Tag: Writing and Editing
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A state of being: what you are vs. what you want
There’s a piece of wisdom passed along the writing circles of this day and age: to round up your linking verbs and off ’em like turkeys on the week before Thanksgiving. At first glance it’s good advice– after all, the natural opposite of a static ‘was’ sentence would be an active…
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A quick diatribe on dialogue
Real dialogue sounds something like this: “By the way, did you know they’re making Pacific Rim 2? Oh, and dinner’s ready.” Cue five minutes of shouting and vague TV noises while Boxy shoots at zombies while some cheesy horror flick is playing on the second monitor, followed by: “What?” …
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The issue with Issue One
Saturday was Free Comic Book Day. While I was making the rounds, I bought the first three issues of Loki: Agent of Asgard, and the new Amazing Spider-Man issue 1. In medias… what now? I’m a lifelong fan of Spider-Man. He was my first super hero; his was the first super hero movie I…
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The Castiel Problem
(Warning: Since this is about Supernatural and its approach to plot and characterization, there’ll be unmarked spoilers all the way up to Season 9.) While I’m posting disclaimers, I should include another biggie: I really love Supernatural. It’s a fun show, I watch it every week, and Castiel is by…
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When hopes are dashed: Dramatic Irony
I have a hard time reading in public, because I’m very… let’s say interactive with my reading. I make faces, I get up and pace, I yell at the characters, I (carefully place a bookmark on my page and then) hurl the book across the room. It’s such a common practice…
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The Lion and the Antelope
I was trawling through SMBC Comics, and I found one in particular that caught my attention. It may not be the most hilarious page Mr. Wiener* has ever penned, but it makes a lovely point about conflict. (*Yes, that is his name.) One person’s bad day is another person’s best…
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Voicing Opinions
Whenever I meet a new volunteer at the bookstore, I introduce myself as Loudmouthed and Opinionated (seriously, my rants are pretty much legendary). But you don’t need to be able to go on hour-long rants to have an opinion. In fact, most opinions don’t need to be stated outright, because often…
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Story vs. Soul
http://blip.tv/nostalgiacritic/nc-the-last-airbender-6637022 I was watching this episode of the Nostalgia Critic, in which he analyzes M. Night Shyamalan’s travesty The Last Airbender and compares it to Avatar: The Last Airbender, upon which it was based. I recommend you check it out, too– you won’t be disappointed. He made one point in…
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The Editor’s Scalpel
Brief Housekeeping: Some of you may have noticed a lack of updates this month. Due to school being school, I’ll be changing my schedule to post every other week instead of weekly. In my experience editing, I’ve noticed I use two words more than any other: “comma” and “cut”. The…
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Going back to the Potato Room: the power of places
The Potato Room I like to think of myself as a casual gamer, more interested in stories than actual shoot-em-up action– which is why Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a big favorite of mine (even if I can’t fix the stupid elevator). While playing Amnesia’s shorter tangent, Justine, I wound…
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