Reactions

Reactions

I have a list of topics that I want to get to on this blog.  But while I love talking about my feelings on pop culture and the creative process and feminism, this is also a personal blog.  So, I’ve been trying to put my thoughts on Baghdad, Beirut, and Paris into words, and it’s left me with a distinct weariness.  I’m going to use “we” a lot in this post; mostly, I am referring to the Western…

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Fall Reading Reviews '15

Fall Reading Reviews ’15

Every season I have a list of books to read; you can find out more information under the Great Book List page.  This season I slightly overdid it with my commitments, but we’ll chalk it up to a learning curve. Below the read more are reviews (with minor spoilers) of Thorn Jack by Katherine Harbour, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Flappers: Six Women of a Dangerous Generation by Judith Mackrell, The…

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On Creating Odious Characters

On Creating Odious Characters

[For those who care, I’m sorry I haven’t been writing as much.  Two novels (one in edits, one in first draft stages) and two plays (one as an actress, one as a director) plus this blog are rather difficult to balance.] Actors never lie.  It’s one of our major tenets.  When an actor lies on stage, the audience can tell, the audience feels cheated.  By “lie,” of course, I mean “not fully commit or…

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The Problem Most "Creating Feminist Female Protagonists" Guides Are Missing

The Problem Most “Creating Feminist Female Protagonists” Guides Are Missing

If you haven’t noticed, there’s a lot of talk about how to write a female protagonist believably and without bringing down double standard criticisms of “Strong Female Character” or “Mary Sue” that male character simply don’t receive.  But most articles and blog posts focus so fully on the creation of the female protagonist that they miss the underlying problem. (more…)

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Structuring a Series: Part IV

Structuring a Series Part IV: Follow-Up

Welcome back to Structuring a Series! This is mostly a follow-up to the rest of the blog series.  If you haven’t yet read Parts I, II, or III, or familiarized yourselves with Dan Well’s 7 Point Plot Structure, now’s a good time to do it! This installment is for structuring a series that is not a trilogy.  Using this structure is best for series with a serialized structure (or mythology arc)…

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