3 Slytherin Stereotypes that Need to be Destroyed

           It's been a while since I last posted. Maybe now that NaNoWriMo has wound down, I'll get better at this. Lol. We'll see how long that lasts.

            Today I'm continuing my series of Hogwarts house blog posts. This time I'm focusing on Slytherin house.

            Slytherins tend to get demonized. Of all the houses, they get the worst reputation. Which is a shame, because in my opinion, Slytherin is one of the coolest houses (I've got a bit of a bias towards Ravenclaw). So here's three of my least favorite Slytherin stereotypes, and my personal experiences and arguments to destroy them.

1- Slytherins are evil.

            No. Just no. This one drives me insane. Some Slytherins are evil. Some Gryffindors are evil. Frankly, by clinging to this stereotype, the wizarding world created a self-fulfilling prophecy. Imagine being an eleven-year-old, so excited to be learning magic in this amazing place, and you're sorted, and people boo at you. The only people who will accept you are other Slytherins, some of whom are involved with bad people. Saying Slytherins are evil only exacerbates the problem.

            Slytherin stereotypes affect members of the house on a personal level. I asked a few Slytherin friends about stereotypes. My ENFP best friend said, "[The stereotype says I'm] evil and manipulative don't trust them they'll cut you. I hate it. It makes me want to cut them. Which makes them right. Which I hate even more and then I want to cry."

            Shortly afterwards, she sent me a message reading, "FOREHEAD KISSES!!! ARE THE CUTEST!!!!!!!!"

            Another friend said, "I suppose the worst one is that all Slytherins are snooty and/or rude to everyone outside our house. Another one is that all Slytherins turn into death eaters. Not only is this upsetting for me, it lowers self-esteem. I don't aspire to be a death eater solely because I'm a Slytherin."

2- Slytherins don't care about anyone but themselves, and they’re all the same snotty rich kids.

            I started writing this in paragraph form, but it's much simpler to make a list.

            -My best friend is a Slytherin (I mentioned her earlier). She's also the sweetest, most compassionate person I've ever met.

            -I know a Slytherin who loves theatre and is amazing at improv.

            -I know another one who is very quiet and loves sports.

            -Another Slytherin friend is a feminist, also in theatre, and he sings and dances in the school show choir.

            -Another one is amazing at sewing and is in charge of costumes for theatre (Most of my friends are in theatre, if you can't tell).

            -Another one has an incredible mind and a great sense of humor, and drives our seminary* teacher crazy by taking everything literally.

            -I know another Slytherin who plays Magic and is on the wrestling team and regularly wears a "Viva La Pluto" t-shirt.

            Slytherins are people. They’re just as messy and colorful and diverse as anyone else. Reducing them to a few traits based on a few unfortunately prominent members is both fallacious and limiting.

            Ambition isn't necessarily getting to the top no matter what. Sometimes it's stubbornness. Sometimes it's having huge, impractical dreams that you will achieve, because you're just crazy enough to take the risks to make it happen.

3- Slytherins are manipulative.

            This one is actually true. But everyone is manipulative. Manipulation is such a common thing; we don't even look at it most of the time.

            Manipulation is actually fascinating because it's such a common, everyday thing that everyone does, but the moment you put the label manipulation on it it's twisted and wrong and evil (Sometimes I wonder why people react so strongly when you call it manipulation. Like hmm. Why are you so personally offended by this? Do you not want to see yourself as a villain? And really, what people are defensive about is a really good indicator of their insecurities).

            Coming back to the main point, manipulation is not a Slytherin trait. It's a human trait. Saying that it exclusively belongs to another group of people is an excellent way to feel better about yourself at the cost of demonizing said group and missing an opportunity to learn and become self-aware.

           

            Guys. Slytherin is the house of tradition, of huge, impractical dreams, of impossible things. Slytherin is the house of people who fiercely protect the people they love. It's the house of pushing the limits of what you can achieve and having the hard-working spirit to pull it off.

            Slytherins are like Gryffindors in their devotion to their causes.

            Slytherins are like Hufflepuffs in their work ethic.

            Slytherins are like Ravenclaws in their imagination.

            It seems to me that Slytherin house is a combination of some of the best traits of the other houses. Slytherins are fabulous. Stop telling them they're not.

           I'd love to hear about you in Slytherin house, your Slytherin friends, and how you feel about these stereotypes! I'm also doing Gryffindor sometime soonish, which will be a bit more difficult for me as I have a bit of a bias towards them. Hopefully, in writing the post I'll educate myself and others, but if you're a Gryffindor and have any input, I'd love to hear it.

*If you don’t know what seminary is, I’m part of the LDS church. We’re also known as Mormons. We have a program in many schools where we go early or are released for a class hour to go to a class to learn about scriptures, and we call it seminary.

6 Problems with the Relationship in Phantom of the Opera

So I feel the need to get this off my chest. I love musicals. One of my favorites is Phantom of the Opera. I love the music and the story. But, in looking at Pinterest, I've noticed a rather disturbing trend.
It is ridiculously hard to find someone who doesn't ship Christine with the Phantom. Nearly everyone argues that he's lonely and misunderstood. Yes, maybe he is. But that doesn't make him Christine's responsibility. Here are the top 6 reasons why I find this trend problematic.
1- First and foremost, this is not a healthy relationship, on so many levels.
Last time I watched the movie, I took note of whenever the Phantom was manipulative or controlling. My total came to eighty times. That's not counting the things that are just creepy, like hanging out in her dressing room mirror (let that sink in for a minute) or having a mannequin of Christine in a wedding dress. If you average that out, it makes the Phantom manipulating or controlling someone every one and a half minutes. On one occasion, the Phantom hits her and shoves her to the ground for taking his mask off. I get it. It's a touchy subject. But for heaven's sake, it's very rarely okay to hit anyone. It is NEVER okay to hit the person you're in a relationship with, unless it's in self-defense, in which case I'd question the wisdom of remaining in that relationship.
2- I don't care what you say. The Phantom does not love Christine.
This is another case that I see a lot. But let me make this very clear. The Phantom lusts after Christine. He does not love her. The Phantom makes it clear that what he wants comes first. He tried to kill her fiance, for crying out loud. Love understands that sometimes what you want need to take a backseat to what someone else wants. If the Phantom loved Christine, her would accept that she chose Raoul and is happier that way. If you want to see unrequited love in a musical, look at Eponine and Marius from Les Mis. Eponine lets Marius love Cosette, even if it kills her (sorry, couldn't resist). She respects that Marius deserves to be happy with whoever he chooses. She remains kind to him and helps him. That is love. Contrast that to the Phantom, who kidnaps her and tries to force her to marry him.
I'd also like to take a moment to point out that the Phantom acts like the lake is too deep to wade in until he's confident Christine will not leave. He let her believe she was trapped. That is not love.
3- Can we take a minute to discuss the ew factor?
Madame Girry says at the very beginning that Christine came to live at the opera house after her father died, when she was seven years old. Ever since then, the Phantom has been communicating with her, pretending to be her father. She was seven. Years. Old. The Phantom is a bit younger than Madame Girry, her best friend's mother. Conclusion- the Phantom is old enough to be Christine's father, and has had his eye on her since she was a young child. Then the Phantom tried to begin their relationship by saying he's her dead father, which is both a cruel lie and disgusting.
4- His past does not excuse his behavior.
I understand this. The Phantom was abused. He had a terrible childhood. But that does not make his behavior okay. I've done some research, and I believe that the Phantom could be diagnosed as a sociopath (caused by childhood trauma or abuse, disregard for laws and social rules, disregard for others' rights, volatile, prone to emotional outbursts, etc. If anyone want to hear it, I will explain my reasoning more fully.) But he still needs to be punished for his crimes. His happiness is not Christine's responsibility. Her responsibility is her safety, and she does a terrible job at standing up for herself.
5- The Phantom is a terrible example.
This is honestly the thing that scares me most. I'm going on the assumption that a large portion of the Phantom of the Opera fandom is female, based on whose pins I've seen. The Phantom's behavior is not romantic. And it's dangerous to present it as such. I scares me how many pins I've seen saying things along the lines of, "If a masked man appears in your dressing room mirror, you should follow him into his lair." The comments on these are overwhelmingly in support of the Phantom. How many girls (and guys) are going to get into relationships and think that that is romantic? How many people will tolerate their dehumanization because there's a romantic musical that portrays it as okay?
6- Still not convinced? Take direct quotes.
"My power over you grows stronger yet." This is one of the first things the Phantom says to Christine. Am I really the only one who recognizes how harmful that is?
"The Angel of Music is very strict." Christine says this when discussing the Phantom. I'd just like to take a minute to point out that trying to control every aspect of someone's life is an early warning sign of an abusive relationship.
"Only then can you belong to me." I really don't think this needs explanation.
"D*** you! You little prying Pandora! You little demon, Is this what you wanted to see? Curse you, you little lying Delilah! You little viper! Now you cannot ever be free!" This is where he hits her. This is not healthy.
"You will curse the day you did not do all that the Phantom asked of you!" Can I make it any more clear that the Phantom does not respect Christine?
P.S. I haven't even brought up the sequel, Love Never Dies. If you ever want to get angry, read the Wikipedia synopsis. 

 

Keeping the Balance- School vs. Writing

       Before I even start, I want to make it clear that I am by no means an expert at balancing anything, much less schoolwork with writing. This is kind of going to be a maybe-this-will-work-for-both-of-us kind of post, because I'm still figuring it out, too.
      Disclaimer aside, it's getting to be that time of year. I don't know when all of you start school, but I'm going back Thursday to start my junior year of high school. And while I'm excited for the classes, I'm also trying to figure out how I'll balance my writing with my grades, because, as annoying as they are, grades kind of are important.
      This is also the first year I'll be editing one novel and writing another, so I've been trying to figure out how to balance work between those.
      My tentative plan is to plan three tasks a day at the beginning of the week. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I'll edit Dragonchild. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, I'll write my as-of-yet-unnamed WIP. I'm not setting any tasks Sunday so I can focus on church and family that day.
      These tasks are to be completed during free time at school, after-school activities, and home. As little as I usually want to write, I like math even less, so I'd get a lot of writing done while I was supposed to be doing homework, but there's kind of an obvious pitfall to that. So, I'm going to adopt my writing sit-your-butt-down-in-the-chair-and-get-it-over-with policy. Also, pretending to do vital research for the Doctor. . . That always helps.
      Another balance I need to find is how hard to push myself. That's where the tasks come in. I assign myself three a day, planning at the beginning of the week. Since I haven't done as much writing as I intended this summer, I'm starting small and working my way up-- Tuesday involves worldbuilding and 200 words, Thursday character development and 250 words, and so on. I'm only setting two tasks Fridays and Saturdays so that every week, I write a blog post one day and save EVERYTHING to Dropbox the other.
     I really have no idea if this is going to work, but it's my plan, and even if it doesn't help me, it might help you. Also, having it on the internet for people to see might give me more motivation.
     The main thing is the same thing you need to remember when you don't want to write-- you won't want to do your schoolwork, but it's got to get done. Maybe you could pretend to be doing research or something. I don't know. But I'm convinced that the universe hinges on balance, from the placement of planets to the details of managing everyday obligations. Writing and school are very important. You need both. Just make sure to take some time for yourself, too. Burning out won't help anything.
     So, what do you all think of my plan? When does your school start? How are you going to balance writing with school and everything else? Let me know in the comments!

Hufflepuffs are not Potatoes

    Wow. I kind of forget that people actually look at this, and that it isn't some isolated exercise to try to get me to meet deadlines (it's not working so far). And then I look and eight people have seen my blog this week and... wow. That is cool. And a little scary. And a reminder that I really should try to post more often.
     So, in my quest to post more often, I'm writing today about a topic near and dear to my heart-- Hogwarts houses (again). Because it's largely ignored, today I'm going to talk about Hufflepuff.
    The first thing I want to say about Hufflepuff is summed up in this quote by Queen Rowling herself- "This may surprise people, but Hufflepuff is my favorite house. There comes a point in the final book where each house has the choice whether or not to rise to a certain challenge... the Slytherins, for reasons that are understandable, decide they'd rather not play. The Ravenclaws: some decide they will, some decide they won't. The Hufflepuffs, virtually to a person, stay- as do the Gryffindors. Now, the Gryffindors comprise a lot of fool-hardy and show-offy people. That's just the way it is. I'm a Gryffindor, I'm allowed to say it. There's bravery and there's showboating, and sometimes the two go together. The Hufflepuffs stayed for a different reason. They weren't trying to show off. They weren't being reckless. That's the essence of Hufflepuff House. Now my oldest child, my daughter Jessica, said something very profound to me not very many days ago, actually. She said to me-- and she, by the way, was not sorted into Hufflepuff house-- but she said to me, "I think we should all want to be Hufflepuffs." I can only say to you that I would not be at all disappointed to be sorted into Hufflepuff house. So I'm a little upset that anyone does feel that way."
     I have very strong feelings about Hufflepuff, and, in particular, that it is not the potato house.
     HUFFLEPUFF IS NOT THE POTATO HOUSE.
     Hufflepuff is full of the people who have their priorities sorted out. Hufflepuffs are the ones who are brave enough to fight, but understand that sometimes the greater difference is made by caring for the wounded. It's the ones who are intelligent and creative, but care more about helping the people around them than simply studying and thinking, who think that their knowledge is worthless if they can't use it for good. They're the ones who have huge goals and the cunning and ability to reach them, but would NEVER EVER step on someone else to do it, people who will take the long, hard way over the short, easy one. Remember "those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil?" Hufflepuffs are hardworking, and caring, and really excellent people. And they're so much more. My youngest sister is a Hufflepuff. She's also a born performer, ready to make people laugh at any opportunity. One of my best friends is a Hufflepuff with a deep love for art and a dark sense of humor.
    My point is, Hufflepuffs may be friendly and accommodating. That's not an excuse for you to ignore them or make them the butt of your jokes. And, for the love of all that is good and holy, stop calling them the potato house. Learn from them. Admire their strengths. The four houses show four values, but they are not mutually exclusive. And of all the values the houses show, I think Hufflepuff is the most important. In fact, if we all tried to have a little more Hufflepuff in our lives, I honestly believe the world would be a better place.
    I suppose this has turned into a series now, so I may as well do the other houses at some point. I won't promise when, but probably sometime by the end of this year, I'll also discuss Slytherins and Gryffindors. In the meantime, what do you guys think? Which houses are you in, and do you agree with my assessment of Hufflepuff? Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments!

The Types of Ravenclaws

    I'm sure I've mentioned how I'm obsessed with Harry Potter before. I've adored the series since fourth grade. And I love the house system, trying to figure out deeper meaning behind it, reading and coming up with my own headcanons, and figuring out exactly what the house does and doesn't account for.
    As a proud Ravenclaw (with more pride for my house than my high school), I think it's important to remember that there's more to Ravenclaw than good grades. We usually associate Ravenclaws with being smart. That's it. But when a narrow, traditional view of intelligence is used that it becomes all about academic performance, any person who is intelligent will think they are not. Albert Einstein once said, "Everybody is a genius. But when you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." When discussing intelligence, we need to keep this in mind. Therefore, using Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, I'd like to present a picture of Ravenclaw House. Remember, you probably use at least three of these well. Every Ravenclaw is different, and realizing that and embracing it is what gives our house its trademark quirkiness.
       Think about linguistically intelligent Ravenclaws, who keep painstaking journals and and write stories and poems and keep lists of their favorite words. Ravenclaws with ink-stained hands, who learn languages easily and adore identifying the latin roots in spells, and pride themselves on their huge vocabularies, but are so busy writing their own projects that their formal schoolwork never ends up getting done.
      Musical Ravenclaws who learn everything they can about their favorite composers and instruments, who write notes on the back of sheet music. Musical Ravenclaws who form bands, orchestras, and choirs, because dang it, there important things to learn besides magic and *long rant on the positive effects of music. . .* Ravenclaws who drive their roommates insane by playing music at night when they can't sleep, who devour new sheet music and spend hours composing their own. Ravenclaws who study by writing songs and rhythms for the information, if they ever get to studying.
     Intrapersonal Ravenclaws who can't focus in class because they're too busy exploring their own souls. Ravenclaws who work to find their flaws and fix them, who are more often than not lost in their heads, who see self-knowledge as teh most important knowledge. Ravenclaws obsessed with personality tests, who can tell you their Myers-Briggs type and Enneagram and Color Code and Archetype, but can't remember what that eighteen-inch essay was supposed to be about.
      Naturalistic Ravenclaws who always keep their windows open, much to the annoyance of their roommates with loose papers. THey're right up there with the best of the Hufflepuffs in herbology, and ace care of magical creatures. The ones who stare at the lake to observe the giant squid or linger at the edge of the forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of a bowtruckle or niffler. Ravenclaws who own dozens of books on plants and animals, who study best outside, and learn everything they can about Biology. Ravenclaws who argue ethics with their defense against the dark arts teachers, debating current regulations on magical creatures.
      Logical Ravenclaws who hate essays and busy work, but adore gathering statistics, who keep charts of the house points and figure out exactly the average amount of points each house gains per month. Ravenclaws who write and solve complicated equations because they were bored. Ravenclaws who love solving puzzles and riddles, who create their own, who ace the door question so long as it's logical (the more philosophical ones are harder), but never do their schoolwork because they don't see the point of it.
     Interpersonal Ravenclaws who hate classes, but thrive in between or after. Ravenclaws who don't read as often as their less socially conscious housemates, because there are people to be talked to and observed and learned from. Ravenclaws who are social butterflies, who talk to the intrapersonal ones about personality, who take the theories to heart and apply them everywhere. Ravenclaws who draw even the most introverted out of their shells, who know just how to put the new first years at ease. Ravenclaws who don't see the use of History of Magic, but adore learning about people and how they think and feel and act.
     Ravenclaws with Spatial intelligence, who fill their shelves with sketchbooks and own more paintbrushes than quills. Ravenclaws who doodle all through class, who draw detailed portraits of their experiences at Hogwarts to send home to their families, whose robes are stained in paint and fingers caked with clay, who can perfectly capture their roommate's faces or the common room or the great hall, but cannot for the life of them brew a potion.
     Ravenclaws who are kinesthetically intelligent, who are shocked to be Ravenclaws, since they can't even sit still through class, much less to study. Ravenclaws making up active games to remember facts, skipping class to practice quidditch or devise the next brilliant strategy for the upcoming match.
      Ravenclaws stressing out because they can't get perfect Os, sitting alone in the common room, convinced that the sorting hat made a mistake. Older Ravenclaws coming to them, sharing their experiences, and how intelligence isn't just in grades.
     The stereotypical nothing-but-studying Ravenclaws make up maybe 1% of the house. At the end of the day, Ravenclaws aren't just the smart ones. We're the ones with a passion for learning about our interests, who are creative and always seeking new ideas. Yes, we are smart. But we are so much more.
   

Avoiding your Baby Otters

    Will you do me a favor? Take a moment and google baby otters. (I would have included a picture here, but I can't for the life of me figure out copyright stuff, and I don't really want to get sued.)
    Have you done it? They're adorable.
    They also have nothing to do with what you're writing.
     In Kiersten White's Teen Author Boot Camp class, she discussed avoiding your baby otter scenes. You know those scenes that are so fun, but have nothing to do with the rest of the story? Yep. It's those ones.
     They may make you so happy, but you must cut them. You don't even have to delete them. Put them in a separate document. Turn them into an AU where everything is perfect. But for the sake of your novel, don't keep them.
    There's a reason these baby otter scenes are harmful. They drain the conflict like a leech. If your characters have time to be off riding a roller coaster while their parents are being held captive by the villain, then the reader gets the impression that either a), your characters don't care about their parents, or b), that nothing really bad will happen. It takes the urgency away.
    Now I'm not saying that your characters can't have little pockets of happiness in between the times they almost die. Just be sure they mean something. Maybe they take twenty minutes to ride that roller coaster, and those end up being the twenty minutes that get someone killed. Or maybe they find a vital secret taped to their seat. Whatever the purpose is, make sure it's there. If it doesn't tie back to the story's core, then it's probably a baby otter scene.
    I'm going to expand this metaphor a bit. You have baby otters in real life, too. Things that are keeping you from your writing. They're so fluffy, but they're not productive. I don't mean everyday obligations like homework or family here. You need to do those things. But that hour you spent on Pinterest isn't getting you closer to your goals. Neither is watching Doctor Who (though Doctor Who is awesome. Keep watching it. Just not during your writing time.)
    I'm convinced that the entire universe hinges on balance. The earth can't be too close or too far away from the sun, we can't have too much or too little water, and you have to make time to write without neglecting your off-page life. Your characters have to go through suffering without being too depressing. It's a hard balance, but practice will help you achieve it.
     What do you think about this post? What are your baby otters? I'd love to hear from you below!