Katherine Frances's Blog, page 307
October 3, 2015
October 2, 2015
mermaholic:
A timid nixie peaks at us from her lily-padded...
A timid nixie peaks at us from her lily-padded pond. Available as a 7$ print from the artist, Mikiko Ponczeck, here.
October 1, 2015
Writing a Family of Mixed Ethnicities and Incorporating Culture
Hello! I am writing a story featuring a multiracial cast and was wondering about a few things. I am writing about a young Hispanic girl who was adopted by parents, one Caucasian and one African-American/Black. I am familiar with these ethnicities from being surrounded by them on a daily basis (my school is really diverse. There are students from almost every region in the world, yet it’s not really a big school) and I was wondering when describing them and their cultural backgrounds, when is enough, enough before pushing over the line into it almost being stereotypical? I have been itching to write well diverse characters, but I don’t want to take it too far. It’s kind of a stupid question and has almost an obvious answer, but I just want to be sure. You know?
When is enough, enough in describing a character’s background before it becomes stereotypical? Maybe putting all the stereotypes in the story you can think of and making the character a caricature instead of someone people can relate to.There is no specific threshold. It’s not like a checklist where you shouldn’t use more than 3 stereotypes per character. Writing doesn’t work that way. The key to avoiding stereotypes is not to rely on them. That’s lazy writing. If you give a laundry list of stereotypical traits all at one time as an info dump, it’s going to be boring and slow down the narrative of the story. If you sprinkle in these unique cultural details at the right moments, you can avoid being stereotypical.
Everyone is different and everyone does things differently even within cultures. Use a healthy balance of cultural commonalities within different groups and unique and specific idiosyncrasies that are tied to a character.
Also, take into consideration that you might know about these cultures because you are exposed to them and you might know how each group interacts within their own culture doesn’t necessarily mean you would know the complexity of how they would interact as a family.(Maybe you do, more power to you). Take this into consideration when you create a story with transracial adoption. Look through the adoption tag and this post if need some clarification. Perhaps this will help you create a story that doesn’t rely on stereotypes and gives you a chance to explore themes such as identity, culture, and family.
~Mod Najela
Advice: Stuck on Evil Plan
Anonymous asked:Hi! First of all, love your blog. Second, I’m writing a story involving superheroes, and it is narrated by one of the younger villains. However, another villain has something up his sleeve to get rid of the hero for good, and the younger villain finds it a bit extreme and begins questioning their decisions. Problem is: I don’t know what the plan is. I’ve got all the characters’ backstories and subplots figured out, but idk what the main villain’s up to. Any advice for writing evil plans?
This is just one of those things you have to brainstorm. Start by figuring out the line your younger villain wouldn’t be willing to cross. Next, look at your bigger villain’s goals–what are they trying to accomplish? What is their motivation to get rid of the hero for good? Finally, look at what the hero is doing and think of some ways they might easily be trapped or led into a dangerous situation. Now, put all of that together and see if some evil schemes come to mind. Just keep at it and something will come to you. If all else fails, just start writing your story and see if something evolves organically. Remember, the first draft is an exploratory draft. You can make changes when you write draft two. :)
When it comes to this kind of brainstorming, where there’s just a mechanical piece to your story you can’t figure out, one thing I love to do is use other people to bounce around ideas with. Even just fully explaining the situation so they understand can help you get all the pieces laid out in your mind. Most of the time, I don’t even end up using something the other person suggested, but their idea gives way to an idea of my own. And I’ve also found since non-writers never get to brainstorm plot ideas, but most people are creative enough to enjoy the creation process, they happily go along with this.
September 29, 2015
"I've seen that family three times already."
In one sentence is the spark of a story. Ignite.
Mission: Write a story, a description, a poem, a metaphor, a commentary, or a memory about this sentence. Write something about this sentence.
Be sure to tag writeworld in your block!
September 28, 2015
christopherpoindexter:
Hope everyone has a stellar weekend. ///...
Hope everyone has a stellar weekend. /// Now for sale on Etsy: “The Universe and Her and I #224” buy at www.christopherpoindexter.com // much love friends!
the-black-bolin:
cuzigottacutefaceandmybootysofat:
k-frances:
...
cuzigottacutefaceandmybootysofat:
voluptuous-lady-with-freckles:
Hold up
http://www.naturallyisis.com/about_isis.html
The fact that natural hair care got anyone arrested ever is sickening why is it a crime to not harm hair
Policing black women and putting them in a marginalized beauty standard that we were never built to attain ….. Mental rape another chain …… . There were laws against black women and their hair . Decades of being forced to cover our hair in some way some shape of form . This is another reason why the natural hair movement is important .
It’s trash as fuck that we are still being harassed today for natural hair styles it’s crazy.
Bruh really. Smh
rebloging this for 2 reasons. 1) this woman is a SJ hero and her cause is so important for POCs around the world, especially in cultures were natural black hair is frowned upon like European ones.
2) Her products are of real value! Checked out the link in the comments to her sight, she has shampoo and conditioner that is all natural for all hair types… I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THAT SHIT EVERYWHERE AND IT IS HARD TO FIND especially at an affordable price. Definitely going to check these products out. All natural shampoo at affordable costs that supports a noble cause. Hell yeah.
She’s so bomb. She did my hair once and I feel my scalp’s been forever blessed.
*BLACK people around the world
Sorry to reblog again guys. I just wanted to add something in case, in my original comment, I came across as foolish or ignorant about something. I don’t want that so I will attempt to clarify myself in case. When I said “her cause is so important for POCs (people of color) around the world” I chose the term POC keeping in mind colored people who don’t identify as black or African American, but still have to deal with the same discrimination based on their very curly hair type (like some from Dominican Republic and many other places that essentially have what white culture deems “black people hair”). Furthermore, when I said “natural black hair” I BY NO MEANS intended to suggest white people with dark hair color. I meant natural black folks’ hair. Because I’m white and then followed up with saying how excited I am to buy this product (which I am, even though I have very unnatural blue hair right now and it is PIN strait, I just want natural product because it’s better!) I realized I may have come across as if I were trying to say that white folks with certain hair type can relate to this issue or something, and that’s simply not the case. This is simply a cause I would like to support, not suggest I’m part of.
