Okay, so the title is a little misleading, because this really isn’t a series of lamentations. I’ve been thinking about how to best promote Munchkin Conan and I really just like the way the word sounds. Lah-men-tay-shuns. OMMMMMM… Yes, I’ll be using that in a story soon. *evil grin*

At the moment, we’re prepping for a Steve Jackson Games booth appearance at New York Toy Fair. This is a trade show, not a regular convention, but there still are a number of pieces that we have to do as a company to prep for the event. Convention planning is, in short, a logistical nightmare that has to be sorted in any number of ways. First, you have to figure out how big the booth is. Then, what comes with it and what you’re allowed to hang. (Yep, you heard me right.) Some cons allow you to hang banners from the pole on the back; others don’t. For that, you need some way of standing a banner and you have to determine how much room that’ll take up.

After you figure out what rules you have to follow and how you’re displaying everything, you then have to deal with people logistics. What show floor hours can you reasonably work? How are you going to get your gear to the hall? How close is the hotel to your destination? That part can be “fun” all by itself. Then? There’s the extras that you have to hand out when the hall is open. Promo material, sure… But what’s effective at a trade show? That can take the form of catalogs, sell sheets, flyers, business cards, samples, etc. Demo material and prototypes are pieces we also have to include.

We will have two presences at this show; one for meetings and one at our booth. That requires additional planning to make sure both areas have what’s required when it’s needed. Toss in access to food, water, electricity, etc. and now you’re setting up a business that will be torn down in a couple of days — and I haven’t even broached the subject of conventions where you have to sell, demo, and interact with fans!

Luckily — and I mean this with every Cylonic fiber of my being — Kevin is doing a smashing set up for booth planning and configuration. I have pieces I’m working on, too, but it’s a lot more manageable since I have a great team and we all have a sense of humor.

Mood: Happy!
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: None.
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Went for a walk.
Yesterday’s Projects: Game, Short Story
In My Ears: Sting. Hey, don’t be hatin’!
Game Last Played: Grepolis
Movie Last Viewed: Ironclad
Book Last Read: Harper’s Encyclopedia of the Paranormal
Latest Artistic Project: Crystal cluster bracelet in silver
Latest Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem

I realize a lot of you following me are authors yourselves. Today I’m going to point to an article I wrote for the How To Write Shop. My influence for Dig Up and Rebuild Platforms is the sheer rampant sensationalism I keep hearing related to the business of writing but not about writing itself. There is a market for writing advice and I hesitate, nigh trepidate, to dive into those waters because what I care most about is my work. I’m online for a different reason than others may be. I’m not here to seek out internet fame. (Definitely not going to complain if that happens, though. Hee.) I’m here to learn, share, and engage for three reasons. First? Online marketing has a very high learning curve in part because it’s constantly changing. This has been my world for many years and I have to keep up with the technology. Second, I like the community aspect of the web provided my priorities are in the right place. I talked a little bit about this as my biggest take-a-way from going offline for 100 days. Third? I use the web for testing different ways to talk about, share, and publish my stories.

This wasn’t always the case. I started out thinking that the way people would get to see my work is if readers could get to know me. After a while? I felt used because it was *very* clear that the two worlds didn’t coincide. Worse, I started losing money because I get paid to consult. By giving away good information (a lot of data you get from consultants is the vanilla stuff for this reason) the majority of the people in the fiction world got what they wanted and walked away. When I needed help? Looked for my fiction readers? They were in sparse supply. Who made that mistake? Me. Because I did not put my work before my platform and I paid the price based on my goals and desires, not anyone else’s. It did, on the other hand, help me out with my professional life because people understood my business philosophy. Again, we’re talking about two, separate audiences rather than appealing to the one that matters to my work as an author.

Some writers write a couple stories and become famous. Others write hundreds of stories and never break the best-seller’s list. This is the reality of being an author regardless of who you are, when you’ve written, what you’ve published, and what the state of the industry is. Right now, everyone is looking for that magic formula on how to position themselves in a flood, fluctuating, volatile market. I know I did. Now I’m not. Why? Because the formula really hasn’t changed. It’s still about reading, writing what you love, researching markets, and submitting to them. A lot of people are using self-publishing as a bypass in the hopes they’ll get rich and famous but here’s the thing: self-publishing is its own market. Instead of submitting to a publisher and working with them, you’re now hoping to find your own readers who’ll follow your work through your self (small) press. Keep in mind, too, that authors who started out with the Big Six and bailed didn’t leave their readers behind. Some of them followed along because they were hooked on their stories. I played around with self-publishing and I’ll continue to experiment. It’s just not a business model I want to bank everything on.

Growing financial concerns seem to be the ever-pressing reason why authors do the thing they do and create the platform they have. Some are happier making less money but having more readers because the publisher is taking care of a lot of the business-facing aspects. Others will gladly take a diminished audience and make more money. By and large, however, many authors are banking on the potential of what they could make based on what they think publishers want out of them. This? Is incredibly stupid. Experiment, yes, but have your core business — which is your work, not your brand. If all you’re doing is banking on a dream, then you’ll die a fool. I didn’t become an author because I wanted to constantly play the lottery; I always was an author because this is who I am and what I love, love, love to do. Making a decent living as an author is very difficult which is why all too many of us have day jobs. I often joke about how I’m writing for my retirement, but I’m planning my career as an author over the course of several years — not just next week or next quarter based on that one story.

The sensationalism aspect of “YOU MUST DO THIS OR ELSE” bothers me because it’s really sending a crappy message for new writers about the business of writing itself. There is a market for writing advice. There are people that are much, much, much better at this than I could ever hope to be. I make people cry because I am very blunt. (Not kidding!) I do this because I care about the work itself and sometimes forget there’s an ego involved. First drafts mean nothing to me. I work and pare and polish because I enjoy it — revisions are FUN! Sigh. Still trying to find my tribe. What I wouldn’t give for a killer critique partner.

I hate the fact that now we’ve come to the point where other authors are bitching about other authors not giving the “correct” advice in the way that “we” prefer. BACK OFF. Yes, this is a competitive industry but that does not mean this has to be a competition. Have we really stooped that low that now we have to criticize how people are trying to help others? Screw that! Different things have always worked for different people. Don’t like it? Don’t read it or promote it. It’s as simple as that.

The mad, mad, mad rush to get new stories out there is cheapening the writing process and I feel that this is not sustainable or good for storytelling as a whole. Really, the best writing advice I’ve ever taken, was to stop reading what you should be doing and focus on how you’re applying it in your work. It’s kind of like getting back in shape. You can read, and read, and read all the diet tips that you want, but unless you’re actually on the machine? You’ll never lose the weight.

Anyway, I meandered a lot today I know but this has been on my mind for weeks. I hope that if you read my blog or any of my articles you know that I am not telling you what to do — you need to figure out what works for yourself, your work, and your platform. If you don’t trust yourself, then who the hell will?

Mood: Ranty. ARGH!
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: One and a half.
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Went for a walk.
Yesterday’s Projects: Game, Short Story
In My Ears: Avatar soundtrack. Um, which was the only thing I liked about that movie…
Game Last Played: Grepolis
Movie Last Viewed: Ironclad
Book Last Read: Harper’s Encyclopedia of the Paranormal
Latest Artistic Project: Crystal cluster bracelet in silver
Latest Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem

Well, my secret is out. I submitted a story to the Dark Faith II anthology. Normally, I don’t like to say what stories I submit where. Every editor is different and there’s so much competition out there it’s more likely a tale will be rejected than accepted. In this case, there are hundreds of stories for Dark Faith II Maurice and Jerry have to plow through. I received an invite for this particular story but took more time with it and submitted it during the open call period.

Anthologies are tough because you have a certain number of slots to fill and the editor needs to have a good representation so every tale doesn’t sound the same. Often, really great stories get rejected because they weren’t a good fit for the collection. So, forgive me if I don’t want to say any more on my tale just yet. Now you know… I submitted and if you don’t hear an announcement, I got a big ‘ole stamp of REJECTED on this one. C’est la vie!

If you’ve been following Maurice’s updates on this anthology, a number of writers thought the submission guidelines were “optional.” This astounds me. The biggest reason why writers get rejected? NOT FOLLOWING THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES. I knew some of the troubles both Maurice and Jerry were having, so I submitted a follow-up cover letter after I sent in my story with the real one. Yes, I have a sense of humor and no, this is not always a good thing.

If you want to read the cover letter and the trials and tribulations of being an anthology editor, visit Slush Pile Warrior Part Deux.

Mood: Grasshopper is focused.
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: A half. I will soon go for another.
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Short walk.
Yesterday’s Projects: Game, Short Story
In My Ears: New Age-Y crap.
Game Last Played: Grepolis
Movie Last Viewed: Ironclad
Book Last Read: Harper’s Encyclopedia of the Paranormal
Latest Artistic Project: Crystal cluster bracelet in silver
Latest Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem

A funny thing happened to me this morning. Remember when I mentioned yesterday how happy I was because I got my planner situated? Cleaned my office, too, for my chibithulhus, lots and lots of Munchkin, my Hellboy collection, and several books.

And then? I got an e-mail from Amazon telling me Final Fantasy XIII-2 is shipping. Which, I forgot I ordered. And, I was going to start playing it for my birthday. And…

Bah. Okay, so yesterday I broke the space-time continuum. Today? I am rearranging my schedule to make sure I write in the morning before work so I’m done with everything by dinnertime. Even with a week of travel, I knocked out about 20,000 words this month and revisions. I don’t write like this because I’m insane (or maybe I am); I do this because I love, love, love the work I do!

I suppose I should write a blog post about what my schedule *actually* looks like and how far ahead I plan. Some of my crazy ramblings are definitely caffeine-induced!

Mood: Chocobo fevah!
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: One, but I’m buzzing!
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: House-cleaning counts!
Yesterday’s Projects: Game, Short Story
In My Ears: Nothing
Game Last Played: Grepolis
Movie Last Viewed: Ironclad
Book Last Read: Harper’s Encyclopedia of the Paranormal
Latest Artistic Project: Crystal cluster bracelet in silver
Latest Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem

I *hate* it when I’m in a bad mood. Usually, it’s caused by First World problems or news poisoning. Last week was caused by Planner NeglectTM. This is the state of being I typically encounter when my mind tells my grasshopper to piss off. The conversation usually goes something like this:

BRAIN: Wow, I’ve got all these projects wrangled. This is awesome. I don’t need no stinkin’ planner. I have my to-do list memorized!

GRASSHOPPER: Hey, moron. Are you sure you want to do that? Sounds dangerous…

BRAIN: Yep! I am the shizzle! My memory is solid and I can keep track. Boo-yah. Pen and paper be gone! I have leveled up my RAM, beyootches.

GRASSHOPPER: But that’s what you have a planner for. The only reason why you can remember anything is because you’re writing it down. Don’t be delusional!

BRAIN: LA LA LA LA LA! I’M IGNORING YOU. LA LA LA LA LA. Tra-la la la la. The human brain is awesome!

(A few days later…)

BRAIN: WTF? I can’t… So hard to keep everything straight… I know I’m forgetting something…

GRASSHOPPER: Told you so.

Mood: The state caused by organization determination.
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: One. This is *not* enough to get through a Monday.
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Half an hour walk.
Yesterday’s Projects: Game, Short Story
In My Ears: Nothing
Game Last Played: Entanglement
Movie Last Viewed: Ironclad
Book Last Read: Harper’s Encyclopedia of the Paranormal
Latest Artistic Project: Crystal cluster bracelet in silver
Latest Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem

A few people commented about a crack I made in the pragmatic dos and don’ts for writers I posted yesterday. Specifically, I mentioned how authors “show” a face online as part of their persona or marketing tactics.

Yes, there are authors (who shall remain nameless) who criticize or comment about other people’s work, etc. in a negative fashion to garner attention. This is different than pointing out an inaccuracy or thinking critically. Even then, sometimes that’s open to interpretation. No, I am *not* naming names or citing examples. Some of these folks are simply people with quirky personalities who target others. A few do this to stand out from the rest of the crowd, thinking that that’s their niche or their angle.

That, dear readers, is not me nor would I ever advocate that you be a jerk online. These authors? Have reputations. Have lost contracts because of their attitudes. Have untold complaints. Their negativity is noticed by the rest of the industry and, as I’ve said numerous times before, you do have to watch what you say online. This is especially true if you are a new author because you do *not* know where you will end up or who you’ll wind up working with. Go to enough cons, meet enough people, and you’ll hear the stories. You don’t want to be “that author.” Several years back, E.E. Knight warned me about reviewing other author’s books and advised that I be diplomatic even when I don’t like a story. It was the best advice I ever got. Now, some of the people I’ve reviewed are folks I consider friends, mentors, and co-workers. You just never know if someone may be in a position to help you out some day.

The other thing about posting your dirty laundry is this: I’ve been in online marketing for many years and the law is *just* catching up to what we’re posting. You can proclaim to be angsty and ironic all you want, but if you’re an *ssh@t, then be prepared to live with the consequences. Yes, people get sued over Tweets, arrested over FB pictures, and judged/rejected for their comments. Publishers, editors, and agents are NOT dumb! So neither should we be!

There’s a lot of advice and editorials out there on blogs, websites, social media, etc. about writing, the craft, and the industry (including mine). You and I know that this advice doesn’t replace the act of sitting down in a chair and focusing on the work. You can talk and talk and talk about what writing is or isn’t, how you prefer one author’s flavor of advice over another’s, etc. but at the end of the day? All that matters is your work. You have to choose how you want to be a part of the community but — like any other industry — you’ll fare better in the long run if you’re professional and not a diva. Acting like a speshul snoflake is not the same thing as being bold or having confidence. There’s a big distinction. If you have to put down someone else to make yourself feel better about your own work? Then I say you have a big problem because the reason why you’re cutting into another author has nothing to do with them and everything to do with you.

Or, to put it bluntly, I have zero tolerance for bullies who try to bait people into nerd rage. Isn’t being a writer hard enough? If someone has a problem with another author, why is it so hard to talk to that person? Seriously. We’re writers, but we can’t communicate?

We all go through bouts of insecurity. This is normal. I cannot name one author I’ve talked to who has not felt insecure about their work at one point or another. Don’t look to any other writer for advice — including me — if you’re freaking out about your work or what someone else is saying about you. Trust yourself. Have faith that you love your stories (or games) so much you’ll do anything to learn, edit, and revise. You got into this field for a reason. Own it. When jealousy rears its ugly head? Write a new story. When you freak out because X is selling more copies than you? Write a new story. When you worry about your online popularity? Write a new story. Your path is your own and sometimes writing advice will distract you from that journey. Ideally, it should complement what you’re working on and not be a distraction from your own words. If you’re making a living selling writing advice that’s one thing, but if you want to sell novels? You have to write one first.

The only way you will ever feel like you’ve accomplished something is if you actually start plotting, planning, and working your way towards whatever it is that you want — regardless of how long it might take. That is persistence and that is crucial to being a writer. Believe me when I say that there are people who will lend a hand if you need it — but not if you have to cut, hack, and burn through relationships to get there.

Wow, almost 800 words later and I haven’t even gotten to the part where I’d rather be focusing on my readers…

Mood: Recovering from angsty, crabapple day.
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: One-half of one-half of one-half. Fill me up!
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Pending my ability to break the space-time continuum.
Yesterday’s Projects: Game, Short Story
In My Ears: Nothing
Game Last Played: Final Fantasy XIII, Kittens in a Blender!
Movie Last Viewed: Ironclad
Book Last Read: Broken Blade by Kelly McCullough
Latest Artistic Project: Crystal cluster bracelet in silver
Latest Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem

Our readers do!

Since we launched Haunted: 11 Tales of Ghostly Horror in October we’ve received some excellent reviews and recently we won an award for the anthology. Here is a quick recap of some of the comments we’ve had from readers:

Dave at Hellnotes.com says:

Ghost hunting isn’t something that most people think of as a career, but there are people out there who solicit these types of services legitimately. They’re not just the stuff of horror fiction and films any longer, as attested by ghost hunter Jaeson K. Jrakman in his introduction. Daniel Defoe even wrote a book on the subject called The Secrets of the Invisible World Disclos’d in 1735. Still, whether the stories are true or made up, they make for great entertainment, and Haunted: 11 Tales of Ghostly Horror is no exception.

Joe at Wickedlilpixie.com says:

With the sheer number of ghost hunting shows that are littering the television landscape these days, not to mention in the movies, its nearly impossible for this book not to exist. It was only a matter of time. That being said, there is no doubt a need for a book like this in the market. While not a die hard Ghostbuster myself, the genre is part of my chosen areas of speciality. Also, as it was produced by a local small publisher and had several of my favorite authors – several of which were local – the choice for me to pick it up was an easy one.

Hunter from Ravenousmonster.com writes:

I think ghost stories are the hardest kind of horror to write. I love body horror, but it’s easier; a disease that causes you to sprout hands in random places, a woman with shark heads instead of breasts. . . .Sure it’s creepy, but there’s something a little Mr. Potato Head about it: stick enough body parts where they don’t belong and you’ve got instant scariness. A really good ghost story requires patience, atmosphere, and most of all pacing. The best ghost stories infuse mundane imagery with terrifying implication. The mundane trappings have changed–EVP and Polaroids replaced spirit writing and séances–but the would-be ghost story writer still has to take an old house or graveyard or ship and a dead guy who won’t suck your blood or eat your brains and imbue them with netherworldly horror.

Brian posted his review on DriveThruFiction.com and says:

“Haunted”, the debut anthology of FR Press, delivers an excellently paced collection of mysterious and terrifying tales. The collection focuses on stories about hauntings and the ghost hunters that investigate them. All eleven stories in “Haunted” possess their own merits, and are distinct enough that the anthology avoids the pitfall of having eleven different stories trying to do the same thing.

Typically I am not a fan of anthologies. Usually when I set aside time to read I want to be able to delve into a novel and lose myself for a few hours. The constant shifting of gears and restarting that occurs as you move from story to story in an anthology always makes me feel tossed about. “Haunted” however, has avoided (or the very least minimized) this problem for me. The eleven stories in the collection are laid out in such a way that it feels like you are traveling through an entire pot arc, not just eleven short, disparate plots.

Gerard over at Goodreads.com has a review that says:

Given that I have spent the last two years gorging on post apocalyptic books I thought it was time for a break and so I chose to read Haunted: 11 tales, these tales all infer a connection to Ghost Hunting. Many of us have seen this on TV and normally revolve around a few guys with tattoos jumping at the sign of moth; I was interested to see what writers would do with the genre. I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised; this is a great anthology by a group of writers which were largely unknown to me before and I will certainly be buying books from some of the contributors. The whole anthology flows really well with no real repetition.

We also just found out that Haunted: 11 Tales of Ghostly Horror won the Best Anthology category in the Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll. The P&E Readers’ Poll is an annual event hosted by the Critters Writers Workshop where readers and fans can vote on their favorite books, authors and publishers. Thanks to our readers we took the top spot in this year’s event and we’re honored that so many would vote for our little collection of horror.

Haunted: 11 Tales of Ghostly Horror is available in eBook (PDF, ePub and Mobi/Kindle) and Print formats at DriveThruFiction.com. It is also available at the B&N Nook Store.

Cross-Posted with permission from FlamesRising.com

One of the things that is *very* confusing for new writers is how to peel off another author’s persona or (as I like to call it) marketing bling. There is the author, there is their work, and then there is the face they show to the world. That character or aspect is specifically engineered to get attention in a very competitive market and many writers utilize advice for newbies to do just that. Others attack or criticize one another to get that visibility. Regardless of your thoughts? That’s them, you’re you, and this is me. There isn’t one approach that’s better (or worse) than any other. My philosophy is simply “to each his own.”

Strip away the persona and you have working authors and aspiring writers. It’s no secret there are more people who want to write professionally than who actually sit down, stick their butt in a chair, and spend the time. This is *not* an easy field to navigate. If you are looking for a ruler or some common sense to pull you back into the work and the business of writing, then I highly recommend you check out Authors’ Checklist of Dos and Don’ts by Lucienne Diver. The article was originally published in the SFWA Bulletin which is published by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

It does NOT matter what size publisher you’re dealing with. The process may be different when you work with a small press versus a large one but we all want a quality story for readers to enjoy. These dos and don’ts will help you figure out your own set of commandments so if you do decide to focus on building a persona? You’ll have a strong foundation based on business practices to start from.

Mood: Recovering from angsty, crabapple day.
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: One-half of one-half of one-half. Fill me up!
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Rolled my eyes a lot. Sheesh. Should do something today.
Yesterday’s Projects: Game, Short Story
In My Ears: Nothing
Game Last Played: Final Fantasy XIII, Kittens in a Blender!
Movie Last Viewed: Ironclad
Book Last Read: Broken Blade by Kelly McCullough
Latest Artistic Project: Crystal cluster bracelet in silver
Latest Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem

I took some pictures this morning of the jewelry I’ve been designing and creating. Some of these are based on patterns; others I came up with on the fly. This first picture is based on the popular wrap-around bracelets that you see.

Since gold is becoming more popular, I wanted to expand my closet to include the color. It’s not cheap as a raw material and I have metal allergies, so I turned to beads. This first one is my second wrap bracelet I created after taking a class at Fat Cat Beads.

I’m really digging chainmaille. This creation uses aluminum and rubber rings and was inspired by another Byzantine weave bracelet I picked up at a con. My version incorporates two sizes of rubber rings to make the weave tighter.

This necklace is one I designed around the three focal beads. It’s made of natural stone (jet), silver spacers, and Chinese beads. It’s a little heavier than a necklace made out of plastic and I really like the texture.

The Crystal Medallion pendant in gold was my first foray into bead stitching a complex form. This was another one that I learned from taking a class and I now know you *have* to focus when you’re putting this together otherwise you’ll create a monstrosity. I think this one turned out grand, though.

Many of the beaders I know are huge, huge fans of crystals and *bling*. I prefer something understated myself, unless I’m wearing it as an art piece and everything else I have on is very muted. I love this bracelet so much I want to make one in gold and other colors, too! This one I learned how to make in a private class and I’m so glad I did. (Thanks Suzie!)

Last but not least, this is another design of a necklace I put together specifically for the texture and the line variance. The silver beads are really cool because they take on the color of whatever you’re wearing.

Mood: I should be sleeping.
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: They’ve gone into my system, but they’re not doing *any* good.
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Hah. Work out? HAH.
Yesterday’s Projects: Game, Short Story
In My Ears: Enigma. Yep, from the 90′s. Yep, I am un-hip.
Game Last Played: Kittens in a Blender
Movie Last Viewed: Ironclad
Book Last Read: Broken Blade by Kelly McCullough
Latest Artistic Project: Crystal cluster bracelet in silver
Latest Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem

If you read my blog, you know that I tend to explore both sides of an issue before making a decision. There are a few things, though, that I am firmly against. There is a definitive phrase that is drawing my ire and it is called historical revisionism. From rewriting Mark Twain to the current recommendation to remove slavery from history books, there is no shortage of desired changes. Critics who’ve come out against such revisions are purported to cause controversy as if rewriting textbooks to avoid mentioning awful acts in human history was a rational thought in the first place.

Editing certain pieces of information to paint a particular group in a better light is not a *new* phenomenon. Ever since human beings have been able to depict events into words, pictures, and song, there have been those who have sought to revise or edit what really happened. The historical record is, in a way, its own truth that will never be precise — but it will be accurate. Cultural attitudes that appall you or I today were common in that era or decade. Regardless of how we feel about it, that is the way it was. Our ability to record and archive information is relatively new, so we experience micro-trends like we have never been able to before. We sometimes can’t see the big picture because we’re too heavily focused on the details, but make no mistake — we are a living, breathing part of a historical record not just on a day-to-day basis, but from second-to-second.

There are times when the historical record is inaccurate or has some amount of bias. When I say “viking” what immediately jumps to your mind? Stereotypes and attitudes are greatly affected by literacy. The reason why many less-developed cultures are treated with disdain is because their frame-of-reference is completely and totally different. Read Who were the Vikings? as one of many examples. Writing words is separate from painting, composing songs, telling stories, or drawing glyphs about an event. The lack of literacy doesn’t mean that culture was “dumb.” It simply translates to different people doing different things in different ways. I get my food by going to the grocery store whereas someone else might hunt, skin, preserve, and clean their dinners. To that person? I probably look like an idiot because I couldn’t track a deer. Would I be offended? Maybe, maybe not. Say I was a vegetarian. Sure, I probably would be upset by learning about how other people find food. Would I want someone to edit out their way of life? No, because that’s them and this is me.

I take specific issue with glossing over bad things that happened and moreso when it comes to the treatment of slaves or Native Americans. These two things in particular are what helped me moved past some terrible attitudes I had when I was younger. Diversity was rare where I grew up and I recognized I had a problem. I leveraged my time at UW-Madison to work through many of those issues and this served as the foundation for (what I hope to be) a more balanced approach to understanding other people and cultures. Besides poring through books and exploring other experiences in college, I also scoured court records from 1686 up until the American Revolution for a year-long Honors Class reviewing how Native Americans were treated. I was fascinated by what I found because I was reading events in sequential order as they happened rather than from analyses that pinpointed specific events that spanned centuries.

Slavery is outside of our understanding and modern sensibilities. However, the practice didn’t just exist in this country — it went on for thousands of years and it’s still happening in some parts of the world today. It is ingrained into the American culture in a myriad of ways and it does no one any good to water down the capture and sale of human beings for profit. Yes, slavery did happen in this country and yes, we are *still* feeling its effects today and no, we have a *long* way to go before we’ll achieve equality of any sort. In order to treat every culture the same, we have to work on our empathy and respect for one another even in cases where we do not agree with someone else’s choices.

What appalls me, is that we’d revise history because of how we feel about it. It seems like some worry about a phantom person we’d offend, how people will think about our founding fathers, or how we’re not equipped to deal with racial tension. This can easily be rectified by one word: EDUCATION. Use books as they were written to teach kids something rather than omit it from their “precious” eyes. That is the only way we can ensure these atrocities never, ever happen again. Yes, kids are young and naive. This is why we have good educators and parents!

Mood: Hazy
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Still waiting for something to kick in.
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Rolled my eyes a lot. Sheesh. Should do something today.
Yesterday’s Projects: Game, Short Story
In My Ears: Nothing
Game Last Played: Final Fantasy XIII
Movie Last Viewed: Ironclad
Book Last Read: Broken Blade by Kelly McCullough
Latest Artistic Project: Crystal cluster bracelet in silver
Latest Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem