What Whitney Wants to Say #10
We have a lot to get into so I’ll jump right in:
I am doing nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) this year and even though we’re off to a shaky start, I feel good about it. It’s been fun so far and I really needed to get more words on the page so I’m excited to see how this turns out. Right now, I’m on chapter 3 which is really exciting! Of course this could change when I edit but to have actual chapters is absolutely nuts. Also, finally doing something you said you were going to do for years is actually terrifying because you spend so long imagining a future in which the task is already done, but you never stop and picture how hard it actually is to get to the end. I can write for my blog all day long but no one prepares you for the frustration and distractions you’ll face while trying to write a cohesive story for hour long sprints at a time. My attention span is so diminished. I blame years of Twitter abuse. However, if I actually finish my novel, even if I sell it or not, I’m throwing a party the likes of which you’ve never seen before.
I wrote a poem to process my feelings but I’m in two minds about sharing it here. On one hand, we create art to share with others, right? But on the other hand, some things should be left unsaid. Ultimately, we’ll see how I feel in a week.
I’m currently reading Freedom Is A Constant Struggle by Angela Davis and I highly recommend it as necessary reading for the times we are living in. I’m grateful that one of the greatest minds of the civil rights movement is still here with us to share her knowledge and I’m glad I found this book when I did. I also recommend you get it from a small bookstore as opposed to Amazon or Barnes and Nobles. I got my copy from Lost City Books in Adams Morgan.
As for movies, I absolutely recommend that you all watch Battle for Algiers (1966) if you haven’t seen it already. It’s a beautiful, documentary style film about a people’s fight for freedom. I was incredibly moved when I saw it about 10 years ago and it has shaped a lot of my personal politics since. It’s currently streaming on MAX (formerly HBO Max) so please take a look if you. You won’t be disappointed.
Sidenote about Battle for Algiers (1966): It’s remarkable that I was able to see such a mature and provocative movie in high school. Even though I was 17, I was still considered a child and a lot of being a child in America is the adults around you thinking you’re too delicate to learn about the world. Until you turn 18 however, at which point you’re thrust into adulthood with no warning. I’m grateful that I was trusted with a movie like that and given the ability to come to my own conclusions. I think it’s horrible that with book banning and paranoid censorship, we are robbing kids of that today.