Here is something weird my brain does: I love fictional genius characters, especially ones whose sense of self-worth is tied up in their intelligence and whose story arc is partially about the messy process of untangling the two. I love Charlotte Holmes, Harrowhark Nonagesimus*, Gregory House, and all the rest.…
(Missed Part I? It’s here.) Would this still be my blog if I didn’t ramble on about Sherlock Holmes adaptations? Probably not. As in the previous entry, I’m reading a bunch of Sherlock Holmes adaptations/re-imaginings/subversions that change the gender of the Holmes/detective character. Here are my thoughts on the second…
I can’t speak for every writer, but for me, at least, when I’m working on a manuscript, the mention of another work that shares some of the key elements of my story gives me super mixed feelings. On one hand, I’m writing this story because, damn, I love those elements!…
Dexter did it. So did Mulder. And House. Sherlock Holmes did it in both his shows, sometimes more than once. It almost makes you think there should be a support group: “Hi, my name is Sherlock, and…” (“Go on, Sherlock.”) “… I get out of tough situations by faking my…
Elementary is dead, long live Elementary. Yes, I only just now got around to watching the final season of Elementary, which aired early last summer. And it was the best of adaptations, it was the worst of adaptations. It didn’t have Sherlock‘s slick style; it often crossed the line from…
Since I love to read mysteries, it makes sense that I also love to write mysteries. When I write speculative fiction these days, my stories have an element of discovery and investigation. My characters uncover clues, wrestle with what they’ve learned to extract facts, and finally reach the conclusion around…
Among the many reasons I find myself fascinated by modern adaptations of Sherlock Holmes is the way they always implicitly address one of the themes that speaks to me: the relationship between expressing emotions and strength. Most Sherlock Holmes characters swear by the Great Detective’s lived maxim that (paraphrased) emotion…
Four episodes I watched all at once after returning from our honeymoon, four thoughts.
Sidekicks are an interesting fictional creature. They can inspire the same amount of love as the hero, but everyone understands that they’re somewhat more malleable. And nobody understands that better than John Watson. I mean, John Watson. I mean… All of these characters serve the same story purpose(s). But they…
I love good twist endings. You know, the ones that reveal a whole new layer to the story, that make you care about the characters even more and marvel at the solution to the puzzle you’ve been wrestling with all this while. Heck, I’ll even settle for bad twist endings,…