Secret Nerd Princess

Happy Holidays @ScrtNrdPrincess ! You gave the prompt of snow so I hope you like what I can up with! 💖

Sherlock: Actually I think that would kill just about anyone.

Molly: As a stabbing expert, I can second that.

Lucy: Um... I think you mean cards?

Writing with color receives many questions regarding the stereotypes Characters of Color and their story lines may possess.

There’s a difference between having a three-dimensional character with trait variance and flaws, versus one who walks the footsteps of a role people of their race/ethnicity are constantly put into. Let’s discuss this, as well as how sometimes, while there’s not much issue with the character, a biased audience will not allow the character to be dimensional.

But first: it’s crucial to consider the thinking behind your literary decisions.

Trace your Logic 

When it comes to the roles and traits you assign your characters, it’s important to ask yourself why you made them the way they are. This is especially true for your marginalized characters.

So you need an intimidating, scary character. What does intimidating look like on first brainstorm? Is it a Black man, large in size or presence? (aka a Scary Black Man) A Latino with trouble with the law? If so, why?

Really dig, even as it gets uncomfortable. You’ll likely find you’re conditioned to think of certain people in certain roles on the spot.

It’s a vicious cycle; we see a group of people represented a certain way in media, and in our own works depict them in the way we know. Whether you consciously believe it’s the truest depiction of them all or not, we’re conditioned to select them for these roles again and again. Actors of Color report on being told in auditions they’re not performing stereotypical enough and have been encouraged to act more “ethnic.” 

This ugly merry-go-round scarcely applies to (cis, straight) white people as they are allowed a multitude of roles in media. Well, then again, I do notice a funny trend of using white characters when stories need a leader, a hero, royalty, a love interest…

Today’s the day to break free from this preconditioned role-assigning.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are completely free courses posted online that you can take live or access at a later date. I used to work for the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program, and they conduct a bunch of fantastic creative writing MOOCs for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and playwriting.

They just started Power of the Pen: Identities and Social Issues in Fiction and Nonfiction today (18 May 2017), but you can still register for it!

If you’re looking to access past MOOCs by the IWP, they’ve archived most of it here, and even the ongoing courses are archived as each “class” is released. So Power of the Pen can still be accessed outside of the live version, cos the lessons will be posted on the same day.

Power of the Pen: Identities and Social Issues in Poetry and Plays begins on 17 July.

These courses are taught by writers from all around the world, and I highly recommend taking the live course as you will be able to get feedback on your writing. It doesn’t matter what time zone you are in — the writers and instructors log on at different times of day and night. You’re encouraged to work at your own pace and schedule.

Guys. Free writing courses from the U.S.’s #1 creative writing program.

“Because... Because it’s true. Because it’s true, Sherlock. It’s always been true.”

What Timeless “Miracle of Christmas” plot hole are you?

Today's mood, apparently

I tried to share these gifs like a week or two ago, but apparently my originals were too big for Tumblr, so here they are a bit smaller. There are gifs from this scene out there, but I hadn't seen any single gif that featured both Garcia and Lucy in it, so I tried to do it on my own 😊 Enjoy!

Hello, lovers of Timeless, Garcy, Goran Visnjic, or animals. (I think I got everybody with that last one, yeah?) ♥

In February, Žarkovica Animal Shelter in Dubrovnik, Croatia suffered major storm damage. They’re trying to rebuild, but they run on donations. This no-kill shelter provides care to over 300 dogs and 200 cats, and these poor babies need their home repaired before the winter comes!

In honor of Goran Visnjic’s birthday and because of his passion for animal welfare, fans have created a donation page for the shelter. (Link below.) 

Please give any amount you can. Even $1 can add up if there’s enough of them! Fund raising will be going on until October 11, 2019.

If you do not want to donate through the fundraising page but still want to help, please feel free to donate directly to the shelter. Link here. Or you can send food for the animals, something they could always use (instructions below on “More Information” site).

And if you can’t donate at all, PLEASE REBLOG OR SHARE! ♥

Thank you for reading!

More Information

Donation Page