I had Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea sitting on my bookshelf and decided to read it. The story isn't what I thought it would be, plus it moves too slowly for contemporary readers. Same with the Disney movie staring Kirk Douglas. But, the book changed the Science Fiction genre when it was published...
There's lots of reasons to write pulp novels. One reason is that pulp novels sell, and a writer should never discount what readers want. If you're a beginner looking for a quick book that will improve your storytelling, here is James Scott Bell's book, "How to Write Pulp Fiction," available on Amazon. When you're a...
Here I will share with you my process for rewriting a novel, and it involves a quality notebook and set of good pens. I had every intention of finishing my rewrites before my kids left on spring break. As it happens March is too busy for me and life has taken hold. But, even though...
I came away after reading this book with an 'aha' feeling about the intenet. I learned about this book a while ago on NPR and it came to mind recently when I wanted to find a book about the internet. Or rather, the physical internet. This morning I went running and finished, Tubes: A...
There are five stages in the writing process, and by the writing process, I mean the process that starts with an idea and ends with a manuscript you can pitch to a stranger. Like many things that are more art than science, these stages aren’t set in stone. Still, if you’re a beginner, the...
Rather, should you read The Hero With A Thousand Faces? This book is where the Hero’s Journey concept originates. My answer: It depends. It’s a Friday afternoon in glorious Florida. The thermostat in my car read 83 degrees outside. I know this might sound hot, but to me, it’s just great, especially when I was...
The Blade Runner movie is based on a novel with the odd title, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? This novel started the franchise with the original 1982 movie staring Harrison Ford, and more recently, Blade Runner 2049, produced in 2017 staring Ryan Gosling. The original novel is something of a distant cousin to...
Here's a flash fiction example coming in at just under 600 words. I will typically come up with these premises based on some behavior I observe in real life. Real life inspiration, in other words. In this case, I thought about how unfortunate it is that people might want to be taken seriously despite...
Sure, there are probably more science fiction tropes, but here I've focused on five broad tropes and explained what each trope tries to explore in a sci-fi work. In each genre, there are conventions that readers expect to find. Romance, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, General Fiction, non-fiction, and the rest each have norms...
If you're an adult reader and fan of Game of Thrones or Star Wars wondering, 'Should I read, Dune?' I say, yes. Well, maybe not read Dune in the traditional sense. You should definitely "read" it in audiobook form. You should definitely consume it in some literary form before watching either of the film interpretations....
