Tag: general
They Don’t Know Who They Are
There’s a rumor taking place among African Americans in America. A rumor that has always been there but that is now being echoed from the mouths of others. We heard it first from Raven-Symoné and then Whoopi Goldberg, and now Stacey Dash.
Let us start by saying that The United States has been drunk off the blood of the African American for 397 years now–that is from 1619 to the present, when blacks were first brought here in a servitude capacity on the banks of the James River in Jamestown Virginia. Since then blacks have fought in every American war and contributed to every major American architectural structure. Blacks have single handily been the backbone to American wealth and prosperity. Their slave labor is the reason many people are still wealthy today. It is no coincidence that they succeeded in the cotton fields where the Native did not. They were not brought to America by mere chance, but their captors understood their farming history as a people and their capacity to flourish. It is because of this that many African Americans feel that there is no one more American than they. This is when things get weird.
The servant is not invited to the party as a guest. The servant is invited as a servant. His job is not to mingle or even to sit at the masters table. The servant is not prohibited to kick his shoes off, go upstairs and rest. The servant is not there to get comfortable. The servant’s job is to serve. The black man and woman didn’t come to America on a plane. The black man and woman came to America in shackles. We’re not talking about the blacks who arrived here prior to 1619, we’re talking about the blacks who began what is infamously known as The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. These blacks, it is clear, have no idea who they are as a people. They have been robbed and spoiled and hidden into prison houses. They have no idea what’s going on around them or in front of them. They are wild bulls in a net and filled with the fury of the Almighty. Mistake it not that they are blessed. Any contribution from them is prosperity. The blood in their veins is still a covenanted one. They sing songs about redemption and have built communities out of nothing.
However, at what point has American become synonymous with ethnicity, or rather, nationality? Were not your ancestors considered less than human beings when this country was built? If given the chance do you think the founding fathers would not have signed the constitution in your blood? You cannot align yourself with the Native because he too had you as slaves. Did your rights not have to be amended or added on like a button to a shirt? What to the slave is the 4th of July?
The Mexican American is American. The Canadian American is American. The European American is American. The Irish American is American. All of these people are Americans because they live in America, but when we talk about the nationality, which refers to a country, who are you? Every other people in America can still point in the direction of their natural heritage except the African American in America. This perpetual state of ignorance has caused many of them to settle for being Americans. They don’t know who they are. Just because I help build someone’s house, this does not make it mine.
Re-post: Author Tips on Writing Historical Fiction
This is a re-post from M.K. Tod who writes historical fiction and blogs about all aspects of the genre at A Writer of History. Her recent post included a list of tips on writing Historical Fiction as acquired from around the web. Instead of re-blogging I decided to re-post some of those tips here, they are just too good to let pass us by so I organized them in the list below so we can see them all. Please visit A Writer of History for author source and to comment on her blog. I would also suggest you follow her (especially if your a historical fiction writer), she is always on point with her guest authors, links, and advice:
- Let the characters engage with the historical details – a variation on show don’t tell
- Allow your characters to question and explore their place in society – doing so reveals the context of the times
- Love the process, because readers will still find errors
- Sweat the Small Stuff – small details allow readers to engage all senses in the past world you are building
- Dump the Ballast – too much detail is a killer
- Read historical fiction – sounds obvious doesn’t it but you have to appreciate excellent historical fiction in order to be successful
- Know when to stop researching – cautions about falling down the proverbial rabbit hole
- Research comes before writing – get the facts right to ensure a good foundation for your novel
- Inhabit the mind and skin of your characters – you have to understand the sensibilities of the time so your readers can feel immersed in it
- Pick a universal theme if you can – the concerns of your novel need to resonate with modern readers
- Choose a time and place that really intrigues you – passion will make your story more compelling
No Wonder Your Post Only Got 5 Likes
Before I shut down for the weekend I have to share this. I’m sitting here going through some of my older posts (the ones with 0-5 likes) and my tagging is just sad. Like, it doesn’t even make any sense. I love looking back on my work and seeing where I can improve. So, here’s 7 tips on tagging I acquired from some friends in the blogging world as well as somewhere in this brain of mine. I caution I am not an expert and these tips are just based on my prior knowledge and experience (so far) with blogging:
1. Try to mix your original tags with some general tags. General tags are tags that are often used such as: Blog, Blogger, Blogging, WordPress, Google, General, Poetry, and Writing (for book promo also use Amazon, eBook, and Self-Publishing). Original Tags are any tags you want to use or tags that are unique to your blog such as your blog name (I often use pbs for Pearls Before Swine).
2. Don’t be afraid to step outside the box. Make sure your tags have something to do with the post BUT this doesn’t mean you can’t get creative and add tags you think may drive more traffic since its mentioned in your post. For instance, one of the tags I chose for this post is: “Spelling”. This post is not going to teach you how to spell, but it does say something about spelling. I could have also used “Grammar” or “Grammatically Correct”, or “Punctuation”. I also tagged this post “Follows” and “Support” because they are similar in theme to “Likes”
3. Make sure your spelling is correct in the tags! LOL
4. If you’re going to use less than 15 tags, make them count. It will be best to use commonly used tags, such as Blog, General, and WordPress. Otherwise, it’s best to stick to at least 15 -17 tags. I think any more than that is overkill because…well, just because.
5. Remember that categories count as tags.
6. Keep your tags short and simple! Remember that old saying that if you sell books the way you buy them you’re more likely to increase profit? If you go to Amazon to buy a book, then your book should probably be on Amazon as well. Or, if you are more than likely to purchase an ebook, your book should probably have an ebook version as well. The logic is that you’re a reader first and if you have certain buying habits as a reader then chances are other readers have the same habits and so you use your reader habits in your marketing strategies. Well, if you tag the way you browse the net it may help in the same way. People google the way that they think and have a tendency to use the same keywords over and over again. This means some tags are just taking up space because no one is going to use them. What’s the chances of someone finding “Ilovemymothersomuch”? That’s a tag that doesn’t make any sense. I would tag it “Mothers” instead because if I needed to google articles about a mother’s love that is what I would type in.
7. As a bonus, here’s a Tag Support Chart I acquired some time ago from a fellow blogger. It displays some commonly used tags separated by days. I don’t always follow the suggested actions that go along with the tags but I do use them. I’m still learning how to tag properly but this chart has been VERY helpful in that process (Tags I often use are: Blog, Blogging, Blogger, General, Writing, Google, WordPress, and I add one of the tags in the chart along with some that have to do with the post itself):
You Have the Right to Write
Attention: You Have the Right to Write or anything you don’t say will drive you crazy by intense desire. Creative ideas will overheat until they melt themselves into fragmented descriptions of confused thought and drip like perspiration from your brow. Words will escape your mouth in an explosion of writer’s language. Soon, you’ll start bringing up the names of books to four year olds and correcting sentences fresh out your neighbors mouth, “..not a eraser, an eraser..” you’ll blurt out uncontrollably. Your lips are so bone dry they have wrinkles, and you trip over your tongue as if it does not belong in your mouth. You can’t even blame Writer’s Block for the frustration since you keep missing your periods at the end of sentences. Poor words, left to run on in a string of thought; breathlessly pulsating through veins hoping to make it to the end of your never ending consciousness. The least you can do is appoint a capital letter to keep everyone in check, a comma won’t hurt you either. If you find yourself in this condition, you have the WRITE to consult inspiration before speaking anything into existence, and to have a pen and pad ready for any glint of light amidst the darkness, now or in the future.
Twin Show Down!!
I saw a post earlier today about these twins who are both serving as District Court Judges and pretty much have a lot more in common, from the ages of their children, to marrying their hubby’s two months apart. I discovered another blogger (not sure if she wants me to mention her or not) who is also a twin. I am also a twin!
I’m challenging all Twins to post their twin pics! Please do this on your own blog and link to this page so I can see them. The Twin Show-Down starts now!!!
*Clears throat: if I’m the only one who participates than me and my twin will just have to suck up all the attention 🙂 But no, seriously, I wanna see your twin!*
Throwback Thursday Jam- “Golden”, Jill Scott
Where all my Neo Soul people at??? Anthony Hamilton, Leela James, Jill Scott, come on now!
Live yo life like its Golden. Jill gone tell them about it, they don’t know ….lol
The PBS Blog 