In the 2004 film, Troy, Achilles kills Hector after a climactic battle, and Andromache, beset by grief for the death of her husband, basically does . . . nothing. The actress gives a performance of subdued shock, blinking heavily before slacking against the parapet wall. This is in stark contrast to the way Homer describes the... Continue Reading →
The Tao of Writing
For two decades, my family and friends have struggled to understand my need to tell stories, and to have those stories be recognized. They sometimes see it as just a need for approval, or praise, or fame. While praise does motivate me, what really drives me to write is much simpler: we who suffer from... Continue Reading →
Money and Art Make Strange Bedfellows
Internet Land is rife with a very angry bunch of people who have nothing better to do than decry certain individuals for being, for lack of a better word, "sellouts". George Lucas is most famous for this, with message board posts going something like this: "Once, George cared about art! But now, he's just a... Continue Reading →
The Five Greatest Books I’ve Ever Read: #4: Frankenstein
Ask any ten people if they know Frankenstein and you will undoubtedly get a YES. Such is the power of the mythos created by Marry Shelley, an early female novelist who, in 1818 (200+ years ago!) at the remarkable age of 18, hid the fact of her sex to get her book published. It is... Continue Reading →
World Building and Never Ending Stories
It seems today that fantasy has been hijacked by "world builders"---writers so enamored by Tolkien, that their No. #1 priority is to build a convincing world. While I am all for convincing worlds, I am not all for it if it hinders the telling of a story, or takes the place of one. I won't mention names,... Continue Reading →

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