I’ve been working on some short stories lately, and I can’t help but notice a pattern in them and some of my novels: many of them are about how the main character comes to be the villain of the narrative.
Why am I writing a third entry on this theme? Because, man, it’s easier to write about writing than it is to actually write! Just kidding! (Well, not about the relative ease thing – that’s true. But the implication that I’m not working on my regular stuff isn’t.) So far,…
Last week, I blogged about writers having to balance between accepting other people’s criticisms and choosing what makes them feel best about their own story (and about how usually you can do both). As examples, I purposely chose some silly stuff: murdering circus clowns and being anti-letter-E-ist. But part of…
I’m reading a book right now on how to write mysteries. The author is clearly someone who prefers more hard-boiled stuff with lots of sex and violence, as he accuses mysteries without these features of being (respectively) repressed and lacking. (To be fair, if you read between the lines, he…
New Year’s never feels like a new beginning to me. I think it’s a combo of being Jewish and being a student: both the lunar year and the school year start in the fall. The real new year for me is the solemn liturgy demanding I reflect on my actions…
OK, I lied – these have nothing to do with New Year’s, except for the fact that I have lots more free time around this time of year and my parents like to watch movies, so I have a lot more filmic contributions this time. Porco Rosso (Studio Ghibli, 1992)…
Happy Chanukah to all you fellow Jews out there! And merry Christmas to those who celebrate! And happy NOT HAVING TO WORK/GETTING OVERTIME PAY DAY (!!!) to everyone else! And also happy first anniversary to Kevin and Davina! Mazal tov, guys! Things are still a bit rough for my family…
Hey all, As you may have gathered from the title, I’m not posting a blog entry today. On Friday evening, my aunt passed away after a long battle with cancer. I will be spending my time this week with my family in Ottawa, where shiva will take place at my…
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One of my very favourite short stories is “A Study In Emerald”, by Neil Gaiman, which speculates on what might happen if the famous Victorian detective, Sherlock Holmes, had lived in the same universe as the famous Victorian horror-demonic-god-creature, Cthulhu. I’m not such a big fan of Lovecraft myself, but,…