My goal at the moment is to write a sellable essay every day. Initially I was worried about whether I'd have enough material, but then I quickly discovered that essays are like bacteria: they multiply and divide exponentially! So, I was working on a piece about Jimmy Stewart for CatholicMatch. While making my point, a … Continue reading Writing Only Leads to More Writing
On Writing
Great Humor, Great Morals, and Why Having Your Heroine Be a Music Box for an Episode Makes for Good Writing
So, this week's episode of My Little Pony was pretty fantastic (full disclosure: I actually saw it a week or so ago. You see, since FiM is produced in Vancouver, Canadian audiences get to see episodes up to two or even three weeks before the rest of us. The magic of the internet, however, allows some leeway … Continue reading Great Humor, Great Morals, and Why Having Your Heroine Be a Music Box for an Episode Makes for Good Writing
Another Illustration
Another way of demonstrating my idea from the last post: the ‘Princess and the Dragon’ motif (Chesterton used this to describe melodrama in Charles Dickens). Phase One: meet the princess. The hero encounters the princess and falls in love with her. But he cannot court her because there is some kind of threat over hanging … Continue reading Another Illustration
Three Phases of a Good Story
Great stories, or at least a certain kind of story, work by proceeding along the following path: from false order through disorder to true order. Before I go any further, I’m by no means an expert; this is just my personal observations and ideas, for whatever those are worth, presented for consideration. As I said, … Continue reading Three Phases of a Good Story
The Real Writer vs. The Wannabe
Larry Correia, pulp-writer extraordinaire and one of my secret writing mentors, takes on another article by "the Guardian's village idiot," Damien Walters, which means it's time to pop some corn and settle in to be entertained. Some background: Mr. Walters is a contributor for the U.K. paper 'The Guardian' and self-styled professional writer. Not that … Continue reading The Real Writer vs. The Wannabe
Serpent's Den 