My Corner of the Bookshelf

It's often difficult to quantify the amount of resources someone can spend writing. The time spent thinking up every character, plot beat, and style choice, sometimes before a single computer keystroke has been made. The effort spent typing and retyping every line until it feels just right, only to figure out later that it's wrong... Continue Reading →

The Challenge with Originality in Fiction

Thus I rediscovered what writers have always known (and have told us again and again): books always speak of other books, and every story tells a story that has already been told.- Umberto Eco You are correct, Mister Eco. Writing an original work of fiction is difficult. Fiction itself, whether literary or genre, requires many... Continue Reading →

Podcasts iLove – Stuff You Should Know

Have you ever wanted to know how.... anything... works? I'm serious. Black holes, LSD, sugar, even gig economies? Josh Clark and Charles "Chuck" Bryant are the hosts of Stuff You Should Know (SYSK) and gather three times a week to dole out worldly knowledge that knows no bounds. Debuting in 2008, this behemoth has over... Continue Reading →

Voice – Passive VS Active

The concept of "voice" in literature is the use of vocabulary, structure, tone, syntax, and pace by the narrator for a particular story. These aspects work in concert with one another to create a distinct voice. When readers refer to the style of writing in a book, they're referring to the voice used. Writing gothic... Continue Reading →

The Bechdel Test

Writing from viewpoints that differ from your own can be difficult. It's why Mark Twain said, "write what you know." Characters will not move organically through a story if they aren't grounded in reality, and the only reality you know is your own. That doesn't mean there's just 12 versions of yourself interacting with one... Continue Reading →

One Year in The Twitterverse

I like birds. Love them, in fact! We currently own an adorable blue budgie named... Blueberry. The imagination well ran dry when we got to him. I enjoy feeding him, allowing him to take selfies with my phone, letting him out for some 'flight time' in the living room, sitting him on my shoulder, and... Continue Reading →

A Broadcast From The Bunker

Day 46 - I now know what TikTok is. That’s what happens when I’m bored in the house and I’m in the house bored... Dammit. Initially, when the coronavirus grew to become a pandemic, I really didn't want to have my blog cover the 'current events.' We're saturated already. Though, as time goes on, there's... Continue Reading →

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