World of My Own

My writers block seems to be over. Celebrate I shall.

[marinaprose]

“Winter Stories” pantoum poem by Marina Montenegro April 2015

[zreyta]

Marginalized sexual/romantic orientations represented as the real and very accurate mythical creatures they are.

This is based on a tumblr text post, but… I can’t find it anymore… 

You can drag them ! They are transparent !

[americas-suite-tarts]

BEAUTIFUL

[sexuallytransmittedsadness-deac]

Kinda cool actually

[poeticallyprofound]

Synastry

With my usually bright eyes Dimming with the translucency There’s a slim chance that I might cry That I might harbor some uncertainty Where the twilight of this night sky Bleeds into a burgundy The embers of our pastimes Burn into a third degree And I’ve been rebirthed From this scourched earth You ever embrace yourself so hard that it hurts? That’s how far deep I’m immersed Aversions to a thirst The oasis is a curse And the constant mirage of you just replaces a montage Of everything I’ve felt at first I’m sin on a Sunday Reeking of all the mundane ways that I’m ashamed Faces without names Skin that feels the same But a foreign touch becomes more than enough To wake me up, raise me like I’m Lazarus I’m nothing to love Just bones and dust Yet I’ve let you inside my home… And you’ve shown me how the moon and the sun share a moment as one

[ponderingcomplications]

Tell me of your backyard when the sun first peeks from the horizon’s edge, where the sky is stained grey and lazy and calm, when life inhales before the entire world shifts in its slumber and rises to meet the sun, tell me of the shadows sleeping in the corner of your room, resting stark against the light that creeps across your floor, tell me where they go, where do your thoughts go, where do you land when you fall out of bed, on your knees or on your feet? Tell me, do you stand again? Tell me if you found peace along the way, tell me if you are happy to be alive, tell me if it was worth the night just to see another day, tell me what force made you want to stay so that I, too, can tell you of the way my backyard looks at dawn, when I found another reason to keep holding on.

[marinaprose]

This is the official facebook page for writer and novelist Marina Montenegro.

If you enjoy my blog and my writing, please consider taking a moment to like my page on facebook. Your support is very appreciated :) 

[marinaprose]

Writing a Non-Binary Character

I recently began work on my next novel, currently working under the title Eyadion, and for the first time, I am including a character who is genderless. Being gender neutral myself, I immediately fell in love with my non-binary character. However, the character has been difficult to write. Despite being gender neutral, I was still raised in a society where my mind is used to gendering people. Below are a few decisions I had to make when I began writing about my character, and things you should know about any non-binary character you are going to write.

How Does Your Character Identify 

A character can identify as being just non-binary, but there are a lot of options. My character is genderless, meaning that the character does not identify with any gender at all. A character might be gender neutral, meaning that they do not feel particularly drawn to any gender. There are so many gender identities out there, so make sure you find the identity that best fits your character. For more gender identities, look here. 

What Pronouns Does Your Character Use

The pronouns we see most often are he/him, she/her, and they/them. However, there are plenty of pronoun options. My character does not use pronouns at all. (He/Him) He went to the store to buy himself chips for his party.   (She/Her) She went to the store to buy herself chips for her party. (They/Them) They went to the store to buy themself chips for their party. (No pronouns) Charlie went to the story to buy chips for the party. (Ne/Nem) Ne went to the store to buy nemself chips for ner party.

Keep in mind a non-binary person chooses their own pronouns. Being gender neutral, I used she/her pronouns for a long time. I recently decided to start using ne/nem pronouns. It is perfectly acceptable to continue using standard pronouns, such as he/him or she/her pronouns to refer to, say, an agender character that chooses those pronouns (regardless of if the character’s sex), but some agender people might prefer they/them, ze/zer.

What Name Does Your Character Use Especially for a trans character, their name might be chosen by themselves. If this is the case, think of how the character seems themself. Consider what a character values more than what the character is. For example, your character might be sweet, kind hearted, and gentle. I might name them “Grace” or “Liam” or “Angel”. However, if that character wants to be braver or stronger, they might prefer to call themselves “Raven”, “Xander”, or “Thorn”. Consider genderless names as well, “Alex”, “Spencer”, “Caden”. You can find lists of names online. A trans character may wish for a very traditional name, so a male to female transgender might with to change her name to “Amanda” or “Claire”. A female to male transgender might want a traditionally male name, such as “Michael” or “Jason”. Some characters might want unique names, like “Lynix” or “Blayde”. Know your character well before you let them choose their name. Also, unless it’s relevant, you do not have to include their birth name. *Side note: While some non-binary people identify as trans, and some trans people identify as non-binary, but this isn’t always the case!  More questions on non-binary life? Let me know!  Best of Luck! Marina Montenegro

[wistfulmuse]

canyon ever widening between us

it won’t be slowed, nor stopped

soon I’ll only hear my echo

[cornelisrage]

Our secret language

I feel at ease with creative people I feel comfy when you reveal yourself to me in your poetry it’s a delicate language carefully applied because it’s not so much about what’s on the outside it’s about all those little things hiding inside only understood by those with a creative mind

[marinaprose]

Portraying Sexual Assault in Literature

An abusive character can create a compelling conflict. In a world with so much violence, both domestic and otherwise, an abusive character can be a moment of realization for the reader about the people in their own lives. That is why it is extremely important that a writer does not romanticized these relationships. 

Doing it Right: Divergent by Veronica Roth

The Divergent series deal with sexual assault twice in the first book. The first time is when Tris is attacked by her peers, Peter, Drew, and Al. Part of the attack involves Tris being groped. Tris fights off her attackers. Al eventually approaches Tris to apologize, and Tris refuses, saying if he touches her again, she will kill him. Later, in a fear stimulation, Tris is approached by her boyfriend, Tobias, who wants to have sex. Tris says no, and that is respected. In the movie version, a fear simulation has Tobias ignore her “no”, and pin her down. She fights him off, and wakes from the simulation to a crowd cheering for her. Having a female character fight unwanted sexual contact, refuse to tell her attacker “It’s okay” after, and be able to tell her boyfriend that she doesn’t want sex (and have him accept that as perfectly fine), is a much great message to be giving to the reader. Having a woman cheered on for fighting off her own boyfriend’s sexual advances is even better.

Doing it Wrong: 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Looking at 50 Shades of Grey, Ana consents to the sex, but is clearly made to be uncomfortable and occasionally harmed by their sexual activities. Still, the book takes the angle that this “darker” sex life is exciting and thrilling, a fantasy. One third of readers were under the age of 30. It’s sad to wonder how many of them took these books to be ideas for what they should be doing in the bedroom.

For more problems with 50 Shades of Grey, you can look at this article about why the BDSM is poorly portrayed and the book is problematic.

Best of luck, Marina Montenegro

[marinaprose]

Life of a Writer Tang Top - $15 on Teespring 

[marinaprose]

Representation in Literature

              It doesn’t matter what genre you write in, representation is extremely important to include in your writing, with very few exceptions. A lot of media, including literature, has the one black character. That is not enough. Do not just throw in a single black character and consider your work to be diverse.

What To Have

              I’m challenging you to create a truly diverse universe. Have men, women, non-binary, and transgender characters. Have characters who are Hispanic, African, Asian, or multicultural. Have characters who are gay, who are straight, who are bisexual, pansexual, or questioning their sexuality. Don’t be afraid to explore these diversities. When we talk about diversity, people often forget about people with disabilities or diseases as well. Having someone who is deaf, only has one leg, or has cystic fibrosis or diabetes can really add to your world. Don’t forget mental illness as well, such as depression, ADHD, or eating disorders.  

Make sure that you aren’t just checking off boxes on your “diversity” sheet. The background of a character should have something to do with who they are, but also shouldn’t be their most interesting trait. Always remember you are portraying real people, not stereotypes. 

Why Do You Have to Do This?

              Well, I have a few reasons. Number one being: It’s a real world. Sure, you might picture your main character, Peter, living in a white suburb with the pretty white girl he likes living down the street and his dorky best friend living across town. That’s a great story, but it’s not real. The reality is that people are different, especially in modern days.  Next door, there should be a family with a Hispanic father and an African American mother raising a lesbian daughter. Maybe they aren’t important to your plot, but they should have names and they should exist. Maybe three houses over is a young

              If you have a futuristic novel, or a sci-fi novel, you might think, “ok, but, my story is set on the moon in the future, and I have aliens, so, I don’t need a lot of diversity”. Wrong! What happened to all the diversity? In your futuristic moon world, what happened on Earth that wiped out every queer person of color? Who cured panic disorders? Why are all these things gone in the future? It’s a strange world you’re trying to create there, and also, an uncomfortable one. If I looked one hundred years into the future and only saw straight white people walking around, I’d be concerned about where everyone else went.

              The main reason this is so important is because it isn’t done enough. Actress Whoopi Goldberg said that she loved Star Trek for it’s representation: “Well, when I was nine years old Star Trek came on. I looked at it and I went screaming through the house, ‘Come here, mum, everybody, come quick, come quick, there’s a black lady on television and she ain’t no maid!’ I knew right then and there I could be anything I wanted to be.” You might say those were different times, but the truth is that people of color aren’t on television as much as white people are, and they aren’t being portrayed as much as they deserve to be. The same goes for people with disabilities, different sexual orientations, and different gender identities. You want characters readers can look up to, and those characters should be real people like them.

Don’t Mess Up

              Including different groups, cultures, and peoples in your writing is fantastic, but you can mess it up easily. Avoid stereotypes. Your character’s gay locker partner doesn’t need to be a sassy fashionista. He can just be Joseph, the 5’3 kid who always wears a baseball cap and constantly has his Nintendo 3DS out. A great example is Dumbledore, from Harry Potter, or Korra and Asami, from Avatar: Legend of Korra. These are queer characters who aren’t defined by their sexuality, but rather, are complex and interesting characters with interesting plot lines and backstories, who also happen to be queer.  Characters can have disabilities and be complex interesting characters as well. Their disability or illness can have very little to do with their plot line. Referring again to the Legend of Korra, Ming-Hua was a powerful woman who was involved in trying to kidnap the main character. Ming-Hua was born without arms. The famous friend of Whinny the Pooh, Eeyore, is known for his depression. While it is a large part of his character, his depression isn’t a plot point. Eeyore is simply invited along to whatever the group is doing, and the group makes the most of him being there. Whatever it is you choose to write about, make sure you know about it. Do your research one what the culture is behind the people you are trying to portray to avoid falling into a stereotype or a poor portrayal.

In an effort to prevent this post from being any longer, I’ll be posting a separate article to show some examples where I felt the representation was well done. I can’t stress enough how important representation is for the groups that don’t have it, so I truly hope more people take the time to research and include other groups in their writing.

Best of luck, Marina Montenegro

[broken-skies-and-angel-wings-de]

26 weeks ago, a kitten walked in through my roommates bedroom window and never left. Her name is Juliet, but she responds better to “Babes”, and her favorite hobby is looking out the window. My apartment found out we have a cat, and they are charging us $500 to keep her, and $50 a month, which is their pet fee. I love her so much, and I am hoping to raise enough money that I will not have to give her to a shelture. Please, if you are able to, help me keep my kitty, even if it’s by just sharing this post. I appreciate it so much. Thank you. 

[aguide2fantasy]

Marina Montenegro

This is the official facebook page for writer and novelist Marina Montenegro.

If you’re able to show some support by liking my page, I would appreciate it so much. Writing is everything to me, and I love being able to get my work out there and shared. Thank you!  

[aguide2fantasy]

You did every wrong to me, so you could do right by her. 

And you still aren’t good enough.

[marinaprose]

Story Arcs

Since first great you’ve probably learned that a story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Then, when you got into middle school, you probably saw one of those horrible plot diagrams. 

Unfortunately, writing a story isn’t as simple as filling in a plot diagram. There is (hopefully) so much more than a beginning, a build up, a climax, and an end. Many writers have their own plot diagrams. James Scott Bell outline’s his own plot diagram in his book Plot & Structure: 

Beginning > Disturbance > Transitions > Impacting Incidents > Deepening Disturbance > Moment of Change / Epiphany > Aftermath 

Bell’s diagram gives us a more complex and detailed view of the plot of a story. Following his diagram undoubtedly create something more interesting than a “Rising action, climax, falling action” story could. 

Fantasy writers seem to take a different approach with their arcs, but the diagram is fairly standard for a lot of fantasy. 

There is a common theme in all of these “suggested” story arc patterns. A beginning, where you expose the world and set the rules of the world. Something happens that your main character is forced to respond to, then your main character responds, and things are either solved, or they are not, and then you deal with the results of that. 

Beginning / Introduction > Problem Arises > Conflict > Change / Solution > Ending / Aftermath 

The unfortunate truth about story arcs is that there is no right one. There is no standard. No one can tell you what arc is right for your story, or what’s supposed to come next. There are similarities, there are patterns, but there are no rules. Always do what is best for you in your story. 

Best of Luck and Happy Writing, M.R.M. 

[aguide2fantasy]

My Little Mug

Her slender arm poise on a smooth, rounded waist blue but spotted white like leopard fur prowling through jungle trees wild, carefree, lively, strong Trapped on the second shelf of a dusty cupboard.

[aguide2fantasy]

Spring Cleaning

You reach past the naked Barbie,  with her tangled hair and dirty face.  She's still smiling. 

Beanie babies, a plastic dinosaur,  pieces from an old tea set, and  an old handheld game. 

The batteries are dead. 

You pull out a Furby, this is the first time you can remember  it ever being silent. 

Legos, still stuck together,  a sailor moon wand, a rubber duck,  lots of jenga blocks. 

A hotwheels car, bright red,  once a favorite, but now, missing a tire. You can see the wheel at the bottom of the box. 

Action figures. Power Rangers, Batman, Wonder Woman. The Teen Titans.  The Joker, and Deathstroke. They pile up.

Tracks from your train set. Polly Pockets.  magnetic letters, a twisted slinky, and a single, broken, yellow crayon.  It's all cleared away, and you're left alone with just your empty toybox, and the naked barbie,  with the dirty face, and tangled hair.  She still reminds you of yourself.