Blog Assignment #11 - The End

So we made it to the end, and boy was it a journey. Before this class, I was already a blogger. So I was excited about this assignment. The idea of improving my blogging skills and getting graded for it was awesome. And you would think that it would've given me a bit of an advantage, but there were variables I hadn't counted on.

Let's start with the topics. Every other week I got to choose my own topic, and that was pretty cool for me. Then there were the topics that we were assigned. I didn't think I was going to have an issue with this, but then we got into the food unit, and Oh My God, I did not enjoy it at all.

One thing that I don't generally share with people is my dislike for food. Working in food service off and on for 18 years has caused this in me. Having to kill lobsters is something I've had to do, and don't enjoy. So I tend to only eat when I'm extremely hungry or extremely depressed (but that is a blog post of it's own that will never happen). This made writing about food very hard for me. And when we started watching the videos of food preparation's "negative" behind the scenes, I got sick (mental and physically). I was haunted by the sounds of the animals in the videos, and it made it hard for me to actually service the live lobsters at work. Not to mention, I would go days at a time not eating after watching the videos. Luckily, I have hopefully gotten past it.


All in all, it wasn't a bad assignment; and, it's much better than having to write an extra essay. And this Girl On Fire will continue to blog at my regular spot. It's funny. Some people think that "Girl on Fire" is a Hunger Games reference; after all I mentioned it in the Wall-E post. But it's really not. A Succubus is a sex demon synonymous with fire. Since my main characters in my writing are Succubi (mentioned in my Breaking The Rules post), the image is one that I have become drawn to. And coincidentally, this blog has helped with my creative writing, and I've been inspired to use my personal blog for helping with my character development and such.

So I'm glad I had this experience, and plan on taking it, and everything I've learned from it into the future. Hopefully it will be beneficial in my endeavors.

So goodbye for now... From Rasheda... The Girl On Fire!!!

Blog Assignment #7 - Chicken Used To Be My Favorite Food...

Have you ever heard a sound that was so horrifying that it would not leave your brain? Something that just tugged at you; gave you nightmares even. I never really experienced that before now.

In my English class, we're watching a documentary called "Food Inc." and if you work in the food service industry, I recommend never watching it. I have found myself in a rut because of it.

Imagine being asked how the Maple Glazed Chicken is, and finding yourself paralyzed. The sound of a chicken that is scared, and knows it's about to die, starts to ring in your ears. Never heard that sound, well watch the video below, and your will hear what I'm talking about. I warn you, it's not something that is that easy to watch.

As I watched the video, I could hear the chickens screaming "Ow" just like a human would, and it made me look at a few things I would've never thought about before seeing this video. I watched as they killed these birds in front of the others, and wondered what was going on in the spectating chicken's head? Were they reacting to the inevitable, because they had been watching all along? How horrible would it be to watch a friend die, and then see the murderer come to me next?

Am I saying that killing chickens is murder? No. I'm not and activist. But I did see some parallels with humans and how they would respond. And because of that, I can't eat chicken anymore. At least not until I get that sound out of my ears.

Even still, I guess it was better than the way the chickens in the industrialized facilities were being treated. They had no quality of life. It was cruel. The pumped these chickens full of hormones and steroids so they would grow so big that their legs can't even hold their own weight, then slaughter them. Engineering the food to maximize profit, it's as disgusting as some of the fallout from their practices. The diseases and outbreaks. All because they wanted to make more money.

So even though this video was from so many years ago, I'm too grossed out to eat chicken now. And it's sad too. Because I used to love the Spicy McChicken Sandwich.

Blog Assignment #10 - Blocked

I write a lot of different things; poetry, flash fiction, short stories, novels, screenplays. It's generally a fun escape for me. I create a world, and let my mind enjoy all the possibilities. But lately, I've been dealing with a bit of writer's block.

It's not uncommon; but, unless I know the cause it's not easy to over come.  So what tends to cause me to get writer's block.

#1 - Not the work that wants to be worked on. 

So I found that with a million and one pieces of writing in my head, I can't choose which on t work on, so I stop all together. Or I'll pick up a short story, and put it down to work on my novel. But I need to add lines of dialogue to my screenplay. And don't get me started on when my loved ones piss me off, and poetry wants to spill from my finger tips. Starting and stopping will always bring me to a point of not starting again.

#2 - Lack of a proper story. 

Sometimes I have these epic scenes in my head, and believe that they are apart of this great story. So I write them down, and try to add to them. But I comes to a point where everything is so forced, and there is nowhere to go with it. So I stop, and can't restart.

I saw an interview with Stephen King, where he talks about this occurrence.

#3 - Wrong Format

This goes hand in hand with the previous cause. There are times when I'm feeling grumpy, and feel a poem flowing out (Yes I only write poetry when I'm grumpy). But as it flows, I find myself adding random dialogue. Oops. Wait. Random dialogue in a poem. Not right. So I go back and take out the dialogue, and everything is ruined and I stop writing. But had I been writing a flash fiction or short story, everything would've been fine.  Same goes with writing a short story, that is bigger than the word count permits, or a novel that has incredible visual aspects that can't be successfully conveyed in the written format. Knowing the true format of the piece could be the difference between a completed piece or a blocked writer.

In the end, the only way I've beat writers' block is just writing. The semantics can work themselves out, but I need to write. Sometimes, I just start writing nonsense. Eventually my brain decides that it wants to join the process and make everything make sense. And I'm unblocked.

Blog Assignment #9 - Where's the beef?

Growing up, I wasn't allowed to eat much fast food. My parents would go to McDonald's once a week and get the $0.25 hamburgers. And that was meant to be a treat. And boy was it.

Then as I got older, and had a little more freedom in my daily life, I started frequenting Wendy's and Carl's Junior. Why? Because of the quality, or at least that's what I told myself. And back then, it probably was better quality. Little did I know back then, the quality was diminishing.

Corporations were looking for short cuts that could help to increase profits. So they started using "filler" products. Funny how nobody ever had to specify what the word "filler" actually meant.  Then Jamie Oliver did his "Food Revolution" show, and put the issue on Prime Time television.

In this one particular episode, he dramatically demonstrates how "Pink Slime" is made. Most people had no clue what "Pink Slime" was. But because of Jamie Oliver's show, McDonald's outed themselves and told the world that they would no longer be using it in their burgers.

ABC News reported this back in 2012, and McDonald's made this statement.

“At McDonald’s, the quality and safety of the food we serve our customers is  a top priority,” the company wrote. “At the beginning of 2011, we made a decision to discontinue the use of ammonia-treated beef in our hamburgers.  This product has been out of our supply chain since August of last year. This decision was a result of our efforts to align our global standards for how we source beef around the world.”

It was also reported that Burger King and Taco Bell stopped using it too. And that's just some of the fast food chains. What about the supermarkets and school. This meat filler could be anywhere, and we'd never know it. But thanks to people like Jamie Oliver, we know it exists, and knowing is half the battle.

If you want to read more about McDonald's announcement, click the following link:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/02/01/mcdonalds-announces-end-to-pink-slime-in-burgers/

Blog Assignment #8 - Breaking The Rules

As I write my screenplay "Morning Star Rises", I have discovered something important about myself. I don't care about the "rules" and want "Happily Ever After" for a murderer.

I guess I should start from the beginning...

(SPOILER ALERT) A woman is killing men in Sterling County. As they have sex, she reaches into their chest, and pulls their heart out of their body. She enjoys what she does, and I find it fun to write.

So when I come to the point where her identity is revealed, and she "must be stopped", I stop writing. I find it almost impossible to write anything worth reading. Would you like to know why? Because the rules state that she can't have a Happily Ever After. But I'm not one to follow rules.

So I wrote an ending, where she defeats those who would stop her, and found a powerful ally to have her back. And all I could think as I read it was, "Oh my god. I can't believe I wrote this crap."

That's right, I called it crap. And it was. Such a feel good moment, when the Killer and her Ally go off into the sunset to find their next victim. Wait, "their next victim". There is the problem.

The killer acts alone, and the ally is one of the good guys. And there are rules about stuff like that. But I don't want to follow the rules. So what do I do?

I'm thinking that the killer must die. But maybe she could die a hero. That would be breaking some rules, while not compromising any of my other characters' morals.

That's right, my cursed angels, sex demons, vampires and werewolves have morals. And I need to make sure that they keep them intact. Otherwise nobody is safe.

Blog Assignment #6 - Now You See It

So I've found myself stuck in a place that is very uncomfortable for a writer; a limbo of sorts. I love to write, but lately it seems more like a daunting chore, than pleasurable. I have to force myself to write, and for a writer that's not good.

It all started when I made the mistake of taking an Intermediate Screenwriting class. It's a good class, don't get me wrong. But I took the Beginning Screenwriting class a year ago, and I didn't get a whole lot out of it. It was a lot of watching movies, and talking about character development. And I became really good a that.

 I can't take a man's smile and build an entire body around it. Then breathe life into him, and give him a personality. He has a past, present and future; dreams and desires. His world is full of family, friends and love interests; and, they too have well developed lives.  It would be incredible, except for one roadblock. With all that development, I tend to forget what the story I wanted to tell was, and why.

So I sit down at my computer, and I type out scene after scene. Oh wait, I have to write an essay for my English class. Back to my screenplay. Darn it, I forgot I said I was going to develop a couple of short stories for this upcoming writing project. And now back to my... personal blog time. I'm really going to put some time into my screen... I almost forgot my blog for my English class. I'm feeling moody, think I'll write a poem about that. I think you get the point.

It's become so bad, I hardly ever open my laptop anymore; not like I used to. When will this semester end, so I could get back to loving writing?

Blog Assignment #5 - Dystopia At It's Finest

It's interesting that we were given a clip from Wall-E to write this blog about. Mostly because it is one of my favorite Dystopias. For those who aren't familiar with what a Dystopia is; it is the opposite of a Utopian society, in which something is seriously wrong with the society at large and it is undesirable for people to live in.

Some of the most recent famous Dystopian works (both literary and film) are The Hunger Games, The Host and Divergent. But Dystopias  aren't limited to Young Adult fiction. No it can be found in almost anything that is Science Fiction oriented.

Disney/Pixar's Wall-E is one of the best ones that I have seen. Not just because it's Disney, but because it shows a society that nobody should want to live in, but we seem to be headed. toward. That's right, I said headed toward. Why?


Imagine a world were nobody walks anywhere, and everything we desire is convenient. It's not hard to picture because or world is already like that in so many ways. We have motorized vehicles that take us everywhere we go. On practically every corner, we an find fast food, drive up banking, pharmacies, libraries, and more. We can work and go to school from the comfort of our home, and having our groceries and food delivered to us. We video chat, share pictures via social networking, text and talk via our phones. With technology, we could almost live 100% of our life in a chair in our home, and not worry about anything.

That is a life pretty close to the life that the people in Wall-E lived. The only difference was that they were travelling in chairs. Sure they got out and about, but they never had to leave the chair. They wanted to change clothes, there was a button for that. They were ready to eat, there was a bot for that. They had fallen, and couldn't get up, a bot was on the way for that. Makes you think of the statement, "There's an App for that". doesn't it?

They had no cares in the world. Heck, when Wall-E snapped Mary out of her conversation, she seems lost. Like she had no clue where she was, and what was going on. Even the children were immobile. It makes for a unhealthy communal situation. And at the rate that technology is taking us, we are headed that way.

Although, I would rather be in Wall-E's dystopia, than have to watch kids killing each other, like in the Hunger Games.

Blog Assignment #4 - Great Sex & Bad Writing

So by now, the whole world has heard of 50 Shades of Grey.
E. L. James wrote a literary masterpiece that will stand the test of time...

Okay, so that was a joke. The truth is, 50 Shades is not well written and the story itself is just okay. So why all the hype... Because James shocked the world by making porn seem literary.

To those familiar with literary genres, this piece of writing would normally have been tucked away in the erotica section, and the lack of great writing skills would've buried it. But that didn't happen. Why?

Because where the story was lacking, James made up for it with great character development and steamy (oddly enough, well written) sex scenes. Hell, I fell in love with Christian Grey.

But the popularity of 50 Shades created a serious problem. More and more poorly written stories are being published, with well written sex scenes. And they aren't being buried in the erotica section. Nope, they're hanging out in the supernatural romance, gothic thrillers, dystopia, medieval romance and fantasy sections. They're veiled as really good genre pieces, then uncovered as smut in literature's clothing.


I recently read a book on my kindle, called Awakened. I have no clue how it got there, but I figured, "Why Not?" I'll tell you why not. Because it was "Crap in Literature's Clothing". As I began, I thought, "This is okay. Characters aren't too bad, and the story has a decent start." About 50 or so pages in, and I started thinking, "Where are the vampires? Isn't this book a part of the Vampire Awakenings series?"

By page 59, I was slightly angry. Why you ask? Because by this page, there is a pretty steamy scene, and yet the first book of the "Vampire Awakenings Series" still hadn't given me an actual vampire. Sure I suspected, but it wasn't until page 172 that the big reveal happened.

So here we have a book with okay character development, the story layout is horrible, and the plot is just okay. So why would anyone ever recommend this book. Because the sex scenes were pretty awesome. I'm not going to lie. Those scene were written very well, just like E.L. James did with 50 Shades. And as a writer, it makes me furious.

Mostly because there are great works not being published, due to a lack of sex. And yet this dribble can get published because someone got aroused when they read the manuscript. It's enough to make any writer worth their salt want to spit nails.

Luckily for me, I can be a well rounded writer. I can write a steamy sex scene, but it's usually embedded in a not so bad story with awesome character. So I hope some day to prove that Great Sex doesn't have to be tied together with
Bad Writing.

Blog Assignment #3 - Facebook Likes... Business Dream & Nightmare

So a Facebook buddy of mine sent me a link to a video. I thought it was gonna be more "My cat did some crap" crap. Yeah I get that stuff all the time. But this one was an OMG for me.

As an author, aspiring to be published, we newbies are told that social networking is vital to our success. We are told to build followers and keep them active. And it's not just so that you can sell them your product. No, it's to prove that your product is worthy of being put in front of more viewers than just your followers. So one would ask, "How does someone show that they are successfully networking socially?" The answer is simple; "Likes".

When people show interest in your pages and posts, they click a button that has a "thumbs up" on it. This symbol is the "Like" symbol, and for some reason it has developed a monetary value.

That's right. People actually pay for likes. Facebook made a stand against "fake likes" back in 2012. It's hard to believe that something as simple as a click could cause such a stir. It's sad that we have made Facebook so important that people are spending their hard earned money to get people to click "Like". What's worse, something that should have been advertising Gold has become a Business Nightmare. Why? Because by adding monetary value to the click, we have diminished the value of the advertisement itself.

Blog Assignment #2 - Creating Myth and Lore

As I'm writing my screenplay, I'm researching vampires, angels and succubi. Vampires and angels aren't that hard. There is a lot of tales and legends about both. You'll even find people out there claiming that they are experts on these topics. While their expertise is questionable, their ability to create myth and lore fascinates me.

It is this fascination that has created a stir in my fictional world. Could you imagine creating your own myths and legends, and people viewing them as a possible reality? I would've never thought to do so, until Succubi became part of my world.

When you are dealing with a subject that has so little exposure, you tend to wonder where to start with character development. In all honesty, the majority of exposure to succubi comes from erotica and porn. The idea of a sex demon doesn't generally have a place in literary fiction; or even most genres. But what if there was more to a sex demon than just sex?

So I'm starting to work on my myths. It shouldn't be too hard since there aren't a lot of famous Succubus stories out there. The only thing I've come across that many have heard of is a Canadian series called "The Lost Girl". I think I'm going to watch it so I can make sure I'm not going too outrageous with the Succubi. It just makes sense to understand what the people who know about succubi know. Even with all of the research, I have to come to a place where my myth and lore is unique, and stands apart from what is known.

So even with my research, I must remember rule #1 - Creation... Not Duplication.

Blog Assignment #1 - Research... Or Just Plain Fun

It's time for me to do a little research for my screenplay. I spend as much, if not more, time researching for my screenplay, as I spend writing it. The theme, plot points, settings and characters in this piece require more research than most of my pieces.

Why is that? Because I'm not a sexually driven person (contrary to the believe of my readers), nor am I a serial killer. But to make my stories believable, I have to convince my readers that it's possible I am and that's why my characters and stories are so good.

So for sex and sexiness, I turn to the same place most women do... Cosmopolitan Magazine. Not only do I read the magazine itself, but I follow a few of the blogs. My favorite is the Best Sex Ever blog.

I like this blog because it makes sex less mundane, and gives new ideas to spice up my characters' sex lives. It's not about porn, erotica or smut. Although, at times it feels like the writer is looking very unrealistically at sex, for the sake of shock value. But since I'm not trying to duplicate what they write, it's still a good source for a fresh outlook on sex. It's all about bringing characters closer, pushing stories forward or giving a serial killer her Modus Operandi.

That's right... Sex as the serial killer's M.O. or "method of operation" (English translation of Modus Operandi). I learned the term on my favorite TV show "Criminal Minds". Not only did I become aware of the world of serial killers, but became fascinated.What I discovered was that when creating killers, you have to let go of all pleasantries and realize that you are dealing with the scum of the earth. So to keep the realism, without actually committing murders, it's important to read about them. I do a lot of my research using blogs like "The World Of Serial Killers".

This blog exposes it's readers to  many cases of serial killers. As well as gives information about famous serial killers, like Jeffrey Dahmer (Pictured left). These articles and stories start me on research mode for M.O., victimology and signatures from which I can create psychological details from my characters. Understanding how the minds of killers of all levels work, can create a level of realism that won't just flow naturally without research.

Now I know that you are probably disturbed by the content I have researched thus far. But truth be told, I research pretty much everything, prior to writing anything. And when I'm feeling that my writing muscles just need a bit of exercise, I like blogs with prompts and writing tips that I can practice. One blog that I really like is "The Write Practice". Tips like "When You Don’t Know What to Write, Write About Your Insecurities" you have a great guide to keeping your writing pretty fresh.

So as a whole, blogs are a great source for research information. But remember, you are reading a person's thoughts, and topics that they researched. So it's not always the best source for all topics. All in all though, it can be pretty fun doing your research with blogs... Especially all of Cosmo's blogs.

Oh well... Back to my writing.

Creation... Not Duplication

As a writer, I naturally observe everything, and everyone. While observing, I sometimes find myself inspired to create. So I'll write a story, and set it in the mall... Oh wow. I said create didn't I?

The one problem with fiction is people will use reality as 100% of the basis for people, places, and things. When this occurs, the reader is drawn into a world, then ripped out by their own thought. What do I mean by this?

While reading a story written by an old classmate, I started craving pizza. My mind kept drifting from the story to thoughts of driving to Mellow Mushroom. Why? Because a scene of her story was set in Mellow Mushroom. So instead of finishing her story, I went to experience Mellow Mushroom for the first time. And it was amazing.

It was probably a few months later that I saw the movie Inception. Great movie. And in the movie, there was a scene with one of the characters (Ariadne played by Ellen Page) building the world of the dream that she and Cobb (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) were walking through. This one part of the scene stuck with me.

The statements "Never recreate places from your memory. Always imagine new places." and "only use details" are some of the greatest pieces of advice that most writers are never given.

I once wrote a story that was set in San Diego, Ca. A friend of mine, who read the story, criticized my fictional work, because I left out details of a location that I felt didn't matter. But as a native, I should know that the location I left out is one that the locals loved. Of course, when I asked what she thought about the rest of the story, she had nothing to say. She had focused so much on my flawed setting, the story no longer mattered to her. To an author, this can be career ending.

Same can be said with creating characters based on real people. I love watching Benedict Cumberbatch play Sherlock Holmes. He is an incredible actor, and he has brought that character to life for a generation that might never have desired to meet Sir Arthur Connan Doyle's character. But one thing that sometimes happens is a writer will find someone they think would play a character well, and next thing you know, the character looks just like the actor. Not a good thing.

So how does one avoid these mistakes. Start by remembering that fiction is creation. And with creation, you can have inspiration, but avoid duplication.

You can use Arrowhead Mall as inspiration for a story, but change it's name and layout. In the Foothills Plaza, put the food court down stairs and a fountain in the center of the indoor mall. The Foothills 18 movie theater can still be across the walkway from the Silver Dollar coffee shop.  These are little details, and the reader can visualize them. But they won't be the focus.

With your characters, your angel can have eyes like Benedict Cumbatch, that should be the only detail that sticks. Why? Because you want people to fall in love with your angel, Kane. Not Benedict Cumberbatch as Kane. Especially if Kane isn't even being played in a movie.

So next time you are developing your fiction... Remember Creation, not Duplication.

I'm A Character

Hello... And welcome to my mind. My name is Rasheda Poe. You can call me RJ if Rasheda is too hard to remember.

I am 36 years old and live in Glendale, AZ. I'm a student at Glendale Community College, working on a Associate Of Arts. After graduation, I plan to go to Northern Arizona University (NAU) up in Flagstaff, AZ. My plan is to get my Bachelors in Electronic Media and Film and Masters in English Creative Writing. I'm not 100% sure where I'm going with any of it, but I still have time to figure that part out.

I have three beautiful children. My oldest daughter, Jeramya, is in the second grade. Then there is my son, Trae, who is in the first grade. And finally my youngest daughter, Loyis, who is in Kindergarten. When I started back in school, I had the desire to be an Elementary Educator. Then I hosted a play date with 6 of my children's friends. Nine kids and me equaled me with a headache cursing the world at the end of the day. So I decided I didn't want to teach small children. Then someone suggested Secondary Education. It's possible, although I like the idea of Post-Secondary better.

When I have time to breath, I tend to read (mostly Supernatural Romances and Thrillers), or watch movies. I have just discovered the series' Sherlock and The Originals. I've been watching those lately.



More often than not, I'm writing a story; one of the many that lives in my brain. I create characters, give them complete lives, put them in a world of my creation, and let them act a fool. It is one of my greatest passions. I hope some day to pen a novel, screenplay or both. 

So this is me... And I am a character.