Sloan Parker's Blog

“It just seems silly to me that something so right and simple has to be fought for at all.”

Gregory Peck, as a presenter at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) awards ceremony in 1997.

Love, love, love this video. It was created by a friend of author Geoffrey Knight.

It’s been a long week. Maybe the lack of sleep is getting to me, or maybe I’m just feeling the need to vent a little. In either case, here’s one from my own life today.

“When your partner’s mom is in a serious car crash, is taken by helicopter to the hospital, has a 14 hour surgery, and is in the ICU, you are reminded how important the words “spouse” and “mother-in-law” are and how much it sucks when you can’t legally use them.”

- Sloan Parker

• A Rush of Ideas: my group blog post where I talk about one of the aspects I love most about writing: the start of a new story. As I work on Walter and Kevin’s book, I’m getting the ideas down for a new story, and I’m having a fantastic time with it (and yes, I still have two more MORE books coming also). I love when there is no shortage of ideas.
• A yaoi role-playing game: Hot Guys Making Out. I read what one guy said about playing this game (in a private email) and it sounds neat. (Thanks to my uncle for sharing this one. Thanks, T!)
• Interesting… an M/M romance in which you enter your own details and customize the book.
• Joanna Stampfel-Volpe responds to a recent PW blog post on LGBTQ YA. On Being Used, the Lack of LGBTQ Characters in YA, and Why It’s Important to Work Together

Source: (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

• Repeal of gay ban causing few waves in military
• Airman tells dad he is gay as ‘don’t ask’ policy disappears. From his Youtube video: “I called my dad to tell him the hardest thing that gay guys will ever have to say.” Brought back memories of talking to my own parents. Not an easy thing to do even when everyone already suspects. (thanks to my niece for sharing the link. Thanks, A!)
• As gay military ban ends, officer sheds his alias
• I haven’t really had time to check out this blog but it looks interesting: gaytwogether
• For the writers out there, this is an excellent article from Joseph O’Connor. He shares his tips for writing fiction and I’ve included a couple fab quotes below.

  As Checkov said: ‘Don’t tell me the moon is shining. Show me moonlight reflected on broken glass.’ One of the strangest paradoxes of writing fiction is that the more you tell the reader, the less he or she knows. If you write ‘we were very happy indeed’ the reader thinks ‘big deal’. If you write ‘we grabbed each other and hugged and we couldn’t stop laughing’ the reader is in the scene. Putting the reader in the scene is everything to the storyteller. So describe what you can see, not what you know. Use visual words when possible. And never be afraid of leaving something out. Leaving something out is a powerful invitation to the reader, an incitement to the imagination of the person you must never forget. The reader is an essential participant in what you are writing. Meet them half way, and never more than that.
  - From: Joseph O’Connor

  I think of it in musical terms. The writer is providing the sheet music. It’s the reader who is singing the song. To know who you’d like to make sing is an important factor. It also helps to stop writing being egotistical. Writing must always be about the reader, in the end, not the writer. If I have one single commandment, that’s it.
  - From:  Joseph O’Connor

• And another one for writers: Paper Boats: Bail water or bail out? Knowing When to Abandon Your Wip by Josh Lanyon
• And a little eye candy for everyone:
  • Loved the second photo on this blog post.
  • This is an old post but there are some lovely pics over at Yummy of the Day (link is NOT WORK SAFE)
• Lastly, because you know I love this site, here are some screenshots from Damn You Auto Correct
  • I Don’t Remember That Sesame Street Character
    
  • When Craigslist Goes Wrong: 5 Autocorrected Text Fails
    

Have a great weekend, everyone! I’ll be doing some brainstorming with my local writing group. We have such a blast when we get together to work on our story ideas. The conversations that come up are priceless. Last year there was mention of Fire Lube and artificial immaculate insemination and orgasming (is that a word?) your way across a room full of bodies. I wonder what we’ll discuss this time around.

Two published authors who co-wrote a post-apocalyptic young adult novel were offered agent representation on one condition: that they make a gay character straight or remove him completely from the story. When they shared about the experience, they said…

When you refuse to allow major characters in YA novels to be gay, you are telling gay teenagers that they are so utterly horrible that people like them can’t even be allowed to exist in fiction.

LGBTQ teenagers already get told this. They are four times more likely than straight teenagers to attempt suicide. We’re not saying that the absence of LGBTQ teens in YA sf and fantasy novels is the reason for that. But it’s part of the overall social prejudice that does cause that killing despair.

We wrote this novel so that the teenagers we know—some of whom are gay, and many of whom are not white—would be able, for once, to read a fun post-apocalyptic adventure in which they are the heroes. And we were told that such a thing could not be allowed.

After we thanked the agent for their time, declined the offer, and hung up, Sherwood broke the silence. “Do you think the agent missed that Becky and Brisa [supporting characters] are a couple, too? Do they ever actually kiss on-page? No? I’M ADDING A LESBIAN KISS NOW!”

- Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith, From Authors Say Agents Try to “Straighten” Gay Characters in YA

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you all have or find someone to love who also loves and respects you.

Here are a few things I’m loving that I wanted to share.

1. Video of an 80 year old grandmother speaking about her gay son
   “My son is not an issue. He’s a person. Just like you.”

2. If you need some extra words when talking to your lover tonight check out these 47 words to call your lover
   
3. Looking for a gay Valentine or other e-card? Try Out Greetings (that’s where the picture above came from)
4. And lastly, check out what my honey made for my office. Isn’t it great?
   

Hope you have a great week!
Sloan

An amazing young man…

“Zach Wahls, a 19-year-old University of Iowa student spoke about the strength of his family during a public forum on House Joint Resolution 6 in the Iowa House of Representatives. Wahls has two mothers, and came to oppose House Joint Resolution 6 which would end civil unions in Iowa.” (Source: YouTube)

Unfortunately, the Iowa House passed the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. “In order to become law, the amendment must now pass in the Democratic-controlled Iowa Senate.”

I have hope that more people will listen to Zach Wahls and all he represents.
Sloan

“LeAnn Rimes joined the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles to pay tribute to LGBT youth everywhere, honoring the memory of those who have taken their lives in desperation, those who struggle with anti-gay bullying and discrimination – and reminding everyone that It Gets Better!” (Source: YouTube)

Another good one in support of marriage equality.

“Edith “Edie” Windsor, who shared her life with her late spouse, Thea Spyer, for 44 years, files a lawsuit against the federal government for refusing to recognize their marriage. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA), a federal statute that defines marriage for all federal purposes as a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife. Windsor and Spyer were married in Canada in 2007, and were considered married by their home state of New York.” (Source: YouTube)

This is one of my favs!!

From YouTube: “Broadway stars rock out in a celebration of life, in the wake of LGBT suicides across the nation. Please SHARE this original song and video to help send a message of hope and support. Song available October 19th on iTunes, with all download proceeds benefiting The Trevor Project”