The last post was about the women of the Bond franchise, and that came about because my wife and I decided to sit down and marathon them all from Dr. No to No Time to Die, one movie each night. Part of the discussion we have when doing marathons together is about general quality over… Continue reading The Dreaded Sequel
Tag: Writing
She-Hulk: Is Marvel Failing Feminism?
I won't name her, but YouTube decided to hit me with a video the other day about how woke superhero Hollywood was failing women. It begins with an article supporting She-Hulk that drove the talking head into a froth because it included comments from the show creators about how the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has… Continue reading She-Hulk: Is Marvel Failing Feminism?
My Literary Process
As an unpublished author, I try to refrain from talking about my process publicly because the lack of publication always felt to me a condemnation. The truth is that my obsessiveness and perfectionism have prevented publication in the sense that I have never pursued it for fear that I know my writing is not good… Continue reading My Literary Process
Tips for Writers
This post is both traditional and antithetical. The Internet is full of tips for aspiring writers: about content, about process. As a writer myself, I sometimes struggle with the simplistic nature of these tips. Who doesn't love a bulleted list? The problem is that those lists remove a lot of the nuance, even if the… Continue reading Tips for Writers
Dense Writing: One Writer’s Principles
(I like to write these pieces with an authoritative and knowing voice. Let's be clear from the start that this is not prescriptive. I am sharing my approach to writing to provide some ideas to newer writers who might be reading this piece. There's no literary elitism here. You may read a point and think,… Continue reading Dense Writing: One Writer’s Principles
Dramatic Benefit of Horror
Writing, for me, is about healing and reconciliation. I do not mean that this is how I read all writing, but my interest in composing fiction is to that end. I also do not mean my own healing and reconciliation, because I also believe that if a writer composes with the intent of exorcising their… Continue reading Dramatic Benefit of Horror
How I Became a Writer (Again)
For years I thought of myself as a writer. Nearly two decades now. One could blame the encouragement of my teachers. While I performed well in school overall and prided myself on academic excellence, one area that was typically flawless was writing. Even if I missed the mark on a writing assignment (in a non-English… Continue reading How I Became a Writer (Again)
How Do I Start Writing?
The following is personal advice mixed with a heavy dose of professional advice from Lajos Egri (The Art of Dramatic Writing) and Stephen King (On Writing). As an active member of the writing community, I often see writers tossing out a familiar question: how do I start? While my general advice is to direct people… Continue reading How Do I Start Writing?
Three (Friendly) Complaints from a Fiction Writer to Readers
tl;dr version: fiction and non-fiction are two separate things. I think often of this line attribute to Mark Twain: The only difference between reality and fiction is that fiction needs to be credible. An alternate version that I have seen is, "Truth is stranger than fiction and why shouldn't it be, fiction has to make… Continue reading Three (Friendly) Complaints from a Fiction Writer to Readers
Celtic Riverside 