Project: Shadow

Buckle up, I get a little motivationally passionate in this one.

If you want to support the work that I do, you can join the project on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cedorsett

Or buy me a Coffee on Ko-fi.

YouTube Channel= https://www.youtube.com/user/cedorsett/

Site: https://www.projectshadow.com

Dragon's of Night: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/dragons-of-night

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cedorsett

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectshadowsite/

This is my conversation with Kierra L Rose about her new book, The Healer's Love.

Check out her book (here) and her YouTube Channel (here).

If you want to support the work that I do, you can join the project on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cedorsett

Or buy me a Coffee on Ko-fi.

YouTube Channel= https://www.youtube.com/user/cedorsett/

Site: https://www.projectshadow.com

Dragon's of Night: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/dragons-of-night

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cedorsett

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectshadowsite/

Since Lauren asked about how to set up a podcast, let's talk about that today, and why everyone should have one.

If you want to support the work that I do, you can join the project on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cedorsett

Or buy me a Coffee on Ko-fi.

YouTube Channel= https://www.youtube.com/user/cedorsett/

Site: https://www.projectshadow.com

Dragon's of Night: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/dragons-of-night

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cedorsett

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectshadowsite/

Check out my interview with KaShay Warren. We were supposed to talk about Short Stories, but this conversation turned into some very special. We talked about Race, Gender, and Creativity.

Learn more about KaShay Warren here.

If you want to support the work that I do, you can join the project on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cedorsett

Or buy me a Coffee on Ko-fi.

YouTube Channel= https://www.youtube.com/user/cedorsett/

Site: https://www.projectshadow.com

Dragon's of Night: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/dragons-of-night

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cedorsett

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectshadowsite/

If you want more about this topic, I did an Author Chat with Abigail Ford and Jules the Dawdling Writer that you can watch here.

If you want to support the work that I do, you can join the project on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cedorsett

Or buy me a Coffee on Ko-fi.

YouTube Channel= https://www.youtube.com/user/cedorsett/

Site: https://www.projectshadow.com

Dragon's of Night: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/dragons-of-night

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cedorsett

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectshadowsite/

Let's talk about cutting our own path forward.

If you want to support the work that I do, you can join the project on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cedorsett

Or buy me a Coffee on Ko-fi.

YouTube Channel= https://www.youtube.com/user/cedorsett/

Site: https://www.projectshadow.com

Dragon's of Night: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/dragons-of-night

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cedorsett

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectshadowsite/

Let's just get to the links I promised.

If you want to support the work that I do, you can join the project on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cedorsett

Or buy me a Coffee on Ko-fi.

YouTube Channel= https://www.youtube.com/user/cedorsett/

Site: https://www.projectshadow.com

Dragon's of Night: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/dragons-of-night

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cedorsett

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectshadowsite/

Things are changing, or at least they feel like they are. This is an interesting time to do world building a contemporary dark fantasy world set on Earth.

What I decided to do

I decided to set the story in the ’90s because of my own nostalgia for the goth subculture of my youth. Also I didn’t want to have to deal with the state of the world as it is now. I don’t know how to process live in the United States right now enough to write a story about it, but that doesn’t mean that current events aren’t changing the ideas going into my story world.

The Outrage is not mine to appropriate

Our job is not to appropriate the anger and outrage of people of color and victims of systemic racism, segregation, or of any population we do not belong to that suffered genocide. We need to adopt a tone of confession and anti-racism. We also need to be careful not to proclaim that our stores offer an absolute or ideal solution to these problems. 

How do we write honestly from the POV of our characters without appropriation?

I can’t write a utopia because that wouldn’t serve the story, but I can’t pretend that I have the answer to these problems.  What ever am I going to do?

The real question is: how do I develop a “realistic” fantasy setting without either proclaiming that I have found a “perfect” solution or appearing to write anything into the setting that would justify the bias of the characters within the setting?

The answer I came up with is to focus on making sure I am not including racist tropes in my world building that would undercut the stories and the world itself. I know I will not be perfect about this, but it is something we all need to keep a close eye on.

Several good example of what I am talking about come from my beloved Harry Potter books. I am not talking about the author’s current transphobia, but the flawed analogy used in the series.

Seek perfection Knowing you will never find it.

I know I will make mistakes, we all will, but we cannot allow our fear of failure to keep us from working. I understand that there is a big difference between author intent and reader impact, so I am going to do everything in my power to do no harm with my work. Should I mess up, then I need to apologize and fix it in good faith.

I don’t have all the answers

I wish more writers would repeat that over and over to themselves. Our work is about seeking meaning in this world and finding an escape from it. Our job is not to solve the world’s problem but to search, try, and sometimes harrow the souls of our characters and give our readers a worthwhile experience.

All writing is empathy. Don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t know everything. The road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep a close eye on our intentions and the effect we might have on others.

Fear serves no purpose other than to keep us quiet. Do your best to tell stories worth tell, ever seeking to do no harm with your tales. That is all that can be asked from any of us.

If you want to support the work that I do, you can join the project on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cedorsett

YouTube Channel= https://www.youtube.com/user/cedorsett/

Site: https://www.projectshadow.com

Dragon's of Night: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/dragons-of-night

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cedorsett

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectshadowsite/

The best part of this new project for me is that it has restored my love for telling stories and writing. I didn’t think I lost my love until I felt it return.

If you want to support the work that I do, you can join the project on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cedorsett

YouTube Channel= https://www.youtube.com/user/cedorsett/

Site: https://www.projectshadow.com

Ash Dancer: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/ash-dancer

Barrens' End: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/barrens--end

Dragon's of Night: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/dragons-of-night

Princess Rescue Squad: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/princess-rescue-squad

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cedorsett

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectshadowsite/