(Oops! I’ve elided a couple weeks without blogging. What can I say? The to-do list was willing, but the back-to-school and High-Holidays scheduling was weak.) Once, I was a grammar true believer.
When the movie version of Ender’s Game came out, I wasn’t sure what to do. If some authors’ politics are homophobic or racist or other things I believe are wrong, how should I react to their work to live up to my own ethical responsibilities? Part of the reason it’s difficult…
So there I was, happily returning home from two weeks off-the-network at the cottage, when my boyfriend dropped a break-up bombshell. Uh, not our break-up. We’re still together. No, it’s worse than that. Mulder and Scully are no longer a couple.
I like junk food. This controversial viewpoint may astound you. What sort of monster would enjoy grabbing a handful of chips, a square of chocolate, a doughnut hole? But just as I enjoy mini-bombs of sugar, salt, and/or fat, I know that filling up on them at the expense of…
Warning: more rambling than usual! I am of an age and in a relationship where, although I know I don’t want kids right away, they are a possibility at an ever-approaching point down the line. Many of my female peers in heterosexual relationships seem to be having or to have…
Dear younger self and others, You’ve decided to join a critique group? More than one? I’m so glad! Joining a critique group is one of the most important steps to improving your writing to publishable quality. The opinions of readers who are also fellow writers can show you the weak…
Group projects. I’m sorry, I should have given you more warning before including something so terrifying in this blog post. Do you need a few minutes? Let’s wade in slowly. groouuuu…. ouuuppp… projects. (phew!) I have never encountered a single student who seemed pleased to be given a group, rather…
(But first, apologies: between a week’s vacation at the family cottage and novel revisions, I’m afraid I’ve let this blog lie fallow two Mondays in a row!) As I’ve stated before on this blog, I believe the author is dead. That is: the intentions of the creator of a narrative…
Last week, when I was sharing some thoughts about Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, I mentioned that including diversity of sexual orientations in a story doesn’t necessarily mean including sexual acts. I’d like to expand on that. The place and profession where I’m most cognizant of…
No, not this one, of which I wasn’t too fond. This one. One of the awesomest parts of being a writer is that watching and reading fantastic stories is a legitimate way of learning to be better at what I do (some would say the best way). I get the…