Monthly Archive: October, 2015

October 31, 2015

The Town of Elsewhere: A Scary Short Story for Your Halloween

What’s Halloween without at least one scary story? I thought this one was pretty good and well-written, but as LeVar Burton would say, “…you don’t have to take my word for it.” “There’s A Town In Kentucky That You Won’t Ever Be Able To Find On A Map, And For Good Reason” by Seamus Coffey The overgrown gravel road leading...

Categories General Thoughts & Updates/Reviews & Recommended Reading Comments: 0

October 31, 2015

Recommended Reading: A Little Horror for Your Halloween

Having only recently taken an interest in horror, I don’t have a lot of personal experience with the genre. That’s why when I started research for Bloodletting, I asked friends and family what aspects they liked best and what books/movies were their favorites. In the process, I found out that several good friends of mine are big horror fans. These two...

Categories Research & Worldbuilding/Reviews & Recommended Reading Comments: 0

October 30, 2015

An Author’s Thrill: Recipes from the Worlds of J.K. Rowling & J.R.R. Tolkien

As a reader, it’s always fun to find recipes for foods from your favorite books for movies. I recently came across one for homemade butterbeer, and, of course, many people have tried to recreate Tolkien’s cakes and foods from The Hobbit, including researching the kinds of food that Tolkien would have been familiar with (“Food in The Hobbit“). Thinking about it as an author, though,...

Categories General Thoughts & Updates Comments: 0

October 30, 2015

Illusion Or Truth? What Makes It Horror?

Categories Quotes, Words, & Phrases Comments: 0

October 29, 2015

When Complications Go Too Far: The Lazy Reader Issue

As I was getting distracted on Facebook instead of doing what I got on FB to do (again), I clicked on yet another post about Disney character remakes as this or that. It’s kind of old hat now, but I enjoy seeing them – if it doesn’t take too much time or energy. That’s the problem. See, as soon as...

Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/General Thoughts & Updates/Research & Worldbuilding Comments: 0

October 28, 2015

Gotta Catch ’em All – Not

Too often, we try to make our writing appeal to everyone. We cut something that might offend one group of readers even though it would probably amuse another. We add something to try to interest a third group. Adding and cutting like this can mangle a story so much that everything that used to be good about it is buried...

Categories General Thoughts & Updates/Humor & Wordplay/Writer Resources Comments: 0

October 27, 2015

The Mystery of the Meh Film: Nature Or Nurture?

I bet every one of you have a seen a movie or television show that was ok (with meh overtones) but could’ve been great if it’d had better writing. You know the ones I’m talking about – the shows that get brought up with an “if only” (either in a grumble or a sigh, possibly over alcohol). I can think...

Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/General Thoughts & Updates/Theatre & Film Comments: 0

October 26, 2015

A Tip From J.K. Rowling

Categories Quotes, Words, & Phrases Comments: 0

October 25, 2015

Learning To Write Stories

I like to joke that I was writing stories before I knew how to write words. That usually gets me a “you’re weird” expression or a generally confused look, but it’s actually true. Even back when I was a toddler and hadn’t learned to write (or read) yet, I would make up stories. And since people had read books to...

Categories Creative Process/General Thoughts & Updates Comments: 0

October 24, 2015

Schrödinger’s Setting

You’ve probably all heard of Schrödinger’s cat, a thought experiment that has become a widespread internet meme. To summarize, the cat is simultaneously considered alive and dead until someone can be bothered to open the box. Now, about Schrödinger’s setting. I’m sure you all know what the setting is. ALL: [In a monotone chorus] Where and when the story takes place. Technically,...

Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/Research & Worldbuilding Comments: 2