I stand quietly

How to see love? how to see strength? This post moved me in a way that only simple and profound writing can, and I want to help the writer spread information about a condition that affects so many people.

homeedjilly's avatarDirty, Naked & Happy

I stand quietly while you do somersaults on the bed as you aren’t being naughty, you are just trying to get your out of sync body under control.

I stand quietly by the toilet door every time you need to go, and come with you around the house, and sometimes even just across the room, because I know you can feel truly frightened when you are not near me.

I stand quietly at the supermarket checkout while everyone stares at you barking like a dog and blowing raspberries on my arms to cope with the buzzing lights.

I stand quietly while you tell the baffled shop owner that you are looking for shoes that feel hard like splintered wood because your skin can’t bear soft things.

I stand quietly when the attendant gives us scornful looks when I ask for the key to the disabled toilet because the hand dryer…

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“I will not be returning to Ferguson”

For the past week or so, I have been doing something I don’t normally do: I have spent hours watching the twitter feed about #Ferguson. Like, a whole night. Vice News has been streaming every night, and I’ve been watching/listening to the protests, other people around and the police around the cameras. I was annoyed at myself for spending my time doing that instead of other things, but on Tuesday, after seeing this on the twitter feed, I felt really uncomfortable:
“Tonight, millions of American will watch #Ferguson for entertainment. This is Rome, and the media make it worse.”
Thanks to The Hunger Games and learning about the origin of the word, “Panem,” I caught the reference to Rome, and it was convicting. In a way, I think it’s good that media coverage was like this. The police department wasn’t giving any details about what happened and, at least at first, traditional news wasn’t paying much attention to it.
However, it feels too much like I’m watching this for entertainment, and what the hell is wrong with me if I’m doing that? Am I just being pacified by panem et circunses? It really made me uncomfortable, for reasons I still don’t fully understand. The explanation is a little closer by reading this post today, written by a journalist who had been reporting out of Ferguson and is choosing to pull out.

Let’s Start at the Very Beginning…

I would like to share a recent post from a brand new blog, Every Day That The Sun Rises. Written by a friend dear to my heart, it will chronicle his life, lessons, and adventures living and working in Costa Rica. The author, Stephen, is one of the best people I know – funny, smart, kind, and his insights will be equal parts poignant and humorous at the same time. Enjoy!

stephennotsteve's avatarEvery Day That the Sun Rises

…a very good place to start.

I have been in Costa Rica now for almost three weeks, and this is the first chance I have had to finally write about it. Before leaving the U.S. for this new adventure, a lot of people asked me a lot of questions. Often the same questions came up over and over. For this first post, I thought it would help to re-visit those questions in order to provide some context for the rest of the blog. So welcome to the first (only?) installment of “All the Questions. All the Answers.”

“Wait…you’re moving to Costa Rica? Why??”

Yep, I most certainly am/did! After years of hoping/planning for an eventual move abroad, I finally found the right opportunity at the right time. I have worked the last six years in university admissions, a career path that I more or less “fell” into initially but one…

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What a Well-Developed Character Means (To Me)

As I commented to this blogger, I think a well-developed character is the MOST important part of a really good story. When I think about books that fully engage me, that leave me wanting more, the unifying characteristic is that they have good characters. As I writer, I would/do want to emulate and create this, and I wanted to share this blogger’s thoughts on what makes a well-developed character.
What do you think makes a book or story engaging? Think about the last one you were sad to put down – what made it hard to finish?

 

Update:

More thoughts on character development

Rose Tyler's avatarSearching the Clouds

You’ve all heard me say “I didn’t think the characters were well-developed” in a book review before, and I’ve gotten a request to tell you just what that means. It entails the character having qualities that

Of course I would love to tell you, and if you ever find yourself disagreeing with me over a character’s development, you can see if what you require for well-development is the same as what I require.


 My Well-Development Checklist

– The character has a well-developed background. This might include family members (deceased or living doesn’t matter), friends, special interests, or special talents.

– The character has a set appearance. I can envision them in my head.

– The character has a distinct personality. They have certain likes/dislikes, special interests, and personal taste in many categories.

– The character makes me feel emotions. Whether I’m annoyed at them or sad for them, they…

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Radio XXXIV, side B, track 3: “Headed For A Heartbreak” by Winger

I saw this on my reader tonight and was instantly whisked back to… 2005. I went out with this guy (veeery much older) who, I later joked, didn’t know that Winger broke up. Like, he pulled a chair out for me once, and the oil from his curly mane of hair was still on so thick that I could see it on the plastic when I sat down.

Not my finest hour.

Shelter Dog!'s avatarMixed Tape Masterpiece

Winger - Headed For A Heartbreak Oh, Winger , it’s only natural that when you’re listening to a song or singing along to a song that you, consciously or unconsciously, take on the persona of whoever’s singing it or the character who’s singing it.  And I’m sure it says something about me that when I wasn’t paying enough attention to the lyrics, which was often, and was the case with this song, that I was always assuming that the heartbreak or broken hearts or whatever mentioned in the title or the chorus was directed at me.  Unless I was paying attention to the lyrics, it never occurred to me that the singer could be the one who was doing the breaking of hearts.

Like when I just listened to this song for the first time in years, and I was actually paying attention to the lyrics, I was suddenly like “Oh, wait, so you’re kind of…

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