We have this false idea that fairy tales are about weak and passive heroines, damsels in distress. So we are always fighting against a fairy tale legacy that doesn’t exist. Cinderella may be one of the most retold of the fairy tales in our society. And so rather by default, most often falls victim to […]
We have this false idea that fairy tales are about weak and passive heroines, damsels in distress. So we are always fighting against a fairy tale legacy that doesn’t exist. Sleeping Beauty has always been one of my favorites. Which is difficult because she is the most passive of the fairy tale heroines. The course […]
While drafting one of my posts for Sci-Fi November I hit upon the fairy tale legacy. It’s something I’ve recognized for a while, you probably have too even before I gave it a term. The fairy tale legacy is what everyone seems to be constantly fighting against – the idea of a princess that needs […]
previously on the blog… I posted about how I write in layers. And that plot and I are only beginning to get along. This expounds on both of those ideas and so may be thoroughly boring for you (understandably) but is a great way for me to keep all my ideas and the things I’m […]
I watched Kings again a few weeks ago. If you haven’t seen it, it’s available on huluPlus and only 13 episodes and very, very good. In fact, I’m fascinated by it and I’ve seen the whole series through twice. It’s a little like Battlestar Galactica.Not that it’s as dynamic as Battlestar. Not quite as powerful. […]
The most popular question for authors these days seems to be “Are you a pantser or a plotter?” If you know me at all you can probably guess I think these are dumb words and would answer neither out of spite. But the actual truth is I write in layers. There’s an old saying, “Write […]
I just finished the 5th season of Merlin. It’s one of my favorite shows because I love the characters and the mythology and the actors are great and the story is fun. I’ll only allude to how it ends, but you won’t be surprised since it’s based on Arthurian legend. I mean, if you don’t […]
That’s an unwieldy title but it’s because of his last name and not at all that I just like the word conundrum. Gore Verbinski had an interview years ago, I think in Movieline, long before any of the Pirates movies. He talked about making The Mexican and Mousehunt and he said that if something was […]
Insta-love is such a hack phrase. It’s a substitute for instant love but instantaneous is such a fun word, don’t you think? Generally, it’s used as a term of derision in the young adult community. Not because they object to the “word” like I do. The term was actually coined to derided the concept; that […]
Today’s Story Course comes from a lesson I learned from reading: why dialog and character interaction are so important to reader engagement. Authors are (for the most part) more in love with their main characters than their readers are. This may seem obvious. Writers spend (mostly) years with their characters, discovering their world and writing […]