The power of NO
I’ve been reading a lot about this, lately. Coming from all sorts of areas. For example, did you know, that the word NO is also a complete sentence? Just by saying “no” you convey exactly what you are feeling. A simple two letter word, quite easy to use, and very easily one of the first words a person learns in their lives.
I’ve been saying it a few times myself, especially in this age when telemarketers seem to be gaining a larger representation. From actual people making calls, to robo calls where your phone rings and then rings a telemarketer up once you’ve answered, to recorded messages. I hate those things, and each time I have to say no. And each time, the person on the other end tries to convince me otherwise. My mind is never changed. Why try? The same can be said of people that I talk to face to face who try to get me involved in something. I’ll invariably say no, they’ll continue to try and convince me how awesome it is. I’ll say no again. The only downside to this type of conversation isn’t so much that I don’t like being told I have to try something even after saying no once or twice. The downside is I can’t hang up on this type of conversation like I can a telemarketer.
I’ve been caught in this myself in the past, but I’ve learned that if a person says no to something, that’s usually the end of the discussion and we move on.
For myself, whenever I have to answer with a no, I always feel like I’m being put on the spot when I’m asked again, with the hope from an individual if I’ll change my mind. That puts a lot of pressure on a person, and often I’ll feel like I’m being a jerk for saying no. In truth, the person asking the question is being a jerk, because the word no is pretty straight forward. Try saying no to people like this from now on, maybe it’ll get through better.
This leads into something else but is a completely different topic.
XKCD has the best advice.
I like it here in my blanket fort
I’m an introvert. Not many know it, but I like spending time alone. I like being alone, I like watching television alone, I like reading alone (which, normally should be the case, but I’ve had opportunity in the past to read to someone else). I like doing all sorts of stuff alone. So I guess I have to explain that to people when they try to push me to join some function or organization or go out and meet people.
I’ll be honest, I’ve had 42 years of meeting people, and about 23 of that working in three different career tracks. Quite frankly, people are assholes. I’d like to stay as fuckin’ far away from them as I can. People can be nosey, stupid, intrusive, uncaring, rude, and all manner of crass. Why the hell would I wanna associate with that kind of shit? It just seems that the more social a person is, the more of a jerk they become.
No thanks, I’ll stay in my blanket and read my book this weekend. And to be honest, I prefer my people as a digital representation through a form of social media. That way I can weed out the ones I don’t want to associate with, without having to explain to them why I think they’re douchebags (quick note: I haven’t done that very often).
This thinking stuff is really making my writing hard
Thanks to having the brain I have that can’t stop thinking when I’m doing menial things, I end of thinking of the things that I write, and the stuff I put my characters into. But I’m also thinking about the kinds of characters that will get fleshed out and their backgrounds. For example, I’ve decided to base a couple of my characters (who are showing up in the rewrite of Black Mask & Pale Rider) as Native American. Waien Argith and his younger sister Villith will essentially become First Nation elves. Shani, along with her brother Sywyn and younger sister Wren, will be of Metis background. In otherwords, half First Nation (I’m thinking Mohawk, Iroquois or Algonquin), half European decent (either French or Scottish). Pania and her brother Mandrel and younger sister Pylia will all be of Irish decent. Because really, elves can be any colour at all, as I’ve discovered the concept of spirit folk, pixies, fae, elves and so on, is not limited to Scottish, Irish or even Welsh folklore. First Nations people had versions of elves, as did Scandinavians, as did Arabic people. This is one I’m holding onto quite tightly, because I think we need to have fantasy characters that are all encompassing. Especially when the characters mirror the person reading the book.
And anyone who wishes to say that there can’t be Native American elves need only look at this.
Turn the Page 