Borrowing Plot Structure as a Stand-In for Outlining

I’m rewatching Moana, because I think its structure may be useful for the fantasy novel outline I’m trying to refine.

I find working with models for story structure really helpful, especially because I struggle so much with outlining. Continue reading “Borrowing Plot Structure as a Stand-In for Outlining”

David Rose, Rarity, and Fashion

David Rose (Schitt’s Creek) and Rarity (My Little Pony) are both characters whose strong aesthetic senses resonate deeply for me… while also causing me to recoil, because they’re so focused on fashion, and I loathe fashion, because I can ONLY WEAR COMFORTABLE CLOTHES, which is anathema to most fashion. Continue reading “David Rose, Rarity, and Fashion”

Killing a Character for the First Time

Today, I got to the point in my sci-fi horror novel-in-progress where I got to kill off one of the major characters. He’s been slated for death from the beginning, designed specifically to be annoying, so it’d be fun for me to kill him.

But it wasn’t fun… I don’t know why. Continue reading “Killing a Character for the First Time”

Re-Watching Lord of the Rings

We’re showing the kids Lord of the Rings for the first time. It’s also my first time seeing it in about fifteen years.

And it’s so weird how it goes along like a perfectly normal epic fantasy… and then all of a sudden [MEME!] and then normal fantasy… and then [MEME!]

It’s also disconcerting after fifteen years of Sam being idolized as the most perfect character on the internet to see again how hypocritical and judgmental he is when it comes to Gollum. Continue reading “Re-Watching Lord of the Rings”