A Slave's Freedom · 3:22am Jul 25th, 2020
That is all. Going to have my editor look over it one last time before I publish it.
Actually, there is one other thing I need to address. I thought it would be interesting to talk about why I'm writing this story. I don't know if I actually ever addressed it, so if you're curious, keep reading. If not, keep reading anyway, because it might shine some light on me as a person. Or not.
See, there's a lot of self-reflection involved here. Back in 2014 when the first drafts of this came to fruition, I was simply wanting to be controversial. I was edgy, aggressive in my views, and quite frankly... still new to writing, so I was bound to make loads of mistakes that I didn't recognize.
It's been a long time now and my reasons for why I write this newer, improved version are different. It went from 2014 me wanting to be controversial, to wanting to explore controversial topics. There's a certain level of intent that's different between the two, one that shows my maturity and my care for the subject matter. It's not to say that I didn't care back then, as back then I held the same view as I do now: slavery is bad and holding racist views is bad too. There's a stark difference in perspective though, one that is evident if you ever had to compare the two versions.
With this new maturity towards the subject matter, I also found myself asking a new question that I wanted to answer:
"Why would people hold racist views?"
Hence why this version has Mr. Burr's perspective. It has made me ten times more uncomfortable to write his sections, but it's also helping me a lot in my growth as a writer.
That's really weird to type, so let me elaborate. Part of the maturity here was caused by turning inward and figuring out what my motives were. I had to ask myself questions, ones that were framed as simply as, "Why do I want to write this? What's the point?" However, as time progressed, those questions became more specific such as, "What do I want to explore in terms of the American Civil War? Do I want to explore the war itself, or do I want to explore slavery during that time period and elaborate on why it's such a horrible thing? And if I'm going to go down that second avenue, how will I write this so that it's not a mouthpiece and instead a story that cares about the content I'm writing about?" I found myself being much more sensitive to the topic as a result of all this, which made me take precautions when writing the story.
Most of the precautions stemmed from that last question. It's a never-ending battle for me. I always have to quadruple check myself. I have to ask myself if this is really what I want to put out for everyone to see. It's a normal doubt, one where I fear that I will become an outcast simply for writing another chapter. And yet, it hasn't happened. I have people who message me to write more, and I have friends that are willing to support me and tell me if I’m going too far. Back when I wrote the first version, I had a support system, but I also had received occasional death threats. Nowadays I assume peeps just report the story because they read the dreaded word that starts with the letter n and thought I was breaking site rules.
Put it this way, I care way too much about A Slave's Freedom. I want to write about this journey through Ghastly Gorge that Dyson and Rainbow Dash unintentionally go on. I want to give readers a view on what Dyson's life was like in Mississippi. The problem is it takes a lot of time. I'm trying my hardest to find research that'll help me with my writing. From books, letters, newspaper articles, and any other forms of media, there's so much information out there that I have to make sure I'm getting the right information. I want this to be well-founded in historical accuracy, hence why this takes forever to do. I'm always looking up for new information, even some of the minor stuff (clothes, habits, slang that isn't racially charged, and even old maps). Point being, writing this story has me looking for more info, and to really make me understand those who lived through it all. I hope I'll find a clear enough answer to that spoiler-ed question above when the story is done, but that will take quite a bit of time before I reach that point.
I hope this shines some light on my motives/thoughts on A Slave's Freedom. If not, then I suck at writing. I hope you all will stick around for the rest of the story. There's a lot more to come.
Holy fuck why did I write a shipping pair in the first version of the story? What the fuck was wrong with me?
Why don’t you write about a REAL minority like GAMERS
#SoaringIsCanceled
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Damn, you got me.
#SoaringIsCanceled
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Write A Gamer’s Liberation next bigot libtard >:C
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#SoaringIsCanceled
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#SoaringIsCanceled
5321169 Black Female* Gamer
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#SoaringisCancelled
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#SoaringIsCanceled
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#MissyIsBritish
#missyisbritish
How does it feel to no longer have the only story that shows up whenever you type the gamer word?
I would like A Slave's Freedom with extra beef, can sealed.
#cansealASlavesFreedom
I have honestly been looking forward to reading this story, and I'm so very glad you're almost ready to post it completed.
Congratulations, you asked a "why" question. Keep doing that and be counted among the wise.
Have you read A Yankee Private's Civil War? Admittedly it's not precisely on topic, but it's a fascinating autobiographical look at the war from the very front lines.
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I don't know why I never really asked myself that particular question though. It baffles me. Hope with all my research I'll be able to find an answer to that question.
I haven't read that one. Going to add that to my ever-growing reading list. Thank you!