Happy New Year, everyone!
2017 has been pretty good for me, though I'm tired as hell and can't wait for it to be over. I released my first novel and wrote a lot of fan fiction people liked, which is awesome.
Next year I'll write more and work on getting more stuff to readers.
It took me the longest time to realize that creators I come back to on social media are the ones who care about their topic and about their readers or viewers and who keep putting out great stuff—I used to think it was eccentricity or expertise that drew me to them. And I now believe Seth Godin (one of those creators) when he says that in this age, caring is the best marketing.
Some people believe that it’s luck—the magic of internet chaos that picks favorites. I don’t believe that.
When I see Hank and John Green make funny, educational, and heartfelt videos year after year as comments erupt in flame wars, while Hank and John also raise kids and deal with mental health problems, I don’t see luck. I just think it takes guts and kindness and a work ethic to succeed on the Internet, and few have it or are ready to pour it into unpaid work.
The recent article in NY Times about the self-identifying fascist Tony Hovater has caused extreme backlash among American liberals including half my Twitter feed. Where I live, Hovater's views would see him in jail, but this post isn't about that.
Nobody is questioning whether the article is accurate or whether it's written to the highest journalistic standards. So I guess the position the readers are expressing is that truth must not be reported if it causes harm to society. And in their view, portraying fascists as anything but monsters through and through humanizes them and lessens the need to fight against extreme nationalism. Some go as far as saying that the journalist painted a rosy portrait of a family who want to wipe out other races, although this accusation isn't supported by the article.
I don't agree that trying to understand the enemy is harmful to the fight. I also don't support suppressing the truth for any reason except it causing direct and immediate harm to human beings, and I don't believe this is the case here. Shushing the media is a slippery slope, and it is far too easy for censorship to be abused.
Still sick, so I can't work as much on the site as I would like to, but I have started cleaning up this place. Should have everything necessary up and running in a few days.
First, I decided to rename the review section into the recommended section. I used to review tons of bad movies back on my old site, but now that I'm writing original fiction, I can't bring myself to crap on other people's work even when it absolutely deserves this. So now I'll only be writing about stuff that I think is worth the time.
Fixed some things under the hood too.
*stubs toe on a piece of legacy code* You bleeding piece of beholder shit, I will kill you!
Oh, I didn't see you there.
It's November, and this means it's the best time for spring cleaning and readying this site for people who aren't me. Okay, maybe me finishing my novel is the real reason for getting around to upgrading this place, but whatever.
