Many people spent Black Friday and Cyber Monday buying things for themselves, their families and friends. What sales we encountered! My brother-in-law was in retail before he retired. He'd come home on Black Friday with stories about violence in the stories that would make your hair stand on end.
In 2012, a movement began as a simple idea--a day set aside at the beginning of the holiday season to do good. It's grown into a global movement. It's not just for giving money--although many charities depend on people's generosity at this time of year. Helping within the community, being generous with your time and talent, assisting a neighbor. Today is that day.
Since this is a blog about and for paranormal romantics, I wondered how I could connect Giving Tuesday. In our world-building, a sometimes neglected area is religion or spirituality. Who or what do the people worship? Do they have ceremonies, holidays? How do they celebrate? How do they deal with the poor? Are there poor and neglected or is it a utopian society?
In building the world our characters inhabit, mention of religious aspects adds a richness to our stories. Like backstory, we only need casual mention--not a huge info dump. For example, the characters, who landed on an alien planet, could find themselves in the middle of a major celebration, complete with parades, singing, dancing, drinking and . . .
This is my last post for 2020, so I'll wish you happy holidays however you celebrate. Enjoy. Stay safe.
7 comments:
Great ideas, Di! Giving Tuesday is a new one to me. Though appearing in person is a no-no for me, I've got a couple of charitable requests sitting on my desk that'll find their way into the mail today. I love the reminder of using religious beliefs (or lack there of!) in our world building. A moral compass makes all the difference.
Thanks, Nancy. I barely heard about Giving Tuesday last year and only a couple of references to it this weekend, so it's kind of new to me, too.
A moral compass? A society that's lost its moral compass gives me more ideas.
Great post, Diane! Happy Holidays to you!
Thanks, Maureen. Same to you.
Wonderful post, Diane! I had never heard of Giving Tuesday until yesterday. I love this idea. Happy Holidays!
I blush to say that I didn't know about Giving Tuesday until I saw it on Twitter. Thanks for sharing, Diane. Also, I never thought about giving my characters a religious affiliation.
Mary and Linda, you are not alone. I was more aware of it this year than before. Thanks for your comments.
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