6/12/17
Perhaps I’m biased, but I have always considered writing to be a form of art. You’d think that wouldn’t be a problem, but there are a lot of people who will adamantly disagree with that statement.
Beware of out of place references!
5/22/17
Have you ever read a novel that takes place in a fantasy universe based on Medieval Europe, or a historical fiction that is set over a hundred years ago, or thousands of years ago, or a story that happens on a different planet to a race of people that have no knowledge of Earth’s civilization or culture? Then, once immersed in these carefully crafted worlds, the writer uses an idiom, simile, or references something that completely pulls you out of the story because they’re using an expression that doesn’t fit with the story time or setting? One of the things that always ruins the reading experience for me is when writers use out of place expressions.
Erotic Fiction – When is there too much sex in a novel?
5/15/17
Many writers will write an erotic or explicit scene at some point in time, and many ask themselves – is this really necessary? Perhaps you’re writing a steamy scene to attract a target audience. Perhaps you’re writing it because it’s important to the plot or character development. Or perhaps you’re writing it because it gets you off.
Hey, I ain’t gonna judge!
No matter the reasoning as to ‘why‘ people write erotic fiction, one thing is obvious; a novel tends to lose it’s credibility as serious literature the moment it crosses the arbitrary line into ‘overtly pornographic’ for the sake of just being erotic, and nothing else.
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Using Fantasy as a Lens – Quit hating on Fantasy!
5/8/17
When I was in college, I had professor poo-poo all over the entire fantasy genre, and it bothered me greatly. There is nothing more pretentious to me than someone who scoffs and claims that all fantasy is just fairy tales with no deeper meanings or greater substance. Now, of course, there is plenty of fantasy that, to be fair, is pretty shallow as far as deeper meanings go and just exists to provide easy to digest entertainment/escapism (and there’s nothing wrong with that), BUT that can also be said for all the other genres in fiction. These snobs don’t realize that fantasy can be an excellent lens through which writers can critique the world around them and even the everyday social issues that we face in our own modern time.
Continue reading “Using Fantasy as a Lens – Quit hating on Fantasy!”