“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” ― Toni Morrison
Neil Gaiman's law- being that no matter how much a book is proofread, upon opening a printed copy for the first time, the first thing you'll see is a typo. I wasn't sure I believed in Gaiman's law until I submitted a short story to a competition the other day. I reread it a hundred times.… Continue reading Gaiman’s Law, Typos, and Pain
Writer's Block is easy enough to understand. Writer's Guilt, however, is a bit different. Writer's Block passes—sometimes like a kidney stone, but it passes. But Writer's Guilt lingers. At least it does for me. Writer's Guilt is when you, as a writer, find yourself in a rare moment of calm, of relaxation, of repose, but… Continue reading Writer’s Guilt: You Should Be Writing….or Should You?
I am.....tired. Fatigued. Weary. I'm tired of stories I care about—stories about friendship, perseverance, love, miracles—being plundered like a bloated corpse on the battlefield. It's no secret among my social circles that I have a vehement hatred against remakes. Most people don't like them, they think they are lazy and pointless, but I have transcended… Continue reading To All the Stories I Loved Before: a Lament About Remakes, Cash-ins, And Reboots
I want the record to stand that I don't consider myself the moral arbiter of fiction. While I will critique until I am blue in the face, I'm not one of those people that gate-keeps topics or disallows people to use certain tropes, provided there can be an honest and intellectual conversation about them. That… Continue reading Infidelity Isn’t Sexy: A Rant About a Tired Romance Trope
Author's note: I have been wanting to write a bit more on the nature of critique and the relationship writers have with critics for some time now, but I have realized it will likely take more than one post in order to properly articulate all my feelings on the subject. As such, I will do… Continue reading Writers v. Beta Readers: Critique Series Part 1
For decades the easiest way to get across to the audience the protagonist was a poor-unfortunate soul was to make them an orphan; someone with no northern star to guide them through this perilous hell-scape we call existence. It was a method to make the main character sympathetic from the get-go, but it was also… Continue reading Babes in Tropeland: Not ANOTHER Alcoholic Dad, Please
In preparation for my own novel, I've been reading quite a lot of fantasy novels to get me in the right headspace. As such, I've been exposed to the normal trappings of fantasy lit i.e, magical creatures as racial allegories, repurposing of traditional folk-lore stories and, of course, the concept of "destiny." Destiny gets a… Continue reading Opinion: Thoughts on “Destiny” in Fiction
****Warning: The following contains spoilers for Jodie Whittaker's run of Doctor Who. Reader discretion is advised**** A couple of years ago, I wrote a series of posts where I pontificated on the possibility of a female Doctor and, while I understood the backlash surrounding the character's gender swap, I considered it the show's only possible… Continue reading Doctor Who The Hell Cares Anymore
While poetry isn't my favorite medium, it will always hold a special place in my heart. Edgar Allen Poe's Alone speaks to me in ways few other works ever have. The Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe gets my heart pounding with its haunting lyricism and captivating imagery. Poetry in itself is… Continue reading Unpopular Opinion: The Current State of Poetry
Warning: The following contains butt-hurt and the overuse of commas. Viewer discretion is advised. I'm not afraid of putting my nose to the grindstone in the name of telling a good story. I can close my door, cancel plans, wake up early, stay up late, suffer blood-letting editing session after blood-letting editing session. I can be… Continue reading Adventures in Writerland: The Ugly Truth About Success in Publishing
The Crooked Pen 