Blog Posts

On Delayed Mourning and the Origin of 42Cobras

It hurts when the people we care about die. That pain is in no way lessened when it takes us longer than normal to learn the horrible truth of a loved one’s passing.

The Oddity of Country Music Sequel Songs

Prepare to investigate the secret history of country music sequel songs!

The House of Zahn

Jamie is new in town, so he doesn’t really know the legends of Old Man Zahn’s house. He doesn’t have years of terror built up in him. Perhaps that’s why it was so easy for him to walk into the house that terrified the other boys and see first-hand the terror that is the House of Zahn in this new short fiction from Adam Wynn.

Jurassic Lightyears and Autopsying Unnecessary Sequels

Three recent releases serve as great examples of how to make necessary sequels or unnecessary sequels. Guess which two serve as the examples of unnecessary sequels.

Your Interpretations Are Wrong

Authors, artists, and creators of all kinds spend hours considering how their words and their work will affect an audience. Shouldn’t the audience take just as much care considering their interpretations?

Don’t Show, Don’t Tell: The Power of Suggestion in Fiction

There is a common rule in storytelling that says “Show, Don’t Tell.” However, sometimes doing neither one is actually much better.

A Matter of Perspective

We hardly ever think about how the character receiving the benefit of the main perspective in a work matters, but that one simple detail shapes everything about how the audience experiences the chain of events that makes up the plot.

Mary Sue Who?

What’s a Mary Sue? Am I one? There’s a lot of confusion about this topic, and just as much anger. So I will definitively answer the questions surrounding two recently accused Mary Sue’s by saying…maybe?

Assembled: The Marvel of Long-Form Storytelling

I want to talk about Endgame. I want to talk about all the incredible moments that will make fans stand up and cheer or want to weep. Both exist. And perhaps in a couple weeks I’ll delve into a more spoiler-unfriendly review. This isn’t a review so much as it is a letter of appreciation.

The Dilemma of Characterization and "That Character Wouldn't Do That!"

It’s a harsh reality to get slapped in the face by disappointment when someone we love lets us down. It’s even harder when that person is fictional.

What Walks at Night

Though his side of the bed was normal, Willard quickly realized that his wife’s side of the bed was horrendously shredded and slimy. Willard did not focus his energy on that side, though, as he continued to scan the room for the cause of the sound and the damage to his wife’s side of the bed. Standing by the window, watching the moon as if looking out from an aquarium, there stood a great horror.

Why Sequels Are So Often Doomed to Fail

Sequels are like playing the lottery and, just like in the real lottery, you have better odds of being stabbed in the eye by a passing pirate captain than you do of winning.

Making (Fake) Death Matter

There are several characters in pop culture who died and left us feeling…well, nothing. So how exactly do you make a character’s death matter?

Murder in Print: The Pen as the Sword

There really is a perverse pleasure in killing a character you’ve created, but death in fiction needs to mean more than just death for death’s sake.

"Blessed Are the Dead"

Hushed murmurs were the order of the pre-ceremony conversation with farmers and teachers and salt-of-the-earth Americans from rural Kansas struggling for words of casual civility in the midst of such somber proceedings. Reverend Zachariah had called them all in that evening with the once-dormant church bells, and those who remained knew why they were coming together.

The Rule of "One Thing"

One of the most maligned rules of writing fiction is this idea that you can only have one thing – one single thing – that was changed about your fictitious world if you want to tell a good story.

When the Words are Missing

A writer who can’t write is, by definition, useless.