Earlier this year I finished reading Terry Brooks’ “The Sword of Shannara” and through my reading something bugged me. The story was derivative, a clone of Lord of the Rings if you put the two stories and their characters up against a wall and squint. But the clonage didn’t bother me so much. Let me […]
Musing | Failed Roll, Shit Happens
Anyone who plays a campaign with me knows I can’t roll if my character’s life depended on it. I’m the guy in the party who makes everything worse despite his good intentions. And everyone at the table knows my luck. Nope. Those are Clint’s dice. Not touching those. Case in point. One Sunday about a month […]
The Craft | Cause and Effect Creation
Most people don’t know but I’m currently in the middle of writing a big epic fantasy. Trust me, that last line is not redundant. My blog. My rules. I’ve always wanted to write sweeping epics. You know the kind. Lord of the Rings. Song of Ice and Fire. Wheel of Time. Shannara. Magic. Swords. Knights. […]
Writing | Writing Everyday
Read most author blogs about the writing process or listen to authors talk about their craft and one thing becomes clear with regards to becoming a strong and successful writer: you have to write. Everyday. Even if its only half an hour. It’s about practicing. Professional athletes do it, they go out to the court or the field, […]
Writing | Scene Discovery
Article | “Orphan Heroics” hosted by Aside from Writing
Today Aside from Writing hosted another of my articles, “Orphan Heroics”. In it I argue how it may be necessary to have heroes with tragic backgrounds in order to have a good fantasy/scifi story. I further argue that this type of character is a different type of tragic hero. Hopefully people enjoy the thoughts I had on […]
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