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One problem with prequels
“Prequels are really difficult,” Alan Dean Foster once said. The main reasons I recall him giving were that usually the readers who most wanted to read a sequel were fans of the original work....
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Birds black as coal
I’ve never been particularly good at symbolism—at least not in my own writing. When symbolism happens in my stories, it is entirely subconscious. I remember some years ago another writer commented on...
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Not all reasons are reasonable
Several years ago I was browsing in a bookstore. Now that I think of it, a lot more of my personal anecdotes probably ought to begin with that line than usually do. But I digress… I picked up a...
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Time doesn’t work that way
Last year I bought an audiobook based on the recommendation of an acquaintance, along with several favorable reviews. The opening chapter was a bit heavy on the description for my taste—I don’t need to...
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Nothing wrong with history
When I wrote about the problematic way some fantasy authors treat time, I alluded to some historic events from 1100 years ago in the real world in order to make my point. Since one of the points I was...
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This time it’s (not so) personal
When I wrote about how people process history and, more specifically, how believable character motivation in fiction is when based upon distant historical events, a few people pointed to ethnic...
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What’s it about?
A friend recently asked our monthly writing group for advice about a novel idea that he had been struggling with. His specific question was whether the story was worth finishing. I asked him what the...
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It’s been done
I watched a teaser for a movie I’m looking forward to seeing later this year, and accidentally got sucked into the comments. As a rule, I try to ignore comments on the internet. Wiser people than I...
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Abyss gazing
It was 1986 and I was twenty-six years old, attending a regional science fiction convention with a bunch of my friends. One of the guests of honor was an author (we’ll call him Mr. C) that two of my...
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The dust of daily life
A number of years ago a reader wrote in to tell how much they had enjoyed a specific story I’d written, which was very flattered. Unfortunately, he also said he was happy that I had returned to writing...
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The thinks you will think…
We saw a musical last weekend. Several years ago, when Michael and I had season tickets to one of the local theatres, we saw a national touring company of Suessical the Musical, with Cathy Rigby...
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Misdirect, don’t lie or withhold
The are times, as a writer, when you want to surprise your readers or give them a puzzle to solve. That’s clearly a major part of a murder mystery, of course, but you do it in other stories as well....
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Is it worth the outrage?
Another corner of the internet is boiling over. Linking to it serves no purpose. I already wasted too much time trying to figure out what everyone is so upset about—because the guess I made when I read...
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History is longer than you think
I have complained before1 about fantasy authors whose world-building includes statements like, “the peace didn’t last long, because 400 years later…” because history isn’t just a time line, it’s also...
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Even a young earth is older than you think
So, a few days ago I posted about one of my pet peeves in fantasy world-building, the writer who thinks 600-years ago is the dawn of time. A friend who read my post raised an interesting point. “If the...
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A good day to die
Readers can be like addicts. Once they fall in love with a fictional character, they want to read more, and more, and more about the character. A good-selling series of books can set a writer for life....
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Book Review: The Last Policeman
The Last Policeman, by Ben H. WintersThis book came out last year, but I just finished it recently. The Last Policeman, by Ben H. Winters, poses the question: what’s the point of solving a murder when...
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Presence (stage, screen, or otherwise)
I’ve recently read two different proposals for a gay version of the Bechdel Test. The Bechdel Test is described in a comic strip by Allison Bechdel back in 1985. It is usually described as a simple way...
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Why ponies?
I’m a fan of lots of things, and I’m used to most people not quite understanding my obsessions. Many of the other kids watched Lost In Space, for instance, while it was running in prime time during...
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The Key to the Treasure
I think I was in third grade when I received my copies of Key to the Treasure, and its sequel, Clues in the Woods. The books, by Peggy Parish with illustrations by Paul Frame, were a pair of mysteries...
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