Once Again Wind Waking

I started work on my book on The Wind Waker.

Or rather, I resumed work.

I wrote about 30k words of this project between January and April 2017. I can’t remember why I stopped. If I had to guess, I think it probably had something to do with getting my first real taste of the Tumblr culture wars and then having to spend most of May and June in Japan for work that I resented. Also, Breath of the Wild came out in April 2017, so there’s that as well.

I don’t think I can use most of what I wrote, unfortunately. It’s not poorly written, but it’s not that interesting or original. I know what I was aiming for in terms of the specific model I was trying to emulate, but I’d like to allow myself to aim higher.

Putting the quality of the writing aside, I can feel how excited I was about this project, and it’s good to return to that headspace. Hopefully, my previous work will provide a nice bit of structure and scaffolding.

I’d previously toyed with the idea of putting chapters up on AO3, and I’m still entertaining that possibility, but I think I’d rather keep this to myself for the time being. My plan is to finish a few chapter drafts to get my sea legs and then pitch the project informally to a few acquaintances who work in indie publishing. The type of response I get from various quarters will more than likely shape the tone and direction of the book, so I think it’s probably best not get too invested before I know who I’m writing for.

Digital Terrarium

The incident in Georgia upset me, and the way this incident was reported somehow managed to be equally upsetting. This hit me hard for various reasons; and, because I was feeling vulnerable, my experience of being on social media this week was not great. There are certain things that I don't want to hear about unless I deliberately prepare myself to seek them out, and there are certain emotions and attitudes that - while entirely justified - I cannot be exposed to on an ongoing daily basis without getting hurt. I am a very delicate flower right now, and self-care and boundaries are important.

I've been thinking about my social media brand. I'm getting the feeling that "digital terrarium," the name of my store on Etsy, is as good of a brand as any. I post long essays about difficult topics on my personal blog and my book review blog (and perhaps on Medium in the future), and I want all of my takes to be thoughtfully considered, ice cold, and not readily available to people with no reading comprehension skills. Meanwhile, I want my social media feeds on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to be as chill and relaxing and positive as possible.

So my brand will be: video games and plants.

Did the mindset of white Southern Christianity result in yet another needless tragedy?

NO!!!! Video games and plants.

Does the Southern Christian media insist on calling aunties and grandmas sex workers?

NO!!!! Video games and plants.

Is American media in general filled with offensive stereotypes about Asian women?

NO!!!! Video games and plants.

I have no intention of being silent about any of this, and I am going to continue the work relating to education and social justice that I've dedicated my life to doing. In the meantime, however, I refuse to add fuel to the fire of the internet hate machine. My rage is precious, and I will not use it to drive "engagement" on predatory platforms.