I recently finished reading “Half Sick of Shadows” by Laura Sebastian. It’s a great retelling of the classic Arthurian legend. The rise and fall of King Arthur are seen through the eyes of Lady Elaine of Shalott. She grows up… Read More ›
Storytelling
Lies about Storytelling
It’s been about a year since I last wrote about some lies about writing. Well, that’s not entirely true because it was more like a rant about the lies authors tell you. Now, after a year of deep thinking, mixed… Read More ›
Getting the Whole Story
Remember the good ole days when you read a book and that was it? Or when you watched a movie, even a series of movies, and you got the whole story? Or what about the days when all you had… Read More ›
Villains: Family
There’s a reason why Disney movies like using the “evil stepmother” trope in their movies. It’s entirely relatable. Well, okay. Maybe not the whole stepmother contracts a dude to take a child into the forest to kill her, then poisons… Read More ›
Villains: The Antihero
Have you noticed lately that there are more and more protagonists that aren’t…well…heroic? For instance, my mom likes to watch the Fox/Netflix show Lucifer. If you haven’t already guessed the premise, the show’s protagonist is Lucifer Morningstar (that’s right, the devil)… Read More ›
Different types of bad guys: The Dark Reflection
Last time, I talked about the need to torture the heroes of your story. One of the best ways to do that is by writing a really great villain. Every hero needs one. “You just couldn’t let me go, could you? This… Read More ›
Torture Your Heroes
No one likes to read about characters living normal lives. Have you ever asked someone about the story they’re reading, and they tell you: “Oh, it’s an amazing story where the hero works a 9-5 job, and the villain is an inept boss. But it’s okay… Read More ›
Time to Make Those Resolutions…Again
That’s right, it’s time to make those promises to ourselves in hopes that the dawning of a new year will motivate us to actually commit to them. You guessed it, I’m talking about New Year’s Resolutions. Ugh…am I right? There’s a website I was looking… Read More ›
The Habitual Writer
A messy desk. In the bedroom, a clean path from the bed to the door. Stacks of unread books line the ground and/or bookcase. An empty social calendar. Piles of dirty clothes. A well-used coffee pot. An overused laptop. If… Read More ›
Failure as a Writing Tool
Around this time every year, I’m either really satisfied with myself or angry with myself. It’s not because it’s the weekend after Thanksgiving and I’ve gorged myself on too much food. And no, it’s not the fact that I may… Read More ›
The Writer's Apocalypse 