Let's kick this one off early, shall we? So, it's November. Christmas, Part One. Back in the day, the months of October and November signified the fall harvest, with that eventually becoming November's trademark, until Christmas gobbled it up like your greedy Uncle Buck, the one who always piles on most of the mashed potatoes and gets the best parts of the turkey. And then he hogs the remote, and everyone watches football while he talks about how many deer he bagged last season. If we break away from the commercialism and seeing plastic Jack-O-Lanterns sharing shelf space with candy canes, (if your stores even get to see Halloween before they start hauling out the Christmas stuff. Sometimes, I swear it's out all year...) let's think back to the days when November actually had some meaning. The family dinners, the school pageants of the First Thanksgiving, fighting over who gets to be a Pilgrim and who gets to be a Native American (we're politically-correct here), because you want to wear the feathers and you think the dress code of Plymouth Rock looks goofy... The hay bales and corn stalks on the front porch, the gourds lining the shelves... That crisp autumn air with the tinge of winter, and looking forward to the yearly trip to your grandparents for a big Thanksgiving Day feast. Let's not forget the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, as that's a tradition for many.
So, let's talk about that; Thanksgiving. This time, your topic will be a two-fer deal, suggested by Goodwood and I'm the Chosen One. Thanksgiving and diversity.
Part One: Pick a character, any character. Got a character? Good. Now, sit your character down at the table and ask them to tell you what they are most thankful for. Don't let them get away with a one-word answer; urge them to explain why they are most thankful for whatever it is they're thankful for. Then, pass the stuffing.
Part Two: Species diversity. How would your GFFA Thanksgiving feast table look? Would the occupants be diverse? What are your thoughts on species diversity in the GFFA? For fun, how would you picture a First Thanksgiving scenario? Oh, and pass the gravy, too. The turkey is a little dry...
Now, the rules: Talk about your fan-fiction only and no condemning others' work and "I don't know" is an acceptable answer. And mind your manners! We're at dinner, after all, so get those elbows off the table and for crying out loud, use a napkin! Trak Nar Ramble on 08:48, November 3, 2012 (UTC)
Discussion[]
Ataru[]
Been very busy, so apologies for my absence and thanks to Trak for managing the place. I'm bringing the cranberry sauce and it's homemade, so please partake.
- Part 1: I'll go with my lead character, Selu Kraen, circa 38 ABY. He'd say he's the most thankful for his family. It was his brother Sarth who saved him during the Jedi purge, gave him a new life. His adopted brother Spectre saved his life on multiple occasions, and saved the entire Force exile refuge. His wife Milya has given him years of happiness together and helped him bring up two children.
- Part 2: My diversity in characters I feel has some room for improvement. Out of characters I consider lead, supporting, and guest roles who have EGTFE entries thus far, there are 34 Humans, 2 Arkanians, 3 Twi'leks, 1 Kel'Dor, 1 Dathomiri near-Human, 1 Wroonian, 1 Zabrak, 1 Noghri, 1 Talortai, 1 Bothan, 1 Tynnan, 1 Whiphid, 1 Kiffar near-Human, and 1 Tunroth. That's 14 non-Humans, 2 near-Humans, and 34 Humans. Part of that stems from the fact that the lead roles (and their families) are all Human. That I feel is a disappointment, but it's also common in canon. The lead roles in the OT were all Human. The lead roles in the PT were all Human. We relate better to Humans and they're a lot easier to write. By gender diversity, I'm also not doing that well, with 33 male characters and 16 female characters. This also is not a trait common to my writing; the movies are heavily male-dominated, with Padme and Leia pretty much the only major female characters. For my last entry in the series, I'm trying to include more non-Humans and more female characters in supporting and lead roles to help rectify the trends of having Human males dominate the series. I don't believe in having quotas where I feel I have to have a certain percentage of my characters be non-Humans or female, but a better balance would provide a challenge for me as a writer and help broaden my palette of characters. Atarumaster88
(Talk page) 18:56, November 29, 2012 (UTC)
