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catharsistine · 3 years

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To Write A Good Villain

TW: loss of control, hallucinogenics, dr*gs, sc*rs, venom, bl*od, death, defeat, s*x, god, volcanoes, pr*dtors, m*rder, j*alousy, smoking, ab*se, cheating, sl*very, oppression, servitude, vampires, destruction.

Technically, I'm here on Tumblr as a writer. So. It's time I contributed my itty bitty bit.

Many things make a good story. Some claim it is world-building, some think it the cast of protagonists, some the vivid descriptions. All of those elements, however, will seem lacklustre, if your story does not have a good villain. What use is an MC with glorious superpowers or magic, if there is nothing to oppose them? Can there be any victory without a great evil?

In real life? Perhaps. In any fictional world? No. The readers tune in for awesome conflict, so we writers must provide, and enjoy ourselves while doing so.

So what does make a great villain?

Before we explore that, let us review the types of villains. Most important to remember is that a villain need not be human. In literature, there can be many types of discord:

- Person Vs Self: Often used as a compelling subplot, this kind of conflict is valid when a person needs to do something that is opposed to their inner self, something they find morally, emotionally or intellectually repulsive. Eg; A scholar forced to indulge in activities that are unscientific, like smoking when they know it is bad for their health. A pacifist who is forced into a war situation and must commit murder to save their own or their family's lives. A person seeking enlightenment struggles with jealousy when their guru finds a new favourite. (IMPORTANT: Feeling conflicted due to one's morals is acceptable. Hating oneself due to a mental disorder is not. Please do not use mental illness as a plot point.)

- Person Vs Person: Often used as a primary plot point in standalone stories and movies, this kind of conflict is valid when a person bears a personal grudge or hatred toward another. Eg; A wrestler hating someone who defeated them in the ring through sabotage. A child-hating the murderer that orphaned them and their sibling. A person hating their lover who manipulated, gas-lit or cheated on them. (IMPORTANT: Ensure that abuse and abusers are not romanticized, that the healing journey of the character does not lead to them forgiving their abuser. Forgiveness is not a prerequisite for closure. Please do not encourage abuser-abused relationships.)

- Person Vs Society: Often used as a primary plot point in dystopian stories and movies, this kind of conflict is valid when a person aims to fight against a law or a government that systematically oppresses them. Eg; A womon fighting against the law which considers them as lower-class citizens. A PoC fighting against slave laws. A member of the working class rebelling against the bourgeoisie. (IMPORTANT: If you are not a minority, do not presume you are qualified to tell their story. Our stories belong to us alone, and taking away from us the privilege of sharing our trauma when we feel comfortable enough to do so is the worst kind of representation. Please remember if you occupy a position of power, you have no right to speak on our behalf. Already we are often silenced, do not participate in that further if you claim to be an ally.)

- Person Vs Machine: Often used as a primary plot point in science fiction stories and movies, this kind of conflict is valid when any man-made object gains enough intelligence to be considered sentient and becomes a threat to humanity. Eg; A machine that acts as a maid desiring to be free of the bonds of its servitude. An AI which does not have empathy and value for human life. A robot that attempts to destroy mankind. (IMPORTANT: These conflicts are often intricate, and can be spun anyway. Perhaps a human tries to teach a robot to love, and the result is embarrassing in a comedic way. But do not try to equate people on the asexual and aromantic spectrums, people with mental illness or people with severe trauma to these AI. They are extremely discriminated against. Please, do not contribute to the stigma.)

- Person Vs Nature: Often used as a compelling subplot, this kind of conflict is valid when a person is pitted against fauna and flora in a vulnerable state. Eg; A captive who has escaped their bonds only to come upon a harsh landscape. A person with severe allergies visits a place that is opposed to their disposition. A person with a grudge against a famous wild animal who bit off their leg. (IMPORTANT: In many such stories, a trend is that a character comes across a hostile tribal group. These tribes are portrayed only the negative attributes of certain PoC cultures. Doing so is blatantly racist and highly offensive. Please refrain from representing us in such appalling ways.)

- Person Vs Fate/Supernatural: Often used as a primary plot point in fantasy and YA stories and movies, this kind of conflict is valid when a person is threatened or working against a force that is outside nature. Eg; A person coming across a magical artefact belonging to a god, and the devil's henchmen are after it, but it has bonded to them. A lower-level employee working in a tampon factory accidentally discovering their boss is a deadly vampire. A person falling in love, only to discover their partner is heir to a clan of selkies, and their younger sibling plans on overthrowing them. (IMPORTANT: Oftentimes, the villains are given physical and cultural attributes exclusive to PoC and their culture, like the antagonist having dreadlocks or enjoying food that lies outside white cuisine. Please realise that is racist.)

How to create a proper villain:

1. Motive.

Arguably the most important factor in a villain is motive. Their end goal must be reasonable(depends on their moral compass), achievable(depends on their means), and must cause moral conflict in the protagonist.

Eg; Due to childhood trauma, a villain feels weak and unsafe in their own skin. Adopting a terrifying persona, they seek to control everyone around them, and by extension, the world, through a potent hallucinogen. Considered worthless until they design a new identity, the villain is only considered a threat when they overthrow a monarchy/gain obscene amounts of money/create a giant machine. The MC knows that the villain is wrong in their actions, but understands that their henchmen are drugged, and must choose a different course of action than brute force to defeat them.

2. Power/Skill

Expanding on the earlier point of a goal being achievable, a villain must have the capabilities to obtain the prize they desire. If they perform actions outside their means, the entire premise becomes boring and unrealistic. Unless the villain is playing pretend for a future plot twist, humble the antagonist before they get out of hand.

Eg; A machine cannot destroy the world if they do not have an intricate base code if they are not linked to machines around the world. An animal cannot be famous unless its existence is questionable unless it is more mythical than real unless it possesses some quality (a missing tooth, a scar across their eye) that the others of its breed do not have. Kindness cannot be a source of a moral dilemma if it is not shown in many actions of the protagonist.

3. Appearance.

Contrary to popular belief, the way a villain looks contributes greatly to their story. If the appearance of an antagonist does not match their other attributes, the villain may fall flat and feel one-dimensional.

Eg; If a person comes from humbler beginnings, them wearing designer clothes is not feasible. A wealthier person should at least maintain the appearance of being well-groomed, but a few things out of place, such as a tie clip, messy eyeliner, or stubble are acceptable, perhaps due to lack of respect for themselves, or mania from unfulfilled desires. If a plant is secretly venomous, let insects keep away from it. If a werewolf is known to violently transition, let them have a feral look in their eye, larger canines and stronger jawbones.

4. Presence

Outside of appearance, the overall vibe of the villain is of the utmost importance. Their aesthetic instils fear, inspires awe, which is one of the primary things that cause audiences to secretly root for them. Their smooth delivery of scathing, savage lines makes us fall in love with them. Having a stellar, scary presence amplifies whatever the villain does tenfold.

Eg; If a villain wears a daring dress, different from the style of their era, it will make them seem much more impressive. Fresh after a murder, if they have blood splattered on their face, it will make the ghastliness of their actions more resounding. If they're haunting little children, having grotesque features instead of sharp ones will terrify the kids more, and the readers.

5. Backstory

Why did the villain become a villain in the first place? This is perhaps the most important question when it comes to antagonists. Not only do backstories help us understand the villain's motives and reasons better, but readers may also root for them if they glimpse a part of them reflected in the villain, making the tale more painful to read.

Eg; If a bully has been abused at home, it explains their actions. If a villain was in a situation where their body was not theirs, their actions may be born out of a desire for control.

Things to avoid:

1. Do not make them a caricature. Avoid toxic and dull stereotypes such as "catty ex-girlfriend", "sex-crazed womon", "evil old pr*dator" etc. Not only are these caricatures cartoonish and overused, but they also make a villain hollow and lifeless. Villains are humans too, give them quirks, bad habits and things they enjoy, beliefs of their own. (Eg; They enjoy watching cat videos, smoke or bite their nails, enjoy mixing drinks for fun, and think God is a hoax.)

2. Avoid coding them as PoC or LGBTQ+. If you have a diverse cast of various races, ethnicities, sexualities and genders, then it is completely alright to write another such character as the villain. However, if your only minority character is the villain, that is highly problematic.

3. A backstory does not equate to sympathy. If the villain's actions are extremely reprehensible, including and not limited to; r*pe, g*nocide, ab*se or s*rial murder, please do not try to redeem them. Understanding someone's motives is wildly different from making the audiences sympathize with them. Do not romanticize their flaws.

4. Lastly, humble them. A villain will always entertain the audiences if they suffer a bit too. Instead of constant angst and pain, add lighter moments, moments where they stumble, trip, are tired or bored. This would make their eventual death/defeat burn even more, and the audience will definitely mourn the loss of a wonderful antagonist.

Like a volcano, a true villain leaves ashes in their wake, but their fire forces the protagonists to solidify into stone. Let their actions echo into the age.

#writers on tumblr #writeblr #writing #writer #writing tips #writing advice #am writing #tumblr writers #writing community #villians #antagonist #evil #backstory #writing tricks #writing help #okay im done

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weaverofthreads · 4 years

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On the process of writing a novel...

Ok, so this began as a DM to a very dear friend who had said they were super excited to work on a novel of theirs that they'd abandoned for years, but they felt a bit lost when looking at the project again. They had "too many characters, too many intrigues" and they didn't "know how to create order" for all their ideas. They didn't know "what to keep, what to remove, what to change" and wanted to know if I had any tips.

I began to reply in messages and then realised I needed to make a whole post out of it, so here it is! All 3k words of it. This is for you, darling! I hope it helps.

Things I found extremely helpful when planning my novel for NaNoWriMo this year, after also taking some time off from it.

Most of this comes from Alicia Lidwina’s Four-Part article on her NaNoWriMo prep process, and setting up a writer’s notebook, for 2018. You can find the link to the first part here and I highly recommend you check out the whole series of articles for a more in-depth read.

Content of this ‘essay’:

Preparation, Groundwork, and Materials

Project 'Stats' & Overview

Mood, Moodboards, and Key Imagery

Things to Consider, and Important Bullet Points

Get to Know Your Characters

Chronological Order

Tangential and Preceding Events

Basic Premise, Plot Definition, Sub Plot Ideas

List of Locations

Scenes

Chapter Outline

NaNo Plan

Additional Notes and Tips for Writing

Ok. Let's begin.

First of all, I'm not saying that this is the only way to write or organise a novel. It can be tackled in as many ways as there are writers in the universe. This is just the method I used to get my ideas crystallised and organised.

Preparation, Groundwork, and Materials.

Take your preparation seriously. I bought a cheap but still nice A4 sketchbook with blank paper for maybe £2 at the local hobby store, and used it solely for the purposes of being my Novel Notebook. It doesn’t have to be a pretty, perfect, Aesthetic(TM) journal at all. Its function is to act as a route-guide through the process.

I bought a cute sticker from Etsy and used it as the front cover design so that I liked the book and that it felt a little bit special, without being too intimidating to put a mark in. Then I left the very first page blank, and opened it to the first double page. On the left, I wrote ‘Contents’ and then moved on to the right and wrote ‘Project Stats and Overview’.

I used a pen that was comfortable to write with, which for me was important. I’m a very tactile person, and having nice paper and pens (not necessarily fancy), made the process feel good.

Project Stats and Overview

This is the bare bones of the book, and includes details such as:

Project Working Title: (in my case it’s Weaver of Threads)

Targeted Wordcount: (to give yourself an idea of the scope, but it’s not necessary. For me it’s 50-100k)

Genre: (for me, fantasy)

Series: (will it be one book or more? For me, probably more than one, and at least two).

Inspiration: (here you can jot down all sorts of things which inspire your world and your writing, and it can be anything. In my case, I began with “density and lore, and feeling of being grounded in a real world from LOTR and Tolkien.” And I went on to include other writers and novels in the fantasy genre, as well as elements from our own world, such as Mongolian herding communities and way of life, the history of the Persian Empire, and Renaissance Florence!).

Project Timeline: Give yourself a structure, and be realistic. If you know you’re a slow writer who’s prone to distractions, be generous, but if you’re someone who responds well to short deadlines, tighten the time frame up a bit. I said “November 2020 - November 2021 for the whole manuscript” because I know I’m a procrastinator who gets dejected if they shoot past intense deadlines….

Editing Deadline: December 2021-January 2022. I know I can edit fairly quickly, so I made this one much shorter.

Main Requirements Prior to Starting: What do you need to get sorted before you can get going? It could be purchasing a laptop or figuring out a magic system. In my case, it was the latter.

What Happens in your novel?: This is not ‘what do your characters do?’, but what, in one sentence, actually happens in the book. For Fellowship of the Ring, you could say ‘a diverse group of people assemble and set off together with the goal of destroying the Ring’. LOADS more stuff actually takes place, obviously, but that’s probably the key thing that happens in that book. So, write the same thing for yours. I’m not going to tell you what happens in mine, because that would spoil it :).

That took up the first A4 page of my writer’s notebook, and after that, I moved on to Mood and Key Imagery.

Mood, Moodboards, and Key Imagery

On the left hand side of the page, I wrote down the words and concepts that sprang to mind when I thought of the novel itself. These were in no particular order or placement — just a random cloud of ideas in a rough column on the left hand side of the page — and they included: history, mystery, love, friendship, betrayal, nostalgic, homesick, sense of belonging, sense of place, searching, closeness, secrets… etc. etc.

Then on the right hand side, I wrote down five key words that I wanted to associate with the novel. These would form the ‘visual aesthetic’ in the background of my mind, and could be very easily expressed with a moodboard.

This same process (writing down words and creating a moodboard) could be achieved on a website like Pinterest. Take your time with it, find the right visual clues that really match the essence of your story, and create a final mood board with a limited number of panels that will be your novel’s ‘true north’ when it comes to feelings. If you're artistically inclined too, you could draw sketches of things relevant to your world too.

While this stage is really important for solidifying the feeling and mood of the novel, don’t get stuck here and spend forever procrastinating on Pinterest or whatever. Once you’ve crystallised that ambiance, it’s time to move on. It’s also perfectly fine to come back to this at a later stage if you find yourself running out of inspiration or drifting a bit. Daydreaming, drawing, mood-board-ing are all great ways to work on your novel on days when you don’t feel like writing.

Things to Consider:

Alicia Lidwina asked herself some questions which helped me get past the ‘block’ that I’d created when thinking about the novel, and those were:

What scares me about this story? (in my case it was the scope of it - it was easy for me to get lost in over-thinking tiny details and get too overwhelmed to handle the big picture)

What will readers take away from it? (in my case, I hoped that it was a sense of friendship, people from desperate cultures finding common ground, and a sense of being grounded in a real, tangible world.

What is its selling point? (essentially, why would an agent/publisher choose yours over the next one in the pile?). Don’t be bashful about this. This is your notebook, so if you’re proud of a feature or aspect of the story, write it down. In my case, there is no ‘Big Bad come to destroy the world’, no Chosen One who is the only one who can stop it. There is an antagonist, but it’s on a personal scale, and that’s the selling point. It’s about two people going on a personal journey to uncover a lost piece of knowledge that’s arguably not all that world-changing on its own, but which means the world to them.

What will be the three biggest issues in writing the first draft? Identify the three biggest roadblocks, and then take a bulldozer to them. For me, it was time management, getting mentally stuck, and the sheer darned effort of it becoming overwhelming!

Important Bullet Points

These are five key facts about your novel, distilled from the sections above. They include: What’s at the heart of the story? How long is the story? What’s the narrative focus of the story? What are the maximum number of main characters? And the maximum number of supporting characters (this obviously doesn’t mean you can’t have other, less important characters too!)?

Relationship between the two main characters is forefront

50-100k words

The novel’s focus is on the characters’ main goal (had to be more vague here so I didn't give it away)

2 main characters

3 supporting characters

If you find you’ve got too many main characters (not necessarily a bad thing to have a lot of characters - look at A Song of Ice and Fire after all!), then figure out whose story you want to tell here. You can always write another story with other characters in a connected novel, or a sequel. You don’t have to tell everything all at the same time.

Speaking of characters…

…Get to Know Your Main Characters:

Here you can write character sheets for each of your main characters and cast. There are hundreds of these templates available on the internet, asking questions like ‘how would your character react to [insert event]?’ etc. to get to know your character. If this isn’t your thing (it isn’t mine) then at least write down some useful information about them. Rough height and weight, hair, eye and skin colour, general temperament, and any other defining physical or mental traits.

Next came the Chronological Order

This does not have to represent the final order of the novel’s structure, nor the order in which you write the manuscript, but you need to know what happened within the timeline, and when, in order to be really clear when you’re telling the story. You can write the manuscript out of order, and you can tell the story with flashbacks or in a different order, but you need to have the underlying chronology securely in place so that your writing makes sense and so that you don’t confuse yourself or the readers in the process.

Preceding and Tangential Events

These don’t need to be in the novel itself, but it may be important to define the sequence of events that also led up to the moment where we pick up your story, and what is happening elsewhere so that you can be sure of these too. In my case, I defined the events that concerned one of the supporting characters’ lives so that I knew how and why they were at the point they are in the story. It relates directly to - and heavily influences - the events of the novel, so I needed to have this person’s history nailed down as well, even though I don't tell it all explicitly in the book (because that would be unnecessary and a bit dull).

Basic Premise, Plot Definition, and Sub-Plot Ideas (plus writing a synopsis)

Alicia Lidwina defined the story premise helpfully with the following formula:

Story Premise = Main Character + Desire + Obstacle

Pick a different colour for each of these components, and write a short paragraph to explain them in the context of the novel. Alicia Lidwina used the following:

[Main Character] “Harry, an orphan who didn’t know that he’s a wizard, [Desire] got invited into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and wanted to live his school life to its fullest, [Obstacle] but a certain Dark Lord who killed his parents is trying to rise into powers again and kill him in revenge.

Do this for your novel, and keep it really short.

Plot Definition: This is even shorter than that! It’s a single sentence!! It’s most closely tied to the desire of the character, and lies at the heart of the story. It’s most likely a distilled version of the ‘what happens in the story’ from the Project Stats page, so check that to see what you wrote there.

Sub Plot Ideas

Five bullet points (no more) for things that are happening concurrently and which are related in some way to the main story. For me, Kae and Tomas are doing their research, so that’s the main theme, but beneath that there are a few other related incidents.

Writing a Synopsis - developed out of the points in this section, and includes:

Who the main character is

What the stakes are (the story premise is your guideline)

What the main plot line is

How the MC resolves the problem in the main plot line

How the book ends.

List of Locations

Start with the main ones and add to it as you go on. Write a little bit of information about them so that you have something to refer back to. I also drew a big old map which I found very helpful and also really fun to do.

List of Scenes

It’s very important to map out every single scene that happens in the novel. Use your timeline to help with this, but remember a scene is not necessarily a chapter. You can have more than one scene within a chapter, but try not to have too many.

I used small post-it notes (sticky notes) and wrote down things like “M joins K’s clan at the fire and K learns about magic” and “K studies at Citadel, intro to Citadel, magic, and characters” as separate scenes. Once you’ve written down everything that is going to happen (this will take some time! Get a drink and some snacks ready, and go slow), you can stick them into your notebook in the order you’d like to tell the story. Some chapters may have just one scene, while others may have two or three. I didn’t have more than two in any of my chapters, and actually ended up splitting some scenes that I’d made too vague in this section into more chapters. It doesn’t have to be set in stone, but it will form a road map.

Additions and Notes:

I left a section of the Scene Outline bit of the notebook blank for things to add in as I went along. I haven’t used it yet, but I might.

Chapter Outline

I arranged the scenes into the chapters already by sticking them in order, but you could do a chapter outline separately after this. It’s up to you.

NaNoWriMo plan:

I did this back in October, and wrote down the main goal for nanoprep, which was to finish the background info. Breaking that down further, I listed - magic (how does it work exactly), geography, and politics.

After that, it was just a case of writing the 1667 words a day. *spoilers, I got distracted and didn’t do NaNo this year* . What I should have done, was break it up into chunks and write down my goals so that I had something tangible to use as a road map, and I will be doing that now for the novel as I take it up again outside of NaNo. Having check boxes and manageable goals really works for me. Find what will work for you, and if it turns out not to, adapt!

Some final pointers and tips:

Set regular goals for yourself. Whether you work by saying ‘I’ll write 1000 words a day’ or ‘I’ll write something every day’, make a structure for yourself. If you slip and miss a day, week, or month (I didn’t meet NaNo this year because I chose to work on another project instead *slaps forehead*), don’t beat yourself up. Writing is a craft and it takes a long time and a lot of discipline to master a craft.

Your first draft does not have to be good. At all. Your first draft is just words on paper. A first draft is the block of marble taken from the quarry, and subsequent edits and reworking is the process of carving the sculpture itself. The editing that is done by the publisher or the professional you employ to edit it for you later, is the final polishing. Don’t be demoralised if the block of marble seems very rough when it first lands in your studio. That’s ok!

Take regular breaks. Writing is hard work, and most people can’t concentrate on something successfully for longer than 55 min's, and if you’re doing that, you’re already doing really well. Personally, I’m at 15-20 on a good day. Write in little sprints of ten minutes or so, and then get up and stretch, look out the window, maybe leave the room, come back in with a fresh approach.

Stretch your hands, and wear wrist braces when you work. Seriously. I gave myself tendinitis on my first major project, and couldn’t use either hand properly for weeks. The ones I have are these, and they allow me to work safely for much longer.

Keep hydrated. Have a bottle of water on the desk in front of you between your arms as you type and sip it, otherwise you’ll forget. 2 litres a day is usually recommended, but know your body and drink accordingly.

Treat yourself. Whether that’s something as simple as a decadent hot chocolate after your first chapter/chunk/sprint is done, or a new notebook or a pen or that sticker set you wanted on Etsy or literally anything nice, reward yourself for the hard work you’ve put in, with tangible things you can look at or experience and say ‘I have that because I did the work’. It’ll help with your sense of achievement, especially if the project is a long one.

Join a local writer’s group for feedback. With the current Covid-19 chaos, this is probably not possible right now, but getting constructive feedback on your work from someone who hasn’t been cocooned in the project in the way you are, but who respects you as a writer and wants to help you grow, will be invaluable. It’s too easy to exist in a little isolated bubble and think you’re doing ok, when in reality you could be creating bad habits which will be difficult to break later. By these, I mean things like ‘filler words’ you don’t realise you use, or other pit-falls it’s easy to tumble into when you can’t see the wood for the trees…It’s intimidating, and it might take some courage to work up and do, but I promise it’ll help you grow. You don’t have to do what the people suggest, but it’s great to get outside opinions all the same.

Submit work to writing competitions. This will help with showing agents and publishers later down the line that you’re not only committed, but hopefully talented, and will help you to push yourself. Use the world of your novel for the setting, and get to know it by writing short stories on the competition’s theme set there.

Read. Read the writers you admire, and read them ‘actively’ - figure out exactly what it is about ‘that’ sentence that made you shiver, and use the same techniques in your own work (don’t plagiarise, obviously, but if it was alliteration that made the sentence work so well, use it yourself! Perhaps it was the metre of the line? Great, now you know a rhythm that will drive a sentence forward or slow it down etc.)

Enjoy it. If you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, it’ll show in the work. Take a step back if you start floundering, and ‘interview’ yourself about why it’s not fun any more. Refer back to the sections in the notebook that helped to clarify the plot/process, and see if you’ve wandered away from them. Make yourself answer questions like: ‘What is the main reason I don’t want to do this?’ ‘What is the character’s motivation?’ ‘Should I scrap this section?’ (don’t delete it, but cut and paste it into another ‘scraps’ document, and then start afresh from the last place you were happy with. Nothing is wasted - it all goes into building the world and getting to know the characters, even if it doesn’t get explicitly told in the finished product, so don’t be afraid to do that last bit).

Good luck!

I hope you found this helpful, and if you have any questions or things you’d like to add to this, please feel free to send me an ask here on Tumblr.

If you’re a new writer hoping to get an agent or publisher, you might also find this post on ‘talking to a published author’ helpful or interesting.

If you would like to keep up to date with my own novel’s progress, you can follow me here on Tumblr, as well as on my writing Instagram @rnpeacock

#writing #writeblr #writing process #how to write a novel #novel writing #nanowrimo #national novel writing month #writing a book #writing advice #author #authors on tumblr #how to structure a book #long post

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siteeco15 · 3 years

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People put invest in it so they can meet someone like them. Nowadays people have much higher expectations. The birth of mobile phones, social media, tweeting texting and chatting online have changed human nature. People cancel by text now. And that culture has spread into the dating world — people want what they want. The set-up is distinctly old-fashioned, as Mairead explains: I had a nice time.

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Not mind-blowing, not terrible, just quite normal. But it was still very different to going on a date with a random bloke I met in a bar, or someone on Tinder. Both evenings ended at a civilised hour with a peck on the cheek — after which, Jo calls me with feedback — which is excruciating. As it happens, although I had a lovely time with both men, I felt pretty ambivalent about seeing them again, and told Jo as such.

Black Women on POF (Plenty of Fish) Part 5 Birmingham

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kiradurbin · 4 years

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Super Short Reviews: winter / spring TV part two:

The Letter for the King (Netflix) – This moves so fast I almost got whiplash. But I guess thats what the kids need this days – its got to go go go just like a video game. Amir Wilson (lead) is easy to root for even if the back story and surrounding politics of the world aren’t quite clear.

World on Fire (PBS) – Will I ever get tired of WWII stories? Not if they’re good! This one starts with Helen Hunt’s broadcasting as an American journalist in Poland just as Nazi Germany is taking occupation. No Spolier: Things get a lost worse after that.

Motherland: Fort Salem (Freeform / Hulu) – Somewhere between Hunger Games and Legacies lies a tale of women’s empowerment through a bizarre mix of witchcraft and military. I could not connect with any of the leads but I’m definitely not the target age group. Taylor Hickson reminds me of Natalie Dormer.

Council of Dads (NBC) – BLECH. You cant just re-create the magic of “This Is Us” by throwing a bunch of people together. Perfect example of when good actors (Michele Weaver, Michael O’Neill, J. August Richards, Clive Standon) get wasted on a bad show.

Spinning Out (Netflix) – Perfect for a hot day, as these people are either always in snow, or in ice, or ON the ice. Kaya Scodelario from the Maze Runner movies and Willow Shields from the Hunger Games movies team up as sister ice skaters with a love / rivalry relationship who are constantly trying to navigate the campy craziness of their mom played by January Jones. AND Johnny Weir is in it!!

Belgravia (Epix) – DirecTv keeps telling me I get Epix, but Epix keeps telling me I do not. BAH! But in the first episode at least, Harriet Walter and Tamsin Greig mine every second of delicious uppity British awkwardness... which creates a weird level of tension that will leave British period drama lovers hanging off the edge of their settee.

Reprisal (Hulu) – Another Robert Rodriguez rip off with a dash of Tarantino and a splash of Mad Men. Big thumbs down from me.

The Neighbour (Netflix) – Spain. Random dude gets random super hero powers. Skip it. The thing about comedy is that you need to root for the main fellow even if he does silly things or makes bad choices. With this dude there’s just nothing to root for. Adrian Pino is quite funny as the sidekick and I hope he writes something better for himself soon.

Baptise (PBS) – Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes. Fantastic international cast: Tcheky Karyo, Barbara Sarafian, Tom Hollander, Talisa Garcia, Jessica Raine, Trystan Gravelle... Fantastic binge-able story. Oooooooo I hope there’s more.

Dracula (Netflix) – UK Mini-Series. Goes from horror, to good drama, to excellent camp. Highly entertaining and I highly recommend it. (Harkour: “You’re a monster!” Dracula: “And you’re a lawyer. Nobody’s perfect.”)

DC’s Stargirl (CW) – Another BLECH. Very Lite PG YA summer fare. I don’t know who approved this casting but its a huge missed opportunity in regards to diversity and inclusion. Sure I guess its fun that she’s a girl but she looks like she’s one jello shot away from being a stripper. Buffy did the blonde pretty girl thing 20 years ago and no one ever needs to do it again.

Endlings (Hulu) – Really weird / odd Sci-Fi for the kiddos (if they can figure out whats going on.)

October Faction (Netflix) – Three episodes went by as I was doing other things and then suddenly I realised, oh wow, I still don’t know what this is about? The show should have focused on the teenagers (played perfectly by Aurora Burghart and Gabriel Darku) but instead droned on and on following the parents around. Too bad.

Hightown (Starz) – Some (bad) shows start slowly like a tease… this (great) show takes off like a rocket and you know its gonna land hard. If you’re lucky enough to get Showtime I suspect its a binge watch. Monica Raymund is FIRE as the lead. Hope to see a lot more strong women characters like this in the future.

NOT REVIEWED:

Deadwater Fell (AcornTV)

Liar (Sundance)

Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures (Netflix)

Run (HBO)

Paradise Lost (Spectrum)

Sanctuary (Sundance Now)

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (Showtime)

Betty (HBO)

The Dress Up Gang (TBS.com) – made in 2017 but never aired until now.

Trying (AppleTV+)

Gold Digger (Acorn)

#helenhunt #world on fire #pbs #johnny weir #tasmingreig #harriet walter #adrianpino #tcheky karyo #barbarasarafian #tomhollander #talisagarcia #jessica raine #trystan gravelle #baptise #monicaraymund #hightown

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seananmcguire · 5 years

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Hi Seanan! Because I've read your books and went through your blog and I'm convinced that you are brilliant. And because I'm writing my own outline (a book that is estimated to be around 1100 pages at most - might have to make it into two books), I wanted to ask advice from an actual published author about some fears of my own. Because I'm looking at my own work and realising that it's very close to J.K Rowling's Wizarding World (1/continuing).

“It's an epic urban/historical fantasy (potentially magical realism?) drama about twelve protagonists and their families over the period of 200 years and how it coincides with the parallel histories of the non-magical world and the magical world – with the formation of magical fractions, wizarding schools and secret bureaucratic governments across different nations (i.e America, France, India, China, Mexico, Sinagpore, Syria, Israel etc.) (2/continuing).

It’s got multiple main queer, disabled and minority characters (some of which are #ownvoices characters) with the main twelve being witches of different ages, nationalities and identities, and is heavily interested in how different magical communities across nations treat magic and each other (aka the language of spells and how it is taught and how real-life prejudices and histories bleed over into the magical world). But I’m highly worried I’m accidentaly copying off J.K Rowling (3/continuing).

i.e Aurors vs. Luminaries, the usage of Latin or Old Greek etymology in the spells (which is not to say that Latin or Old Greek is the lingua franca of the wizarding world for spells), wandlore, the fact of wizarding bureaucratic governments and politics which plays a big part of the book, a movement of dark magic with heavy fascist coding, a non-magical society set upon exposing the wizarding world, an abused child forced to suppress her magic and so on (4/continuing)

While I think I’m not coping anything from the Harry Potter stories, I’m very worried that these aspects are burrowing from the world of J.K Rowling A.K.A the Fantastic Beasts spin-offs. And while I admit that the book may be a destruction/reconstruction of the world and may be a response to readers hoping for a diverse world, I don’t want to find myself in her shadow or accidently rip her off (5/continuing)

I hope the differences and the characters, and the stories create a bigger difference between the world I’ve created and the world J.K Rowling has created. Or should I scrape the story, so I don’t end up edging too close? I know you’re very clever and very kind and very practical and you actually have knowledge of the publishing world. What advice can you give? (end).”

I feel sort of like you worked your way around to your own answer by the end of this very impressive string of Asks, but it’s still worth answering, so:

None of the things you’ve cited as possible similarities are things that belong to JK Rowling, because they’re not things that can “belong” to anyone. Evil magical organization modeled on fascism? Harry Potter, sure. But also Star Wars, The Lion King, most evil kings/queens/monarchs in epic fantasy, and the beat goes on. Abused child? Again, Harry Potter. Also Lyssa from the Weyrs of Pern, and Parker from Leverage, and so many protagonists.

We’re all working in JK Rowling’s shadow right now, whether that’s fair or not, and we’re all trying our best to be open and honest and not steal things, but you can’t steal an idea, because ideas don’t belong to anybody. If they did, we could never have had the Munsters and the Addams Family, and believe me, I need them both to be content. I need two cakes. Not just one cake. Two cakes. No one owns cake.

The mere fact that you’re taking the time to ask these questions and have these concerns means you’re less likely to steal things. Spells in fantasy being cast in Greek or Latin is an old classic of the genre. Of course the magical world needs to have police figures. And so on. If you can’t find any other example of something you want to do--like animagus, that’s pretty much an HP-only thing, although shapeshifters and shapeshifting magic is traditional--then maybe see if you can do something else. But as long as there are multiple instances of the same thing, you’re on safe ground, and even if there aren’t, well...somebody had to be second.

Just make your own canon and your own story and don’t worry if some of your skeleton and schema may have come from somewhere else. That’s normal for humans. That’s how humanity interacts with story. It always has been.

It always will be. And that’s awesome.

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inkandpaperadventures · 5 years

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October Book Challenge

So I missed A LOT of days here thanks to bad internet and being away. But now I am back and I thought I’d catch by compiling the questions I missed into one post so here we go.

Day Three: Your favourite series?

My first reaction here was to say Harry Potter but truth be told, I have gone off that series a bit in recent years. Bet you can guess why. I think instead I’m going to say The Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare. The books are full of fascinating lore and lots of diversity and a focus on various kinds of relationships from romance to found family which is something I really enjoy. And, as the series is so large and still growing, there is a book, character or relationship for everyone.

Day Four: Favourite book of your favourite series?

Leading off of that I’m going to say The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare. It’s set in the middle of the original part of the series, The Mortal Instruments, but focuses solely on my two favourite characters, Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood. Sweet, funny and full of adventure, I highly recommend it.

Day Five: A book that makes you happy?

A book that made me really happy when I read it would be Red, White and Royal Blue. Everyone who has read this book will understand immediately and if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend that you do. It’s a sweet enemies-to-lovers romance with a good dose of politics. It’s a book that left me smiling and feeling incredibly hopeful for the future.

Day Six: A book that makes you sad?

The first book to come to mind was The Book Thief. Again, pretty obvious why this one upset me but I will never forget the horror when you realise Liesel is all alone. This book broke my heart but was a brilliant read.

Day Seven: A book that makes you laugh?

I struggled to think of one here and the one I’ve chosen may not be everyone’s first pick. I chose The Princess Bride for this slot as I read it again earlier this year and found it to be far funnier than the first time I read it. Goldman has a very dry wit as he twists the story to confuse the reader by telling a story within a story. And I have to admit that the self-aware stories are some of my favourites.

Day Eight: Most overrated book?

It’s more of a series but The Cormoron Strike novels by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling) isn’t as good as I think a lot of people made it out to be. I’ve read all four of them and to be honest, the only reason I pushed on was for the character of Robin and even then I don’t know if I can put myself through another one let alone the apparent nine still to come.

Day Nine: A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving?

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. I never watched the Lord of the Rings movies as a child ad I definitely didn’t read the books. I actually picked up the book because a friend so the first Hobbit movie and said it was good. I wasn’t preparing to hate it but I definitely didn’t think I would love it but the book has become one of my favourites.

Day Ten: A book that reminds you of home?

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. I read this book when I was twelve and ever since it’s been one of my comforts during rough times. The story follows Meggie, a bookworm, as she learns that her father has been keeping a lot of secrets from Meggie. Secrets about himself, her mother’s disappearance and even about Meggie herself. It’s a fun read and if you love books, its incredibly heartwarming with a lot of nods to many childhood favourites.

Day Eleven: A book you hated?

Atonement. Hands down. Everyone seems to love this book (or at least the movie) but I couldn’t get into it and didn’t finish it. Briony was so irritating that I had to keep putting the book down and it was a struggle to pick it back up and eventually I just gave up. The framework of the novel is interesting but it’s unfortunately become a book I’ll probably never pick up again thanks to a bad first experience.

Day Twelve: A book you love but hate at the same time?

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The characters are all cruel and cold and treat one another terribly, so much so that you don’t even know who you are truly rooting for. In fact, I found myself rooting for characters, not because I liked them but because they were challenging characters I really didn’t like. All that being said, it’s a fascinating character study set against the dazzling and corrupt backdrop that was New York in the 1920s. Which is incredibly fitting if you know much about the actual characters. Pretty but awful.

Day Thirteen: Your favourite author?

I don’t know if I have a single favourite author. There are several that have caught my attention whose writing I love. For the sake of answering I will pick one but I wouldn’t classify her as my absolute favourite. Rather she is one of my favourite authors and that is Rainbow Rowell. I’ve enjoyed everything of hers that I’ve read and her characters are some of the most relatable I’ve ever come across, especially Cath from Fangirl. Not only that but she gave back the wonder that was the Harry Potter series in the form of Carry On and Wayward Son with a diverse cast and a more sensitive approach to the creation of the magickal world the characters reside in.

Day Fourteen: Book turned movie and totally desecrated?

I could say the Harry Potter series as I have a lot to say on those movies but I’m actually going to say The Hunger Games. The book is a horrifying dystopian about inter-generation abuse in the extreme but the movie turned the narrative into exactly what the novel was critiquing. The movie is what The Capitol wants the Games to be seen as but rather than critiquing this the movie appeared to endorse it. A horrifying death match between children was turned into a romance which was a disgusting homage to the book.

Day Fifteen: Favourite male character?

This is incredibly difficult as so many characters come to mind but the one I’m leaning towards most is Magnus Bane from the Shadowhunter Chronicles. A biracial, bisexual immortal warlock who loves cats and glitter? Sign me up. Magnus has one of the biggest hearts as well, no matter what he says and is incredibly loyal to those that he cares about, staying behind to face down everything from demons in the pit of Hell to annoying family members. Characters who have stayed kind despite everything that has happened to them are, honestly, incredibly undervalued and Magnus definitely fits the bill.

Day Sixteen: Favourite female character?

Cath from Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl. As I mentioned above, Cath is one of the most relatable characters I’ve ever come across in fiction. A shy nerd who loves her books and writes fanfictions about her otp is probably super relatable to a lot of people. What I loved most about Cath is how unapologetic she is for her nerdy love. She relationships are pretty turbulent during the novel and it is through reading and writing that she finds peace and, eventually, the strength to let the past go.

Day Seventeen: Favourite quote from your favourite book?

This question was incredibly difficult as I do not have a single favourite book but rather a shelf full of favourites. In the end I’ve settled on one of my favourite quotes from Inkheart by Cornelia Funke.

“Books loved anyone who opened them, they gave you security and friendship and didn't ask for anything in return; they never went away, never, not even when you treated them badly.”

Day Eighteen: A book that disappointed you?

Dracula by Bram Stoker really disappointed me. I had such high hopes for such a classic novel but I found that once Van Helsing entered the story it became dull and the horror of Dracula became so distant as to be almost nonexistent.

Day Nineteen: Favourite book turned into a movie?

It’s probably not my favourite but I think this may be one of the most faithful adaptations of a book I’ve come across. The Secret Life of Bees is one that I almost put under ‘a book that made you cry’ but I think its adaptations makes it more fitting here. The changes they did make to the movie don’t detract from the core story and the movie retains the importance of the bonds between all the main characters.

Day Twenty: Favourite romance book?

There are a lot, especially from this year alone but I’m going to pick It Sounded Better In My Head by Nina Kenwood. This book was incredibly realistic with its depiction of the confusion a first relationship can cause. The importance of the main character, Natalie’s, friendships isn’t lost in light of her new romance but rather they run parallel to the romance and are just as important. The book it short, sweet and hits home in a way that left me wanting to read more.

Day Twenty-One: The first novel you remember reading?

The Twits by Roald Dahl. I proceeded to then read most of his novels before turning to Emily Rodda but it was definitely the cruel married couple that started my journey as a reader.

Day Twenty-Two: A book that makes you cry?

The Absolutist by John Boyne. If you are looking for a happy ending this is not the book for you. This book was heartbreaking and left me crying for quite some time. Set in WWI and featuring a pair of young men who meet in a training camp of the Biritsh Army, it follow them as they arrive on the battlefield with very different stances on the war and a forbidden romance brewing between the two. If you do read this book, brace yourself for the ending.

Day Twenty-Three: A book you wanted to read for a long time but haven’t?

Valentine by Jodi McAlistor. It’s been on my to read list for well over a year now and it is currently sitting on my bookshelf in line to be read. A fantasy ya novel set in Australia that deals with fairies is right up my alley and Jodi McAlistor herself is a fascinating author whose studied so much ya fiction, in particular feminist and romance fiction that I feel that this novel is going to be amazing once I get around to it.

Day Twenty-Four: A book you wish more people would’ve read?

The Troutespond Series by Elizabeth Priest. This series is rather niche and only just got off the ground last year but its charming and features four teenage girls as the main characters. The girls find themselves caught up dealing with the world of fairies even as they struggle to study for final exams and getting ready for university.

#books #october book challenge #book challenge #ya fiction #romance books #gothic books #fantasy books #the shadowhunter chronicles #the hobbit #tolkien #rainbow rowell #red white and royal blue #the red scrolls of magic #the troutespond series #inkheart #dracula

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daisychainblogs · 6 years

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Lady Bird - a review ****

Hair dye, driver’s licenses, cigarettes and sex . Greta Gerwig’s award winning Lady Bird fondly remembers the escapades of youth whilst shining an often amiss spotlight upon the troubles of adulthood.

The PlayGirl reading teen, Perfect-But-Oh-Wait romance and a floppy haired musician conducting intimate relationships with tobacco and suspicions concerning the government. Have them walk into a bar and the scene is set for the typical coming of age punchline. But if it is purely for such a comfortable kick that you plan to visit your local screen and catch Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut, consider your purchase with caution. Lady Bird delves far more probing fingers, examining the hard truths of leaving home and the disturbing sense of self awareness we gain as childhood begins to fade.

Greta Gerwig is an experienced artist. Having worked both professionally and romantically alongside fellow cinema whizz kid Noah Baumbach (co-writer of Wez Anderson’s Life Aquatic and oscar nominee for Best Original Screenplay, The Squid and the Whale ) since 2009, Gerwig really knows her stuff. Actress, writer, director : her’s is a name which should immediately pack a respect-inducing punch. And in her first solo dalliance with direction, Lady Bird, she follows through the throw, delivering a smart, sensitive, mildly bruising dissection of those odd summer days before we are officially expected to bid the dog farewell and take on the big bad world.

Gerwig begins her Oscar-Nodded piece with deceptive modesty. Girl has best friend; girl betrays best friend in order to fulfil dreams of popularity; girl makes all the necessarily incorrect decisions concerning boys. Que the audience nestle into the comfortable familiar. Don’t get me wrong : this indie movie crafts such elements perfectly.We begin to revel in Ladybird’s generically adolescent two-fingers -up attitude, gleefully watching as she ticks off the teenage to do list with comic determination. But one could be forgiven for thinking, at first, that Gerwig had simply mixed up a highly accomplished re-hash of many seen-before flicks.

But don’t say I didn’t warn you. Greta Gerwig is a far, far smarter woman than this, and to label her piece merely ‘familiar’ would be be to do it a severe injustice. Instead, Gerwig gives us more than just those coming of age cliches, and allows her work to rightfully skip its way into a list of films considered the very best the year has had to offer.

What is perhaps most remarkable about Gewrig’s latest vision is her tender approach to the adult perspective. She casts long, unapologetic shots upon the fully grown members of the cast in her rare diversion from the genre’s young protagonist, and in doing so allows the portrayal of adult vulnerability in the wake of youthful brutality to truly sing. In one brilliantly observed moment, we watch as Marion Mcphearson, fiercely portrayed by Laurie Metcalf, quietly crumples in response to her daughter’s condemnation of their home as ‘on the wrong side of the tracks’- only to immediately re-compose herself in a painfully maternal fashion. It’s weak smiles all round as her daughter bounds out of the door. It is in moments such as these that we can truly appreciate how Gerwig has very cleverly prised open the Coming of Age model, allowing equal space for both the protagonist and the less obvious adult role to grow and breathe.

But perhaps the most poignant of Gerwig’s explorations is that into the sledge- hammer influence of adolescence. In one understatedly devastating moment, Christine (aka the self Christened Lady Bird -”it’s given to me BY me”) learns that asking to be dropped a few blocks back from school in her very real attempt to avoid the embarrassment of parental association, was in fact not so cleverly concealed by her claim to 'enjoy the walk’. Instead, it has made its mark on an already troubled father . Lady Bird’s painful teetering and eventual cliff-top-chucking into the moments when we realise our parents are not nearly as strong and unbreakable as they so surely seem to be is a strike of genius on Gerwig’s behalf. It reminds us that this a film which thinks above and beyond.

Whilst Gerwig’s cast shine out, Saoirse Ronan’s performance certainly living up to its hype and recognition, it really is the writing of this film which pushes it from the nest, one of Gerwig’s most charming achievements being the script’s unwilling to lay total blame at any character’s door. She has always portrayed her characters lovingly. The sparky, messy, utterly gorgeous presentation of Frances Ha(….) back in 2013 encouraged critics to hail the character as amongst the 'most relatable ever’, whilst the 2016 hit Mistress America had its audience wishing we all had a step-sister-to-be as scratchily charming as Gerwig’s Brooke. In Ladybird, the trend continues. She shapes characters of an intoxicatingly broken nature, none of whom we are ever asked to fully condemn. Timothee Chalamet’s Kyle has been hailed the classic bad-boy of the piece, and is certainly shaped, to a certain extent, as the romantic con-quest we all must foolishly surmount so as to 'get it out of the system’. But you will have to forgive me if I disagree with the general audience condemnation of Chalamet’s supposed 'cookie-cutter’ character. Yes, he enjoys frowning too much and ultimately makes some questionable decisions concerning his relationship with Ronan’s eponymous protagonist. But he does all this before returning home to a Father suffering from cancer. Immediately, Kyle is the broken boy with whom Gerwig demands we sympathise. Once again, the director dares us to say that this is a typical teenage narrative. There are no flat characters; no ‘bad boys’, no ‘terrible parents’ or ‘cruel teachers’.There are just people.

Humanity only really has so many variations of the same story to tell. But what sets aside the truly great story tellers is the way in which they tell it. With Lady Bird, Gerwig has certainly returned to her Frances Ha fed roots, with a film that celebrates the romance of youthful mistakes and the places into which we are born. But now she is older and wiser, and her new triumph gives the Coming of Age a much needed shot of rawness, reminding us through this delightfully biting comedy that whether we are 17 years old or 47 years old, there are always tantrums to be had, apologies to be made, and lessons to be learned.

#lady bird #oscars #greta gerwig #saoirse ronan #timothee chalamet #coming of age #film #movie review

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accuhunt · 4 years

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Should Travel Bloggers and Influencers Voice Their Political Opinions?

I feel like I’ve begun 2020 in two parallel universes. Physically, I’m writing this from a remote, stunning village in Lesotho (a country in Southern Africa), immersing myself in the Basotho culture and trying to pick up words from the Sesotho language. Mentally, I’ve been following the mind-boggling (and frankly quite scary) political developments in India, the US, Iran and elsewhere in the world, wondering what the future holds.

Before I took a much-needed end-of-the-year detox from social media, I posted about the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act introduced by the Indian government.

However, instead of debating and discussing the issues at hand, many people commented and DM-ed me, advising me to stick to travel blogging (I decided to delete and block some who were particularly hateful). Even my mom asked me to refrain from posting political opinions publicly.

On the other hand, several “influencers” (for lack of a better word) recently received flack from the New York Times and leading international publications for travelling to Saudi Arabia, promoting the overlooked beauty of the country and completely ignoring its politics.

That made me ponder a pertinent question:

Should travel bloggers and social media ‘influencers’ discuss politics?

Travel and politics may seem like worlds apart – and in some ways they are.

But while considering whether to travel to Myanmar, I asked myself a hundred times if my trip was going to support the government during the Rohingya crisis. Would my travels to Iran support its conservative regime? Will visiting the United States support a leadership that refuses to take urgent action on climate change?

Is boycotting a country for its politics the answer? Or is it fair to travel to a country and ignore its politics?

Travel and politics don’t seem that disconnected now, right?

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I thought long and hard before I decided to travel to Myanmar. Did I really want to explore a country with an on-going humanitarian crisis? The ethnic conflict in the northern part of Myanmar’s Rakhine state is heartbreaking… . . I read both sides of the argument and debated whether to boycott tourism in Myanmar with friends. Then decided that I was going to travel there anyway. Boycotting tourism because of the Rohingya crisis felt like boycotting tourism in India because of Kashmir, boycotting the US because of the Middle East and boycotting tourism in China because of Tibet. . . Ultimately I wanted to know Myanmar and its people myself, instead of believing entirely the narrative of the media. And that’s what I did – explored popular places like Bagan and Yangon with social enterprises and went off the beaten path in Chin State. Had plenty of conversations on the subject with locals. Realised that most of them don’t echo racist sentiments. Many of them are subsistence workers who make ends meet only because of tourism (responsible tourism of course, which contributes directly to the local economy). And across the country – from Yangon to small villages – monasteries, churches, mosques, even temples – stand next to each other, and are frequented by locals irrespective of their religious beliefs. . . Boycotting a country isn’t the solution if you ask me. Travelling in a way that supports the local economy directly (as opposed to its government), engaging in meaningful conversations and making conscious decisions is. And travelling in Myanmar reinstated that for me. . . And you, is there a country you wouldn’t travel to? Why or why not? . . #theshootingstar #myanmartravel #passionpassport #responsibletravel #shotoniphone

A post shared by Shivya Nath (@shivya) on Jan 28, 2019 at 8:43pm PST

The privilege of travel

See, here’s the thing. When you’ve grown up in a Hindu family, indulged in the heartwarming hospitality of Muslim friends in Iran, broken bread with Buddhist nuns in Ladakh, spent cold winter nights with a Seventh Day Adventist Christian family in Switzerland and indulged in a Sabbath meal in a Jewish household in New York City, your perspectives change. You realise that the differences of religion (and caste and creed) are superficial. They are exploited by leaders who thrive on divisive politics. It has happened throughout history.

So as someone who is lucky and privileged enough to have the opportunity to travel, I think it’s not only my RIGHT but also my RESPONSIBILITY to voice political opinions.

By travelling to a place subjected to highly biased media reporting (like Iran), I can bust many myths by shedding light on its local, everyday life. I can ensure that the tourism money I spend directly supports responsible tourism enterprises and urge my readers to do the same. But I can’t do that without talking about how its political regime impacts its people.

The same goes for India. I can’t implore you to experience the incredible diversity of India without first condemning an act that openly discriminates against many of its citizens.

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Wearing the compulsory hijab (head scarf) over the month I spent in Iran evoked many emotions: nonchalance, annoyance, anger, amusement, empathy, solidarity. In that order. . . At first, it was hard not to judge the people of Iran (both women and men) for letting this happen. For letting someone dictate that women must cover their heads in public places so men don’t get aroused. Just like the outside world, I thought of the compulsory hijab – and the lack of choice about it – as a sign of repression. . . But the more Iranian women I met, the more I changed my mind. Instead of repressed, submissive women, I met badass, inspiring, independent, free-spirited, liberal women throughout the country. I met women who are artists, chefs, entrepreneurs, poets, writers, environmentalists, musicians, activists. I met someone who had hitch-hiked through the remote Baluchistan province, and planned to travel to Afghanistan soon. Someone who drove to neighboring countries to sell goods and camped along the way. Someone who was single-handedly keeping an old artform alive. . . Pretty much every woman I met had a daring story to tell. How they were arrested for not wearing the hijab and let go with a warning. How they had run and hid until late in the night to escape the police. How they’d seen the inside of a jail and continued rebelling. . . The author Randy Pausch once wrote that we cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. And that I found absolutely true for Iran. So no, please don’t refuse to travel to Iran because you have to wear the hijab. And please don’t judge Iranian women based on what the media tells you. Travel there, make some friends, learn about their lives and form your own opinions. I mean, what else is the point of travelling? . .

Exploring Iran with @uppersia .

Shot on #iphonexsmax . . Photos –> Just a few of the friends I made along the way in Iran

. . #theshootingstar #iran #iranianwomen #meaningfultravel #iran #whywetravel

A post shared by Shivya Nath (@shivya) on Mar 21, 2019 at 9:35pm PDT

Is it even politics?

Many of the world’s repressive governments would prefer that no one speaks up for anyone else. That people stick to what they do and live in fear of voicing their opinions.

But speaking about politics doesn’t have to mean picking sides. It’s not about choosing one government over another. It’s about standing up for what we believe is right. For defending the ideals of secularism, democracy and humanity itself. In India currently, that means defending basic rights – like the right to peaceful protests, internet access (Internet has been inaccessible in Kashmir for over 100 days now) and a democracy that is of the people and for the people, not one that tries to silence the people.

In the current world of social media, dominated by trolls, hatred and fear, it’s not always easy to speak up. So here’s a big shout out to travel bloggers and Instagrammers who create nuanced yet fearless content that sheds light on a country’s politics as much as its beauty, food and everyday life.

What do you think, should travel bloggers speak out about pertinent political issues as they travel?

Join my adventures around the world on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Order a copy of my bestselling book, The Shooting Star.

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