I don’t like abridged books. Yes, I understand the unabridged Les Miserables is nearly 1500 pages, and Victor Hugo spends 50+ pages setting up the Bishop who gives Jean Valjean the candlesticks–a scene the movie/play does in 5 minutes flat. Yes, I…

Read More→

As I was teaching the fine art of interviewing and newswriting to my middle school students, I had them mock interview me about my upcoming book The Unremarkable Squire. One of the students asked an interesting question: “Why isn’t the book…

Read More→

I recently read Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man, a collection of 19 short stories written as only Bradbury can write them. I thought I’d share some of the lessons I learned, in no particular order. Space is full of wonder, and…

Read More→

So…last blog I made the claim that evil in fiction is often portrayed as undying and overpowering. (Author’s note: The jumping off point for this statement was Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which I finished since that blog and which ending only reinforced my claim.)…

Read More→

I’ve been watching the anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which, by the way, is fantastic. The bad guys are known as homunculi. They are nearly impossible to kill. They keep regenerating whenever hurt, and only sustained, brutal beatings can take one out. This…

Read More→

Okay, this requires a bit of explanation. I’ve been looking through lots of old files and stories. It’s been encouraging to see what I’ve written in the past, especially since I’ve been in bit of a dry spell. (Or, at…

Read More→

 In a modern story, if things seem perfect, you know trouble’s bubbling beneath the surface. Partly, this is the drive of conflict in story, but I think there’s something more. As a culture, we have a sense of impending doom….

Read More→

There’s not a word yet For old friends who’ve just met. -”I’m Going to Go Back There Someday,” The Muppets I don’t cry often. The number of people who’ve seen me in tears is a single digit. But I have…

Read More→

Many eons ago (meaning late August), I started a little post about why I write. And then I got busy. This particular type of busy-ness makes it difficult to write, not because I don’t have some time to write but…

Read More→

I recently watched Studio Ghibli’s The Secret World of Arrietty. If you want a review, visit my wife’s blog. I want to highlight two aspects of the film that impressed me–its simplicity and its sense of wonder. The story follows little people,…

Read More→

Writing is not a straight line. At least, not for me. The Unremarkable Squire was started sometime in 2003, if my memory serves, and revised numerous times before I ever managed to write the last chapter. It’s just now seeing…

Read More→

One of the powers of the storyteller is that he makes you feel. Say, for instance, there’s this guy. We’ll call him Tristan. And he’s madly in love with this princess, but she’s married. We’ll call her, I don’t know,…

Read More→