Utopia

     For a blog that's supposed to be about writing, I do a lot of not-writing posts. At the same time, I want to write what I want to write. I want to write about what I want to say, what I want to tell people. So, today, I'm writing about Utopia.
     Unless you've been living under a rock, I'm sure you've heard of all the shootings lately in America, all of the tension and the hate. It feels like the flag is at half-staff more often than not. Add to that all of the foreign problems, and it feels like humanity is imploding on itself. Like we're an old wooden house, depending on a few cracking beams to stay upright. It's overwhelming to think of the future, all the problems my generation is going to have to live with and fix. I'm watching history unfold, and it seems like it's overwhelmingly negative. All of a sudden, some dystopian novels seem less impossible.
    With all this going on, it makes me think of the flip side-- utopia. How could we make a perfect society? A world where everyone gets what they need, where there's no reason for violence. Where we can just talk out disagreements instead of going to war over them first. Where we don't have to worry about whose land or country is whose. Why do we draw all these lines? We draw them on the earth, in our air and water, and between ourselves. And then we treat them as absolute, and we treat people who live within different sets of lines like they're not people. Yes, we have come light years from the social views of the eighteen-hundreds, but we can never forget how far we still have to go.
    I've already decided against ever trying to implement some huge system. I trust myself to have good intentions, but good intentions can easily pave the way to bad implementation. I wouldn't trust anyone with a large system to create utopia. If we're going to be better, we have to work on an individual level.
    I've thought about it a lot, and I've decided that the biggest obstacle to a perfect world is selfishness. That's why we can't have all resources be free-- we can't trust ourselves and others not to take more than they need. We live our whole lives trying to have more. And we end up with people who have so much excess, they can't even count it, and we end up with people trying to survive without the most basic needs.
    I guess what I'm trying to say is that, so long as human beings remain selfish, utopia can't exist. And we can't just remove selfishness. But. We can help ease the problem. Each and every one of us can choose to be selfless. I'm not even talking about Divergent-Abnegation selfless. I'm talking about doing just one thing every day to help someone, even if it's not convenient for you. I'm talking about understanding what we don't need, and giving our excess to people who need it far more. I'm talking about ignoring those lines I was talking about. I honestly believe that if we spent half as much time trying to understand each other as we do judging and stereotyping and hating, the world will be a far better place.
     I know this post won't reach the entire world. I know my words won't change the course of history, or stop all the violence around the world, or end all suffering. I accept that. But if I can make life better for just one person, I will have changed the world. If five people, including myself, see this post and try to do something for others once a day, then in one year, 1825 days will have been brightened. In five years, the number grows to 9125. That's nearly ten thousand. So please, for the love of the human race, give it a try. You might be surprised.

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!

Keeping Organized: The Writing Binder

      I thought about making a post about the most essential tools a writer could need (other than, say, an imagination). But, when it came to thinking about which tools I really couldn't function without, my mind kept coming back to one. So today, I'm going to be covering how I made and organized my binder. You can follow it step by step, or disregard it entirely, but I hope it'll at least give you some ideas.

      My binder is just an old, kind of beat-up two inch binder (it might be three; I'm not good with estimating measurements). I've put some scrapbook paper in to decorate, along with a few quotes I like. The front pocket holds random papers that aren't related to writing or are short-term storage. During the school year, it usually has important school papers, since it's the only binder I make sure to keep track of. I also keep a pencil pouch with pencils and pens and sometimes sticky notes and random scraps of paper.

     Inside, the first two sections are for my current WIPs. I use those folder divider thingies with pockets to hold papers that I haven't punched holes in yet. In each section, I have a clear sleeve with reference images, then my character sheets, then worldbuilding, then plot. I have a few sticky notes stuck throughout it, with little ideas relevant to that area.
     The next section is entitled "Other Stories," and contains partially developed snippets, some creative writing assignments from school with bits I could use at some point, and some of my old writing. When I feel bad about my writing, I pull out "Lightning Speed Animal Rescuers" from second grade. It makes me feel better about how far I've come.
     After Other Stories I have Reference. I have character development tools, body language keys, a lifesaving chart on realistic travel (it's on Pinterest here), limits of the human body (here), a list of all the people whose MBTI types I know in case I have a question. . .really, just a random assemblage of things I can reference without wi-fi.
      After that, I have For Copying. These are blank copies of my character and worldbuilding worksheets to copy so I don't have to track down the links every time I run out.
      Next is Conference Notes. That's where I keep my notes from writing conferences, and I reference them quite often. This section tends to grow in large bursts, since I don't have many writing conferences nearby, but when I can go, I usually get over twenty pages of notes (to be fair, some of these are five lines of WHAT EVEN when the presenter has brought up a really interesting point.).
      My last section is unnamed, but has blank character sheets and a LOT of lined paper for when I need it. This is helpful, both in writing and at school (once again, this being the only binder I keep track of.)
     I've kept this binder for about a year now, and it's grown and developed with my needs. I can always get a bigger binder if I need more room, and the tags on the dividers let me switch out WIPs or create new sections when I need to. It's my slightly-larger-than-pocket-size Pinterest for when I don't have wi-fi , plus it keeps me focused. Having all my information about my story in one place makes it much easier to access while I'm writing, too. This may not work for some writers, but for me, it's the best organizational tool out there.
    What do you usually use to organize your story papers? I'd love to hear from you, so go ahead and comment!

Writing Characters with Anxiety

 

    As far as we've come in terms of mental health awareness, we are still hugely lacking in some things, including representing characters with mental illness in fiction. Even when we do see characters with mental illness, they're often in stories about having mental illness. We need more characters who have mental illnesses that affect their stories, but aren't the plot of the story. For this reason, I'm going to write a series of blog posts covering mental illness. Since most of my experience is with anxiety, I've decided to start there.
     The first important thing to remember with anxiety is that the symptoms vary. Some people have more severe anxiety than others, and even the same level of anxiety will manifest differently in different people-- or even from situation to situation. Common symptoms include stomachaches, lightheadedness, muscle tension, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, trouble sleeping, and numbness and/or tingling in the extremities.
    These happen because when someone is feeling anxious, their body begins to gear up to protect itself. You've probably heard of the fight-or-flight reaction. Sometimes I think of my anxiety as fight-or-flight gone crazy. When a person has anxiety, their brain will register ordinary things as threats. People have different triggers for anxiety. I feel anxious when plans change suddenly, or when I have to interact with people unexpectedly. Sometimes even anticipating triggers can trigger anxiety. People have all sorts of different triggers. Traveling, conflict (or perceived conflict) in personal relationships, and driving can be triggers. Even little things like standing up in class to sharpen a pencil, or being the first one to stand up to throw away extra food, can trigger anxiety. Sometimes we feel anxious without even knowing why.
      Most of the time, we are completely aware of how irrational our fear is. We're fully aware that to someone without anxiety, our triggers would seem completely normal or even enjoyable. If your character has anxiety, he/she will have developed ways to cope. Sometimes stress balls help. Some people use mindfulness exercises, like keeping a coin or other small trinket to examine and focus on the present. One person I asked said that mint gum helps. I pretend to play the piano on my lap. Breathing exercises can help, too.
      Not everyone with anxiety will have panic attacks, but they do happen. They'll feel different for everyone, but they're never pleasant. Sometimes it'll be hyperventilating. Sometimes it will be sudden anger or irritability. Sometimes it'll be nit-pickiness and hypersensitivity to disorder or a chaotic environment. Sometimes someone will start talking very fast, stuttering and stumbling over words, or not talking at all. I cry. A lot.
     The other things about panic attacks is that sometimes, someone will feel anxious for a long time before. But sometimes, they strike without any warning. Once, I was waiting outside for my mom after a performance. It was night, and there were fireworks, but I felt completely fine. And then, suddenly, I panicked. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think. I felt like I was going to die. I was crying and whimpering and felt absolutely pathetic, but any rational thought was sidelined by the panic.
     Attacks range in frequency and severity from person to person. Some people have panic attacks on a daily or weekly basis, and others can go years without having one. And some panic attacks will be easier than others. I once had a panic attack that lasted just a few minutes, just hyperventilating. It wasn't fun, but it was comparatively tame. Even in the same person, it will vary. 
      There are a lot of ways to deal with anxiety. Some people find coping mechanisms that work for them, but sometimes, more help is needed. Some people respond to therapy, others to medication. Some people use a combination. The important thing to remember about medication and therapy is that there is nothing wrong with it. When writing about medication and therapy, the most important thing to remember is to do your research. Therapy varies from doctor to doctor, and medication can have different side effects.
       Really, that's the most important thing with writing about mental illness. Make sure you know what you're talking about. I'd rather read a book that has no characters with anxiety than one that gets it all wrong. I hope that with the information here, and the other resources you can find, you can better write and understand your characters with anxiety.
      What points would you like to add? What other mental disorders would you like me to cover? 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.
   

On Mental Illness

     When I was creating this blog, I put the "life" bit in the title to leave it open for me to talk about things that aren't writing related, but still important.

     So today I'm writing about mental illness. I've had depression and anxiety for years. And for ages, I didn't tell anyone about it, because I was scared of what they might think. I'm not sure when I started talking about it, but I'm glad I did. Not only because it's a relief to be able to tell my friend that I need to take a minute by myself to breathe, but also because I want others to be able to talk about it. I want to fight the stigma surrounding it. I want to make it so that others can speak out, without fear of being judged. And I also want to give those of you who struggle with mental illness a pep talk. 

        Mental illness is hard. It sucks. But you know what? I think we're some of the strongest people alive. Because we're fighting a war in our head every single day. And not only are we winning, but we're also going about normal life, to the best of our ability. Sometimes victory is having a great day, but sometimes it's making it through without having a panic attack. Sometimes it's getting your homework done, or talking to people. Sometimes it's being able to get out of bed. We know that this thing will always be in our heads. We know that people won't understand that we can't do this because of our mental illness, because there's this stigma. But we still manage to function. We still live. Sometimes just staying alive is a victory.

    So, I want to tell you this. You aren't alone. You are so brave. So far you have a 100% survival rate. That's pretty darn good. You will have bad days. But you've had bad days before this, and you've made it through those. You can make it through this one, too.

    One more thing-- please, please, don't hurt yourself. You don't deserve that. There are people who care. Even if you can't see that right now, people care. Even if I've never met you, I care. It breaks my heart to think of you, not knowing that. Having people who care about me has been my greatest blessing through this. Please, talk to someone. Your parents. A church leader. A school counselor. A professional therapist. These people can help you. It might be hard for a while, but one day, you will be glad you lived. I promise.

      Love,

          Katelyn

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!