Writing and Race (Part 2)

Regarding this topic, the author Zetta Elliott wrote a guest post on Justine's blog. You can read it here. 

I don't agree. This is pretty much the opposite of what I had to say earlier. And that's all I have to say. You can read through the comments to see the varying opinions, and in the end, Justine herself chimes in, and I still don't agree. This is all I have to say on this matter, because I don't want to get sucked in on something that I'm probably going to be accused of having no authority on, because I'm young, because don't brush against the publishing industry much - all of which are valid points.

Preemptively speaking, I know I'm going to get accused of being an idiotic, un-worldly American (and sometimes I deserve this epithet, when I am severely crippled about knowing non-Western cultures, and sometimes it is simply unfounded America-hate), but I will say this anyway. I don't ever have a problem, vocally or in my head, when someone from another country writes about Americans, for the fear of "getting us wrong." Perhaps it is because the U.S. is a very diverse place, and heck, who am I to have the authority to know whether one portrayal is right or wrong? The point is, there is no way to pigeonhole "the American lifestyle," because I'm fairly sure my life does not vaguely resemble someone who lives in Florida, or Mississippi, or New Jersey, or Oregon.

Therefore, I would assume it is difficult to say that someone is "writing Australians wrong" unless Australia is a shockingly homogenous place, which I doubt it is. 

Just to clarify, I am aware everyone is entitled to have their own opinion, and J.S. Mill did say that in a free, uncensored society, it is impossible not to be offended by anyone. I guess the question is, drawing the line where offense because intolerable (ie racism) or when offense is simply over-PC-ness.

(Also, post-script: you rock, US hockey! Sorry, Canadians who are reading. Gotta support my homeboys. :D)

Friday Ideas and Silliness

Mrrhajskd, I have a test tomorrow morning, by which I mean, in eight hours. So, I'm pondering here tonight before I hit the sack, about ideas.

Before you write a novel, you have to have an idea. Some people get ideas easily, and for some people, it takes a while. Sometimes ideas fly toward you randomly during the day, and sometimes, you have to actively think about it. But once you've gotten these ideas, what makes you put them on paper? What makes you decide which idea you want to commit? There is one thing I know about myself, and that is I am a huge commitment-phobe, in all aspects of life, so it stands to reason that I would be one as a writer too.

Tell me what you think!

Also, I answered all of the questions Sarah threw at me, and here they are:

What is your favorite book you've read recently? What song do you wish wasn't ever invented? What song do you wish you invented? How many hours procrastinating do you spend a day? If Estee Lauder bottled up the essense of Johnny Depp, what would it include?

I cut out a lot of rambling, but the end still sounds like I inhaled laughing gas. I like to think my writing is a lot more articulate than my speaking, hah.

Writing and Race

Disclaimer: I'm trying really hard not to offend anybody in this post. I apologize beforehand if someone feels uncomfortable about this topic.

The YA author Justine Larbalestier often posts on her blog about the subject of race in fiction. I used to follow it a lot, but I only drop by occasionally now, because the greater emphasis on ethnic politics rather than craft is not my cup of tea (but everyone is entitled to write whatever they want on their blog, obviously). This is a pretty touchy subject, but since I am a minority and I write, I figured I should address it.

Now, I guess I would be what you considered a pretty white-washed Asian. I've been told by people who are Asian and people who are white that I am not very...ethnic? I've always found this kind of funny since I can speak Chinese fluently and my reading is not half-bad. When I go to China, people frequently don't know I'm foreign unless I specifically bring it up. I guess since I don't dress like an anime character and am not into Asian pop-culture, this makes me not very Asian. Okay, fine. I can accept that. I mean, when I was little I used to actually think I was white. You might think I'm lying, but I assure you, I am not. I was a racially confused child. I used to dream about having blonde-haired, blue-eyed babies, and it was a sad, sad day in my life when I realized this was genetically impossible (or at least very improbable).

My characters are primarily white people (Caucasian; sorry, I'm just going to use "white" because it's shorter; hopefully, that's not un-PC). I read fiction and imagine MC's to be white (unless specifically indicated otherwise - this probably says something about what society makes minorities think, but that would be delving into a whole different problem). There isn't a lot of fiction with people of color (abbr. POC) anyway, and errr, Justine's blog (through no fault of its own) sometimes makes me feel guilty that I am not one of those people who searches for fiction with people who "look like me." I never thought about not being able to relate to people who are not Asian. I mean, I sympathize with those people who are like unique combinations (ie Malaysian-Chinese or Muslim-Australian or something) who crave for fiction that "represents" them, but it honestly never occurred to me (until I read Justine's blog) to find a character who is racially me.

I realize that the lack of POC fiction is a problem. There are plenty of children who struggle with identity issues growing up because TV and books are full of white people. And I think that there should definitely be more people who write POC fiction, and it shouldn't be limited to POC authors - white people can equally write POC fiction (as Justine has proved). But I also 

don't think that POC authors should be expected to write only people who look like them. Look, I really enjoy POC fiction. When I pick up a book about Chinese people that is good, I am thrilled. I do relate to it, very well. It's cool when they talk about Chinese food and Chinese customs and things where I can be like, "Wow, my parents said that when I was young too!" But at the same time, I have no problem relating to a Midwestern white girl from a small town. Because I share more experiences than just through race. For the same reason, I can enjoy a book about a Muslim girl discovering her identity. Or a French royal princess from the sixteenth century. Or a gnome. Or a bee. Or whatever.

Books shouldn't be marketed to a certain ethnic group; I refuse to believe a white person cannot relate to a book about a Chinese girl, and I ALSO refuse to believe there are minorities out there who cannot relate to MC's that are white. And authors shouldn't be expected to write based "on their own racial experience." I'm an Asian writer. And I write about white people. And Asian people. And fairies. Does it matter? Perhaps, it is narrow-minded for me to assume that just because I don't see the world through racial goggles, nobody does either. I like to be optimistic, though. And I like to think that everyone can choose to take off their racial goggles if they want to.

What do you think?

Percy Jackson: The Movie Vlog

Otherwise known as, XiXi dies of a coughing fit on screen. Also, it took FOREVER to process this video, so I'm never, ever making a video this long again. It's so hideously late night that it's actually early morning. In the worst possible way, as in, the sun is probably going to wake me up the minute I go to bed.

Lame that I get even less sleep on weekends than I do on weekdays. Anyway, ignoring my personal insomniatic woes:

1 2 3 of Worldbuilding

Thanks for the response on my first vlog! I am possibly one of the least photogenic people on the planet, but I think by the time you're in college, you accept how weird you look/sound on camera and in real life. Or you can de-tag yourself from all of your pictures on Facebook, but that probably takes a lot of effort. Also, you can't de-tag yourself from real life. 

All right. So I was reading Gail Carson Levine's latest post, and it got me to thinking about worldbuilding in fiction. Don't turn off just because you're not a fantasy writer. Every story has worldbuilding, even if it's not as crazy as fantasy. Every character has a fictional world in which they live, and just because it's not full of magic and elves and exploding pixies, it's still a world that is not the *real* world. How do you prep for worldbuilding?

I will admit that I think I suck at worldbuilding. That's why I like fan fiction. I don't have to worldbuild! We all have flaws, okay? Here are three points I try to think about when worldbuilding.

Disclaimer: This is coming from the girl who hates this part of writing. Really. So I mean...this isn't expert advice or anything.

1) The best worldbuilding creates a setting that comes alive. I don't mean come alive like it's going to grow a conscience and start eating your MC. But it creates a mood. It sets the tone of your story. It *matches* the tone of your story. (Don't write a horror story with cheerful unicorns in the background and rainbows and singing flowers). It becomes a character. Don't let your world be an awkward extra to fade aside. Be vibrant. Be there. 

2) Don't detail out every little tiny thing. I make this mistake all of the time. I overthink everything. You don't need to explain the tiniest things. The best ways to set the world is to create a descriptively loaded sentence. One good sentence can do more to flesh out your world than a paragraph of awkward rambling that only makes the empty parts stand out more. Besides, you need to give your readers some credit. They can fill in some of it without constant direction.

Above the couch is the apartment's only attempt at artwork; a mellow, lonely landscape painting of an island, hanging in a frame that gives it too much space. - antistar_e, a brilliant writer of fan fiction, among other things. (Excerpt from It's A No Regret Life)

3) Let your world tell the story as well. Don't put in description for the sake of description. It gives the reader a headache to imagine pointless details. Description should further the story. It should say something about the plot or the characters or the running emotions. Ideally. Empty details are not good. Not good for anyone, and it's probably going to be cut eventually anyway.

I don't even follow this advice all of the time. If I did, I would be a better writer, probably by a lot. I try, though. Now, in my opinion, the novels with the best worldbuilding EVAR:

1) Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien)- it's timeless, ya'll, and you basically want to live there/believe it's real.

2) Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis) - obligatory mention, since I spent half my childhood trying to enter wardrobes, you know it's real, somewhere beyond the divide -

3) Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling)- ditto; I waited for my letter, yo.

4) Spindle's End (Robin McKinley) - first chapter = the best worldbuilding I've ever read.

5) Un Lun Dun (China Mieville) - it's so weird it's real; his imagination is full of crazy goodness.

6) The Smile (Donna Jo Napoli) - brilliantly sets you right in the middle of Medici Florence, down to the culture, the smells, the colors, and the taste of pasta sauce in your mouth.

There are many more examples, of course. I would consider Robin McKinley a surefire in any of her novels. The plot and characters might be weaker with different stories, but she never, ever disappoints in her luscious worlds. Also, it occurs to me that everyone who is awesome uses their initials instead of first-middle names. The moral of the story is initials = better worldbuilding. Fact.

On Friday, after my friends and I get back from the Percy Jackson movie, I'll be doing a reaction vlog. It will be epic. Stay tuned!

(Almost) Anniversary and VLOG

Yes, I totally copied this from Weronika, but for real, I actually only just figured out how to use iMovie...today. Since I like watching other people's vlogs (because I can hear their voices IRL!), I thought I would celebrate my blog's (almost) one year anniversary (Feb. 11th!) with revealing what my voice REALLY sounds like. You're curious, right? Right? Let me pretend.

The lighting is kind of dark, but meh. It's snowy and gross outside and I had nothing to do except productive things like homework. The video is a pseudo-tour of my dorm room and a show-and-tell of the books I have on my desk. Enjoy.

Ignore my awkward rambling at the end. I have no idea what I was saying. Maybe I was on drugs. Maybe that baggie you saw on my desk was actually ecstasy. Also, I fail at making eye contact with the camera.

Where Do I Belong?

*anguished look*

What is your favorite genre to read? Mystery? Chick lit? Fantasy? Sci-fi? Romance? Historical? YA? Adult? You tell me. Did you always like this genre or did you switch around? Or are you not picky about genres at all? Check the last five books you've read. What genres are they?

All right. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let me ask you, is what you write and what you read the same?

The most important question is: did you always write in the genre you write in now? I think I'm going to do some wandering about, because I don't know if I've found that genre that I click in, totally. Not that I don't like writing fantasy, but you know. I'm not ready for a committed relationship, okay? I'm dating around, being easy. You can judge me. I'm a genre slut. I mean, fantasy has nice eyes and all, but I think literary has all these deep thoughts that just sweep me off my feet. I swoon. And well, historical makes me laugh with all its funny jokes. Bah, it's complicated.

I'm trying to finish my fan fiction before I do any drastic original fiction lifestyle changes. It was kind of a New Year's resolution for me to update faster, but ah, you know how resolutions work. My novel and I are taking a break from our relationship. Probably mad because I'm flirting with other projects. It gets really jealous sometimes.

10 Ways A Real Book Is Better

I had a real post, but I'll post it Monday because who needs substance when you can create LISTS? This is my semi-humorous (but TOTALLY SERIOUS) response to this whole e-book pricing debacle. 10 ways a real book is better than an e-book:

1. If you are short like me (5'1", Sarah, so I think I win in the self-pity department), you can use it as a cushion to prop you up when you drive so you can see over your steering wheel and not get pulled over by a cop for looking like you're a 9-year-old who ganked a car.

2. Doorstop. Obvious. Breaking Dawn works really well for this function.

3. You look smarter reading one. The thicker the better.

4. Reason to go to the bookstore and check out cute boys, HELLO. 

5. Bookshelf filler. What are you going to put in your bookshelves without paper books? Think about how lame it would be if in Beauty and the Beast, instead of giving Belle a massive library (which is like, every girl's dream), Beast handed her a Kindle with 1500 titles. Totally not as impressive or swoon-worthy.

6. Real books don't run out of batteries.

7. You can attempt to read real books while taking a bath (yes I have done this, and also considered laminating books so I could read them in the shower; don't lie, you have definitely thought about it at least once), while I don't really think you'd want to attempt taking an electronic device in the bathtub with you. 

8. If you are stranded on a desert island, you can use it as a pillow. Or eat it. I bet it's more nourishing than a plastic e-reader. Paper has fiber, right?

9. If a thief breaks into your house, you can beat him senseless with it (hardcover preferred). I bet you can't do that with a Kindle! 

10. You can burn them if you're really mad at something. Or throw them. Or rip them up! The therapeudic uses are ENDLESS.

I want the Shamwow guy to make a commercial of this.

Bonus: Real books smell better. Fact. Don't even try to dispute this.

Well, I'm Back Part Two (Really, Probably)

It's good to be back. Here. With you. And not gallivanting about elsewhere. 

It's already February, and suffice to say, this is why I should never, ever make New Year's Resolutions ever again. I obviously have been following through on those well. I have to apologize for being gone so long, but I hope from now on, I'll be posting on a semi-regular basis. I haven't been posting in so long, I don't know anything to write about anymore!

So I'm going to leave you with the picture I got when I googled "awkward LOLcat." Ah, memories. Hopefully, I'll come up with something better next time.

This is awkward.