Writing Holidays

         I wasn't going to post this week, with it being Christmas, but A) I've posted once in the last month. I think I've had a break. B) Since I got off school for Christmas break, I have nothing but time. And a lot of cookies from neighbors, but that's beside the point. I figured a short post wouldn't kill me.
         In honor of the holiday season, and because I haven't posted about writing in way too long, today I'm going to share some ideas about holidays for your storyworld.
         Holidays aren't necessary per se, but they can add a lot of depth to a storyworld. A huge part of culture is holidays, and they can provide new ideas and conflicts. (Expectations not being met, crowds blocking ways characters need to go, etc)
         Think of a holiday. Any holiday, really. I'll bet that whatever it is, it's celebrated because of some historical reason. Halloween is celebrated because it was seen as a day spirits walked the earth, and a ton of our traditions for the holiday can be traced back to that. Christmas is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Jesus. Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah to celebrate when the people rose up against a Greek king for religious freedom (correct me if I'm wrong about this, I looked it up but I might have it wrong). Thanksgiving is celebrated in America to commemorate the first harvest of the pilgrims. Boxing day is a British holiday celebrated the first day after Christmas, and was originally celebrated because the house staff had to work Christmas for parties. They were given the day after off, often with a box of goodies from the party.
          Do you see what I'm getting at here? Every holiday I can think of has its roots in history. I've recently learned the hard way that history is extremely important in a storyworld, and that it isn't always pulling-hair-out frustrating and dull. Think of the holidays I mentioned. Each one has its roots in a story. So thinking of your history as another story can be immensely helpful in worldbuilding. So look at the history you already have. Maybe a holiday could commemorate a great battle, or the beginning of a new era, or a great discovery. What events do you already have in your history that could be celebrated?
          Like I said, you absolutely don't need holidays. But if you're so inclined to make them, they can add a lot to a storyworld.
         Have a wonderful holiday season, everyone, and may your writing flow!

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.