On Writing: Identity Shenanigans

Secret identities. Hidden dark pasts. The orphan who turns out to be the king’s son. And all kinds of disguises, from the classic hastily-borrowed enemy uniform (see Raiders of the Lost Ark for problems with that) to carefully impersonating another sex, culture, or even species. Writers and readers love identity shenanigans.

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Stray Thoughts: Brain Has No Off

I am officially throwing in the towel and giving up on understanding the appeal of most romance, especially most paranormal romance. Don’t misunderstand me; there’s a fair amount of it out there that has decent plots, or at least the bones of same,

On Writing: The Strange Occurrence of the Defective Detectives

The Defective Detective is a trope that’s been around at least as long as the mystery genre in Western fiction, with Sherlock Holmes and C. Auguste Dupin of “The Purloined Letter” being sterling examples. (It’s possible it’s been around in Chinese and Japanese literature longer,

TV Series Review: Your Highness (2017)

I’m giving Your Highness a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars, despite the horrendous quality of the available English subtitles and a bit too much bathroom humor for my preference.

(Yes, seriously horrendous. “Double repair” when the actual translation should be

Worldbuilding: Where to Hide Sealed X in a Can

No, not about storage caches when prepping for the Apocalypse. We’re talking Sealed Evil in a Can. Or Sealed Good. Or Lost Artifacts. Or any of a number of items and people that you want in your plot, but don’t want your general population to know about or encounter until the appropriate story moment.

On Writing: Avoid Slap Slap Kiss

You can never tell what a reader’s personal Suspension of Disbelief can handle. Some things you can prepare for. For example, if you’re writing an Arthurian romance,

Worldbuilding: Wretched Hives

No, we’re not talking about Russian honeybees – although those are apparently a thing. We’re talking about cities run by crime.

Worldbuilding: Plausible Death Worlds

The Death World may sometimes be a hokey and overused trope of pulp SF, but it’s a very fun trope. Or can be. Especially if you want plenty of action

Worldbuilding: Meeting Characters vs. Meeting Worlds Part 2

Generally speaking, your readers will have fewer preconceptions about your characters than they will about your world. When it comes to a world, a reader will assume it’s like the Earth they know, unless it’s explicitly described otherwise.

Fanfic Writing: Some Common Specimens, Part 2

Worldbuilding and action fics have some less-obvious labels. The Blanket Scenario, for one.