Writerly Sound Bites, Number 3: The Worship of Evil – Or, “The Villain Is the Hero of His Own Story”

It might be an old – and somewhat uncouth – meme, but it makes the point. Slap an unhappy backstory on a villain, and odds are that someone somewhere will ask whether or not he is “really the bad guy.” How can Thanos, for example, be considered evil when he just wants to prevent other …

Words from Professor Geek

Yes, he is at it again, readers. Check out these intriguing videos from the Professor of Geekdom himself. There will not be a quiz later – not from him or me, at least. Life may have a curve ball or two to throw everyone’s way soon enough. In which case, you may find his points …

Sincerity in Fiction – A Lost Art in Need of Recovery

While on the Superversive Sunday Livestream, Anthony Marchetta and I discussed the differences between Japanese anime and modern Western storytelling. One of the items that came up was the sincerity with which Japanese writers portray their characters. Although I wanted a stronger word for the phenomenon at the time, in hindsight, I think Anthony hit …

Writerly Sound Bites, Number 1: On Characters, Flaws, and What Really Makes a Flawed Hero Heroic

Something I have discovered over the years is that advice from those in the field of storytelling – or from those who teach creative writing – tends to fall into two categories. The first consists of long descriptions which can almost be considered stories in themselves. Reading through these dissertations and parsing them out can …

A Study in Black – Thoughts on Marvel’s Black Widow and the MCU in General

©Disney I did not intend to give any regard to the MCU following my viewing of Avengers: Endgame, readers. That film was a fine swan song, though I will be the first to admit that I think it could have been done differently and better. Following this film, there was no reason for yours truly …

Thoughts from Professor Geek

The good Professor has some interesting videos up on his channel, readers. The three linked below are just a sampling of his “Heroic Inspiration” series. Excerpts from a book he is presently reworking, they are encouraging short videos that will edify as well as entertain. Don’t take my word for it, though – listen to …

From Earth to Barsoom – Almost

John Carter* is an enjoyable film. I, for one, would have paid to see it in theaters – if the title had been a little more clear on the fact that it was a science fiction film based on the book John Carter of Mars*, by Edgar Rice Burroughs*. As things stand, I saw it …

Thoughts on Tactics: How History Affects Fiction and Makes It Believable

Not long ago, this author discovered the above picture, which discusses some fans’ thoughts on how the Fellowship of the Ring might have simply flown to Mordor to dispose of the One Ring rather than “take the long way around.” As the commenter explains, this would have been a bad idea narratively because the entire …

Bulletin: On the Radio with SuperversiveSF!

On February 7th this author joined Ben Wheeler and Anthony Marchetta on the SuperversiveSF Sunday Livestream to talk about the latest chapter of My Hero Academia*. There were some connection issues, so I didn’t technically appear in the stream until the 20:37 mark. For some reason my connection decided to play games and I had …

“To Be Loved by the Audience”

While researching an anime series she has come to enjoy titled Kabaneri no Koutetsujou (Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress), this author was introduced to an important interview with the show’s creator. Araki Tetsuro, who worked on landmark series such as Death Note, was interviewed by Sugoi Japan about his new series in 2017. He began …