After Sir Terry Pratchett passed away, I thought to honour him by exploring his Discworld in a chronological order. Moving Pictures was where my ten-book long Discworld reading spree came to an abrupt end, sometime in 2015--or was it 2016?--I really wish I'd recalled. Something about the beginning of this book didn't click with me back... Continue Reading →
Saturday Night Gaming: Prey
Back when I was a kid, and then a teenager, I hated games like Prey! Dead Space, Bioshock 1&2, a variety of others which saw a lone protagonist facing against horrifying and unknowable enemies, whether on a derelict starship or submerged leagues beneath the sea. Hated is, perhaps, too strong a word. Feared, in truth,... Continue Reading →
Writing Advice: Premise (The Anatomy of Story, Chapter 2)
There are many ways to start the writing process. Some writers prefer to do it by breaking the story in its seven primary steps--to be explored in Chapter 3. Most begin with the shortest expression of the story as a whole, the premise line. The premise is your story stated in one sentence. As soon... Continue Reading →
Writing Advice: The Anatomy of Story, Chapter 1
I've been thinking about today's blog post--quite a bit, in fact. I decided that instead of offering you some of my own hard-earned wisdom(insane laughter), I would take you on my exploration of John Truby's well-regarded, well-known book, "The Anatomy of Story." The plan is simple: Make a post about each chapter (sometimes the posts... Continue Reading →
Saturday Night Gaming: Dishonored 2
Before you decide how to play Dishonored 2, you have a choice to make: The carrot, or the stick? Will you choose to play as a deadly assassin, unnoticed and quick with his blade, or a merciful ghost that always moves in the shadows, unseen by any? Perhaps you'd like, rather, to strut into a room, take... Continue Reading →
Writing Advice: Memorable Characters
How do we create memorable characters? Well, you'd need a dozen eggs, a bit of vanilla and seventeen cups of sugar to make your average Mary Sue; or you could whip yourself good old-fashioned one-dimensional characters by doing the same thing you'd do to get stale bread -- don't spend any time cooking them up... Continue Reading →
Writing Advice: Essays
One thing I set out to do with this blog--that I have yet to do--is write a series of long-form essays about topics that intrigue me. Perhaps I've done a bit of that with my 'Saturday Night Gaming' series, but I've decided that now would be a good time to take a long look at what... Continue Reading →
The Grimoire Reliquary 