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Heroine Addiction:
Just finished chapter twelve. Or at least I have for tonight. Naaaaaaaaaaap.
20321 / 100000
Just finished chapter twelve. Or at least I have for tonight. Naaaaaaaaaaap.
May. 7th, 2009
I woke up this morning with the distinct urge to write the last chapter of Heroine Addiction.
Heh. I suppose that had to happen eventually. I'm amazed I haven't already skipped ahead to write the end. I made it twenty thousand words without knowing exactly what ending I was aiming for, but I guess the monkey wrench I threw into the last couple of chapters gave me some direction, which means there's probably a lot of skipping around and writing bits and pieces here and there from now on.
But ... yeah. That's my uncomplicated plan for today. Write the last chapter of the book, stay home, be broke. Urgh.
Here, have a clip of doggies on NMTB. (NSFW, if your work isn't big on bad language.)
Heh. I suppose that had to happen eventually. I'm amazed I haven't already skipped ahead to write the end. I made it twenty thousand words without knowing exactly what ending I was aiming for, but I guess the monkey wrench I threw into the last couple of chapters gave me some direction, which means there's probably a lot of skipping around and writing bits and pieces here and there from now on.
But ... yeah. That's my uncomplicated plan for today. Write the last chapter of the book, stay home, be broke. Urgh.
Here, have a clip of doggies on NMTB. (NSFW, if your work isn't big on bad language.)
Hasselbeck: Bristol Palin 'perfect' to talk no sex
Okay, look, I know I already bitched about this yesterday, but watching people bend over backwards to talk about what a great abstinence representative Bristol Palin is pisses me off, because it entirely misses the point of what teenagers will get out of it.
The point of hiring Bristol Palin as an abstinence model is that they're using her as a cautionary tale. They're using Bristol Palin as an example of, "If you don't use abstinence, this will happen to you!" My teenage self would have like, "... so?" And I was smart, but I would have looked at a gorgeous, supposedly happy young mother who's getting tons of attention and doesn't have to worry about who's going to pay her bills or feed her kid anytime soon, and I would have thought, "Where's the downside?"
Don't give me Bristol Palin. Bristol Palin, regardless of whether or not she eventually goes to college, will not have to take her kid to the free clinic or sign up for free school lunches or worry about feeding her kid ketchup sandwiches and Ramen because she can't afford anything else on a fast-food salary. Mom will never kick her out -- she's too busy using her for political capital under the mantel of "leave my family alone!" victimization. Using her as a cautionary tale for teenagers doesn't work because hell, that sort of cautionary tale is really fucking appealing. (I look at her even now and think, "You know, if I went out and got knocked up tomorrow, my parents would TOTALLY take me in!" They probably would, but that's not the point.)
The problem with displaying cautionary tales as the head of your "Choose abstinence!" campaign is that nobody's actually choosing abstinence if you're doing that. They're NOT choosing the less appealing option, which is a big difference. There's a big difference between, say, eating spinach because it's either that or brussel sprouts or eating spinach because you genuinely like spinach. (MMM. Now I want spinach.) There's a level of admitting that your abstinence suggestion is not quite as appealing as it's supposed to be if your main argument is, "The other side is worse!" Really? Then how do I know your side is any good?
I really wish that if people are going to do abstinence campaigns -- aside from the obvious complaints I've already made that you at least have to acknowledge that there are people who won't choose abstinence and help them acquire education and disease and pregnancy preventing items accordingly -- sell me abstinence. Tell people exactly how nice it is to not have to worry about pregnancy or STD scares. (Because really, I'd like to get laid and I'd love to be pregnant, but that's a nice perk.) Inform people that you don't have to have sex to get off. (Porn! Masturbation! Orgasms! You can have them all by yourself!) Stop focusing on women being the only abstinent ones. (Shut up, abstinence-only educators, you know you do.) Make some nice commercials featuring people having fun without having sex set to "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off." (Now you have that song stuck in your head, don't you? Heh.) And for fuck's sake, STOP MENTIONING GOD. (Look, if teenagers aren't going to listen to their own parents or teachers when it comes to not having sex, they're definitely not going to listen to an invisible man in the sky during the most rebellious time of their lives.)
By putting Bristol Palin in the spotlight, you're not selling me abstinence. You're making me wish I could go back in time and get pregnant in high school. Look how great it is! Sure, you get a douchetastic ex, but you get a cute baby and shiny hair and softball questions on Good Morning America! And she gets to meet Hayden Panettiere! Clearly her and her teen pregnancy are doing much better in life than *I* am.
What's so bad about telling teenage girls (because let's face it, that's the audience you're aiming for) to live their lives for themselves? Abstinence-only folks, why do you have such a hard time selling abstinence by itself? It's not actually difficult. Go to college! Get a good job! Women, think of yourselves and your own happi--
Oh.
Never mind, I see where the problem is.
( Hell, you already have that song stuck in your head anyway. )
Okay, look, I know I already bitched about this yesterday, but watching people bend over backwards to talk about what a great abstinence representative Bristol Palin is pisses me off, because it entirely misses the point of what teenagers will get out of it.
The point of hiring Bristol Palin as an abstinence model is that they're using her as a cautionary tale. They're using Bristol Palin as an example of, "If you don't use abstinence, this will happen to you!" My teenage self would have like, "... so?" And I was smart, but I would have looked at a gorgeous, supposedly happy young mother who's getting tons of attention and doesn't have to worry about who's going to pay her bills or feed her kid anytime soon, and I would have thought, "Where's the downside?"
Don't give me Bristol Palin. Bristol Palin, regardless of whether or not she eventually goes to college, will not have to take her kid to the free clinic or sign up for free school lunches or worry about feeding her kid ketchup sandwiches and Ramen because she can't afford anything else on a fast-food salary. Mom will never kick her out -- she's too busy using her for political capital under the mantel of "leave my family alone!" victimization. Using her as a cautionary tale for teenagers doesn't work because hell, that sort of cautionary tale is really fucking appealing. (I look at her even now and think, "You know, if I went out and got knocked up tomorrow, my parents would TOTALLY take me in!" They probably would, but that's not the point.)
The problem with displaying cautionary tales as the head of your "Choose abstinence!" campaign is that nobody's actually choosing abstinence if you're doing that. They're NOT choosing the less appealing option, which is a big difference. There's a big difference between, say, eating spinach because it's either that or brussel sprouts or eating spinach because you genuinely like spinach. (MMM. Now I want spinach.) There's a level of admitting that your abstinence suggestion is not quite as appealing as it's supposed to be if your main argument is, "The other side is worse!" Really? Then how do I know your side is any good?
I really wish that if people are going to do abstinence campaigns -- aside from the obvious complaints I've already made that you at least have to acknowledge that there are people who won't choose abstinence and help them acquire education and disease and pregnancy preventing items accordingly -- sell me abstinence. Tell people exactly how nice it is to not have to worry about pregnancy or STD scares. (Because really, I'd like to get laid and I'd love to be pregnant, but that's a nice perk.) Inform people that you don't have to have sex to get off. (Porn! Masturbation! Orgasms! You can have them all by yourself!) Stop focusing on women being the only abstinent ones. (Shut up, abstinence-only educators, you know you do.) Make some nice commercials featuring people having fun without having sex set to "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off." (Now you have that song stuck in your head, don't you? Heh.) And for fuck's sake, STOP MENTIONING GOD. (Look, if teenagers aren't going to listen to their own parents or teachers when it comes to not having sex, they're definitely not going to listen to an invisible man in the sky during the most rebellious time of their lives.)
By putting Bristol Palin in the spotlight, you're not selling me abstinence. You're making me wish I could go back in time and get pregnant in high school. Look how great it is! Sure, you get a douchetastic ex, but you get a cute baby and shiny hair and softball questions on Good Morning America! And she gets to meet Hayden Panettiere! Clearly her and her teen pregnancy are doing much better in life than *I* am.
What's so bad about telling teenage girls (because let's face it, that's the audience you're aiming for) to live their lives for themselves? Abstinence-only folks, why do you have such a hard time selling abstinence by itself? It's not actually difficult. Go to college! Get a good job! Women, think of yourselves and your own happi--
Oh.
Never mind, I see where the problem is.
( Hell, you already have that song stuck in your head anyway. )
... the best bit from last night's Daily Show.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M - Th 11p / 10c | |||
| Nixon Has a Burrito | ||||
| ||||
*whimpers*
*makes face*
*pokes story with a sharp stick*
BEHAVE, YOU.
I forgot how hard writing the ending and then working backwards is. Heh. Of course this is my brain's preferred method of writing. Why wouldn't it be? *headsmack*
The theory is that if I write the ending and put all of my monkey wrenches in a row, I won't spend quite so much time going, "Why did I just do that to myself?" It ... sometimes works. I described Heroine Addiction to my great-aunt and she laughed at me, presumably because it sounds ridiculous. I didn't even get to the giant Kryptonite monster. (Note: There is not actually a giant Kryptonite monster. I don't think. Um.)
Is it time for new boys yet? I need angsty boys today like I need fresh air and Cheetos and gay porn. Oh, and there's Not!Project Runway to be had on Bravo tonight. I think they should have just called it that and cut out all the pretense, don't you?
*makes face*
*pokes story with a sharp stick*
BEHAVE, YOU.
I forgot how hard writing the ending and then working backwards is. Heh. Of course this is my brain's preferred method of writing. Why wouldn't it be? *headsmack*
The theory is that if I write the ending and put all of my monkey wrenches in a row, I won't spend quite so much time going, "Why did I just do that to myself?" It ... sometimes works. I described Heroine Addiction to my great-aunt and she laughed at me, presumably because it sounds ridiculous. I didn't even get to the giant Kryptonite monster. (Note: There is not actually a giant Kryptonite monster. I don't think. Um.)
Is it time for new boys yet? I need angsty boys today like I need fresh air and Cheetos and gay porn. Oh, and there's Not!Project Runway to be had on Bravo tonight. I think they should have just called it that and cut out all the pretense, don't you?
I am a very busy and important writer.
May. 7th, 2009 04:09 pmThis is the picture I look at right before I start writing when I want to get Vera into my head.
( Oh, hello! )
She's the only one I've actually picked a face for. All of the other characters are a lot more ... fluid, I guess? I just know Vera looks like that, except a little heavier and curvier.
( Oh, hello! )
She's the only one I've actually picked a face for. All of the other characters are a lot more ... fluid, I guess? I just know Vera looks like that, except a little heavier and curvier.
It doesn't take much to make me happy.
May. 7th, 2009 05:42 pmMaking out on couches ... that's all I need. :)