Reposted: Three Storytellers, Two Listeners, One Story

This is a fascinating article and story from Mr. Cheah, readers. Check it out! Three Storytellers, Two Listeners, One Story In his essay ‘The Counterfactual Dialectic’ in Pulp on Pulp, Misha Burnett discusses the use of dialectic to determine what is said to the reader, how it is said, and what the reader will take away …

Reposted: Draw From A Deeper Well

A thought-provoking essay from Mr. Cheah, readers! Draw From A Deeper Well “This is just like [Brand X]!” This is the most common sentence in modern fiction. It is also the most annoying sentence in modern fiction. Every time I encounter it in a story, I always roll my eyes, shake my head, and ignore …

Reposted – GameLit: Not Just Written Games

A thoughtful and helpful reflection on GameLit (Game Literature) from Benjamin Cheah, readers: GameLit: Not Just Written Games Gamelit / LitRPG is one of the hottest literary genres on the market. It attempts to replicate the gaming experience in written form, taking the tropes of role-playing games and reproducing them on the page. As a …

Reposted: The Same Story Told Ten Thousand Times

Check out Mr. Kai Wai Cheah's latest article, readers: The Same Story Told Ten Thousand Times I’m thinking of a story. Can you guess what it is? It is the story of a young man who is whisked away into a parallel world. There he suddenly acquires a set of rare and overpowered special abilities …

Reposted: The Last Thousand Words

Drat. My apologies, readers, but I didn't get to finish my next Writerly Sound Bites post this past week. Too many items popped up that required my attention, and I couldn't spare the time. Darn. That said, I will not leave you in the lurch. You can check out Mr. Cheah's excellent article below, as …

Reposted: The Page is Not the Game

Check out this great piece by Kit Sun Cheah, readers! The Page is Not the Game The video game is the defining entertainment medium of the times. Combining high-impact visuals, immersive sound and deep player engagement, all within the comfort of the player’s home, the video game is the epitome of technological leisure. Its influence …

Reposted: The Page is Not the Screen

Check out this excellent article from Kai Wai Cheah, readers: The Page is Not the Screen The pulp era was a different time. Dime novels, pulp magazines and radio were the primary forms of fiction. Silent films dominated the theatres until the 1920s, with musicians playing music to accompany the show. The first Technicolor feature …

Reposted: Nipping at the Heels of Gods

Take a look at this piece by author Kit Sun Cheah, readers: Nipping at the Heels of Gods By conventional standards, the action scenes I write are unconventional. Many action scenes in pop culture follow the same tired formula. Lone hero picks up a machine gun, wades into a group of bad guys and blows …

Reposted: 3 Lessons from Writing A Female Protagonist

Take a look at this excellent piece by author Kai Wai Cheah, readers: 3 Lessons from Writing A Female Protagonist Babylon Red was my first attempt at writing a novel-length work anchored by a female protagonist. Unlike other modern fiction, I sought to write a female character, not a man with breasts. She had to think, talk, act …

Reposted: Ingredients of Action Horror

Check out this fantastic piece by author Kai Wai Cheah, readers! Ingredients of Action Horror Action horror. A fiction contradiction if there ever was one. Action stories are about agency: the character’s ability to act on the environment, to overcome all odds, to destroy all foes in his path. Horror relies heavily on a lack of agency: …