical. Baker. Pie Lover. Turtle Mom. Nutella Consumer.
Now, maybe one of you is reading this and thinking, "Yes! I am every one of those things." To you, I say, "Hello, soul sister." More likely, you're looking at this and thinking, "Yeah, I can relate to some of that."
That's really the best we can hope for. That we'll find things in other people to relate to. Because there is not a person in this world who can fully understand my story, as they haven't lived it. And there is not a person in this world whose story I can fully understand, no matter how close I might be to them. Because I haven't lived it.
There's danger in claiming that we understand things we haven't experienced. It puts us in a position to dismiss or cut off a conversation that wasn't really ours to control.
When someone complains about the obstacles in their life and we use it as an opportunity to jump in and explain how we are not part of the problem - because we're heroes and we understand - we're hijacking someone else's story to make it our own. Which might not necessarily make us villains, but certainly doesn't make us the solution of obstacles.
Sometimes the best thing we can do is take a break from heroics. To settle in momentarily to being someone else's extra. To say, "I can't understand your story, not because I don't want to, but because it will never be my experience. I don't know whether or not I'll sympathize with it. I don't know whether or not we'll agree with each other when it's over. But I'd like to listen to it anyway." And then to do just that. To let that story take center stage, even when you want to distance yourself from the obstacles. Even when you want to say, "That might be true, but not about me." To play a supporting role.
Because, every one of us is a storyteller. And every one of us deserves at least one commercial free telling of their story.
I’ve been layering on sweaters for the past week to guard
against the chill. That’s right, the chill. Because apparently being within two
and a half weeks of the first day of summer isn’t enough to get Mother Nature
to stop giving Maine the cold shoulder. My only recourse is therefore to focus
on large-scale summery thoughts.
And what’s more large scale and summery than superheroes?
Who, let’s face it, are half-assing their jobs. For all
their strengths these super-individuals seem to lack a certain amount of
staying power. Sure, they show up and save the day (and scores of lives) time and time again. Don’t get me wrong, that’s great, but what is the quality
of these rescued lives?
Undoubtedly, everyone’s feeling pretty elated about the
whole being alive thing at first, but what happens when that survivor’s glow
wears off? Everyone has to deal with the fact that their entire concept of
reality has just been blown to crap. Where, might we ask, are the superheroes
then? Maybe they’ve flown the coop for a romantic getaway with that special
someone or really had to book it back to school for their U.S. History midterm.
Perhaps they’re just settling down for a well-deserved
post-averting-the-apocalypse snack.
It doesn’t really matter because the result is always the
same – the mere mortals are left to Kubler-Ross it up themselves and put their
lives back together piece by piece. Which is particularly unfair when you
consider that these five are so equipped to help humanity deal with the various
stages of grief:
Denial – Hindsight
In the wake of total and utter destruction, sometimes it’s
nice to pretend that none of it ever happened. Everything’s still fine. And who
better to help with that than an individual whose claim to fame is his ability to
accurately analyze how events could have ended if different choices were made? Carlton
LaFroyge can listen for hours while humanity goes on and on about how things
are still totally the way they were – no big. And each time he’ll just sagely
nod and say, “They could have been.” The main reason Mr. LaFroyge will probably
be willing to tackle this somewhat thankless job is for his own safety. I can’t
imagine that there is anyone the other superheroes want to punch more in the
face than this guy while he’s Monday-morning-quarterbacking their most recent
supervillain defeats. Additional bonus, the fact that this gentleman is so intensely
punchable will eventually catapult humans to the next stage of their grieving.
Anger – Hulk
There are a lot of angry superheroes. I’m pretty sure that
all job listings for the career path state, “Qualified
candidates must have a constant, barely contained fury simmering just close
enough to the surface that it ruins any personal relationship they endeavor
upon.” However, it would be foolish of me to pretend that there is a better
face for Terrifyingly Overpowering Rage than Dr. Bruce Banner’s alter ego, the
Savage Hulk. Childlike and temperamental, this hero is an expert in the
navigating the physical manifestations of anger, aka breaking things. Thankfully,
because Dr. Banner is a self-sacrificing sort of person he’ll probably be
willing to help us humans smash out our issues and because he’s a genius, he’ll
probably take us in controllable groups to a place where we’re less likely to
do more damage than necessary to our established infrastructure. Now, odds are
pretty good that the whole of humanity will tire before the Hulk does. So, when
all the anger has been forced out of you, leaving nothing but an exhausted
husk, it’s time to advance to the next stage. But, let’s keep it in the family,
shall we?
Bargaining – She-Hulk
When everyone gets to the bargaining stage, Jennifer Walters
is who we want in our corner. Generally, a little bit more chill than her
cousin, Ms. Walters is a skilled and versatile attorney. She’s represented the
whole spectrum of clients – victims of crime, criminals, corporations,
superheroes and supervillains. And, she’s won. A lot. Not all that surprising,
when you consider her talent for seeing various perspectives – even within
herself. After all Ms. Walters and She-Hulk don’t always agree on the issues
and they’re the same person. This is a lady truly gifted at the art of debate.
Ready to try regaining normalcy through negotiation? Call her immediately. But
if you’re feeling more like getting into bed and pulling the blankets over your
head for awhile, maybe it’s time to move on.
Depression – Yellowjacket
Sad Henry Pym is sad. Crime fighting just doesn’t hold the
same allure it once did. He hasn’t made a big scientific discovery since those
Pym particles. Even worse, his failures seem highlighted by the successes of
all those around him and it’s throwing him off his game, not to mention making
for a fairly miserable home life. Which kind of explains why he jumped the gun
and screwed up Captain America’s plan to calm down the Elfqueen, leading to his
subsequent court-martial. Spoiler alert: Things for Dr. Pym are going to get
worse before they get better, making him the perfect choice for the public when
they reach the stage of melancholy and despair. This guy is an expert in those
feelings. Just a little tip for humanity – when Pym starts talking about how
much greater the world would be if we could all just build a giant robot to
attack our friends, you might want to think about scheduling a meeting with our
final hero.
Acceptance – Oracle
Barbara Gordon kicked quite a bit of ass as Batgirl. Then
the Joker shot and paralyzed her, ending her crime-fighting career. So, what
did she do? Built a new freaking crime fighting career – continuing to help
Batman, joining up with the Suicide Squad, forming the Birds of Prey, and serving
as a member of a little group of well intentioned souls called the Justice
League of America. Because when the going gets tough, the tough like to work
with Barbara Gordon. Why? She keeps her shit together. Babs doesn’t pretend
things are great – whenever her world is totaled, she acknowledges the astronomical
level of suck and then keeps on moving forward. Who better, then, to help the
general populace reach that final step of accepting that their old lives are
over and it’s time to rebuild? Think of how full of purpose they’ll be.
Right
up until the next villain causes countless casualties and trillions upon
trillions of dollars in property damage and everyone needs to start this whole
damn process all over again.
I'm very happy to welcome Laura Salters - Writers For Hope donor, upcoming Pitch Wars mentor, fantastic beta buddy, and an all-together swell lady - back to the blog. She's here today to offer us a
little insight into those things she'll always love no matter what.
And I'm here to tell you about something you'll love...Laura's debut novel is out! RUN AWAY is a basketful of awesome. But before you run off to read that (as you should), get to know Laura a little better...
Not-So-Guilty Pleasures
1) Sleep. I am a prolific sleeper. I need 10-12 hours a night to function as an actual human being. And I won’t wake up unless I set an alarm—I’m not kidding. If I want to get up at midday, I have to set an alarm for midday. I have issues, okay?
2) Nutella. ON ALL THE THINGS. Pancakes, fruit, a spoon. Give me a jar of Nutella and I’m happy.
3) Cheesy 90s music. Hitting “shuffle” on my iPod is a treacherous experience. You could get cutting edge, super cool indie music, awesome rock…or 5ive’s Keep On Movin’.
4) Pokemon. I am 24 years old and still play Pokemon on my Gameboy. I think I took the catchphrase “gotta catch ‘em all” too literally and I’m still at it twenty years later.
5) Gin. Specifically a Hendrick’s with tonic and cucumber. It’s so refreshing and so delicious. And I’m a really giggly, happy drunk, so it always puts me in a great mood. Not so much the next morning, but still…
Drenched in blood and sitting in the sweltering interview room of a Thai police station, Kayla Finch knows that Sam, the love of her life, is dead. It doesn't matter that there's no body. All that blood can only mean one thing.
It isn't the first time Kayla's had blood on her hands. After finding her brother dead by his own hand, she tried to outrun her grief by escaping to Thailand. Heart-broken, the last thing she expected was to find love on the smoggy streets of Bangkok. But everyone Kayla loves seems to wind up dead.
Returning home to England, Kayla is left with a barely-functioning family, a string of gruesome nightmares and the niggling feeling that nothing is as it seems. And as she confronts her brother's suicide, she starts to suspect that something is very wrong.
Three months. Two tragedies. One connection: there's more to both cases than anyone is willing to admit. And Kayla’s determined to uncover the truth…no matter what the cost.
Sorry for the radio silence last week. I was in deep mind meld with my current WIP's characters as I finished up my latest revision. But, we all made it through, so...celebration!
For me, part of keeping in touch with the characters, is doing occasional interviews outside the narrative. This way I know I'm paying attention to how they're approaching their lives and issues.
Today, I'm sharing one of my rounds of 20 Questions with my MC, sixteen-year-old AJ Fallon:
1. What
is your real, birth name?
Ahnah
Jane Fallon, after both my grandmothers. But nobody but my sister calls me
Ahnah. It’s AJ.
2. What’s
your family like?
Mom,
dad, brother, sister. I don’t really remember the first three that well. They
disappeared when I was eight. It’s mostly just little images and feelings and
crap. And those might actually be more from what my sister tells me than actual
memories. Now, my sister – Ri – she’s the best and most annoying person I know.
And a hell of a lot chattier than your average person in a coma. My aunt Gael’s
pretty kick ass. The Bisharas are family now too. And the Delgados. And…You
know what? Let’s just say my family’s suprisingly extensive.
3. Who
was your best friend when you were growing up?
Other
than Ri? Deepti. We’re not friends now.
4. Who’s
your best friend now? What’s she like?
Ri
and Muna. They’re both crazy smart. Ri would help everyone in the world if she
could, only taking the ocassional break to watch really bad dance movie
sequels. She keeps me on the right track. Muna’s the most genuinely nice person
ever and is totally going to run a museum some day or be on Broadway or rule the world. Something along those lines.
5. What
one word best describes you?
I’m
guessing you haven’t been talking with my old classmates, because otherwise
you’d know the go-to is “crazy.” But, they’re a bunch of idiots. I’d go with
“determined.”
6. What’s
on your dresser right now?
Chapstick,
head bands, picture of my family at my parents ice cream shop from the year
they disappeared, pictures of me and Muna stuck on the dresser mirror, couple
boxes of granola bars, three nickles, eleven pennies.
7. Are
you ticklish?
If
you’re cool with getting punched in the face, you’re welcome to try and find
out.
8. What’s
your favorite song?
Favorites
are stupid. I like a bunch of music. I run to “Fire” by Delta Rae a lot.
9. What
one act in your past are you most ashamed of?
I've cut my own bangs a few times. Oh, and none
of your business.
10. What
would you like it to say on your tombstone?
I have a t-shirt that says “World’s Okayest Sister.” I could rock that to the grave.
Really anything from my t-shirts would be cool with me.
11. When
you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Bus
driver. I liked to people watch.
12.
Do you have a job now?
Yeah,
I work weekends and some nights over at Haven – the only Otherworlder bar in
the city. Waiting tables. Playing music. Polishing the never ending freaking
bannisters. That sort of stuff. I also do maintenance for the apartments on the
Walk. Otherworlders feel the same way about technology that humans feel about
magic – 100% suspicious. One of their toasters break and it’s like a national
disaster.
13. What
impression do you make on people when they first meet you?
Poor.
14.
How about after they’ve known you for a while?
Poor
adjacent. I’m told my sixth impression is just great, though.
15. What
embarrasses you?
After
you totally lose it in front of your 2nd grade class, screaming
things at your invisible sister, and scaring all your friends away, your
embarassment tolerance kind of changes. So, not much.
16. What
do you like to do when you’re alone?
I’m
never alone.
17. Are
you lying to yourself about something?
If
I won’t tell me the truth, why would I tell you?
18.
What are you most afraid of?
The answer to that question. Oooh, and mascots. If I can’t see your face, I
don’t trust you.
19. Do
you think the future is hopeful?
I
think I’m going to make it hopeful, whether it is or isn’t.
20. Do
you have a secret?
Only
boring people say no to that. I try not to be boring.
How do the rest of you writers out there check in with your characters?
