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Trope Tuesday: Hero’s Muse

One thing about the hero’s journey is that it tends to be very male-centric.  It’s possible to pull off a gender-swap, or to follow the structure loosely while allowing for substantial variation, but the basic form follows the assumption that the hero is male, and that most of the women he meets fall into one… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Hero’s Muse

I cannot tell you…

…how much I’m looking forward to being back in Georgia. My flight leaves from JFK on Saturday and arrives in Istanbul at about 6 am on Sunday.  The flight to Tbilisi doesn’t leave for another seven hours, so I plan to take the tram downtown and see some of the sights.  I’ll arrive in Tbilisi… Continue reading I cannot tell you…

Trope Tuesday: A Man is Not a Virgin

I’m back from vacation, but I’m going to take a break from the Hero’s Journey trope posts to talk about something that I really feel passionate about.  I hope you’ll forgive me if this turns into a rant, but I think this is an important issue that has some very dangerous implications that need to… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: A Man is Not a Virgin

Trope Tuesday: Belly of the Whale

The last stage in the departure phase of the hero’s journey is called the Belly of the Whale, after the Biblical story of Jonah.  After receiving the call and passing the threshold to the land of adventure, the hero faces what may quite possibly be the darkest hour of his life and dies in some way… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Belly of the Whale

Trope Tuesday: Threshold Guardians

So the hero gets the call, refuses it at first (or jumps at it, as the case may be), but one way or another he eventually sets out on the adventure.  As he soon discovers, though, one does not simply walk into Mordor.  Adventures are not the sort of thing that anyone can do, and in… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Threshold Guardians

Adventures in ebook formatting

So a couple of days ago, I set out on a quest to figure out a better way to build an ebook.  In the process, I ended up learning WAY more about ebooks than I’d bargained for, in the most awesome of possible ways.  Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so empowered as an… Continue reading Adventures in ebook formatting

Trope Tuesday: The Call to Adventure

One of the first (and most important) stages of the hero’s journey is the call to adventure.  It happens when the hero first confronts something outside the experience of his ordinary world that beacons him to leave it.  It overlaps closely with the inciting incident, and marks the point at which the hero’s journey begins. However,… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: The Call to Adventure

If you’re thinking of self publishing, read this. All of it.

I just read a fascinating Q&A on Reddit with Hugh Howey, author of the self-published phenomenon Wool.  After six trancelike hours reading through all the comments, all I can say is “wow.” Okay, I guess I can say a little more.  Yesterday, I listened to Brandon Sanderson’s lecture on self-publishing from his English 318 class this year.… Continue reading If you’re thinking of self publishing, read this. All of it.

Trope Tuesday: The Hero’s Journey

For the next few Trope Tuesday posts, I’m going to pick apart one of my favorite story patterns, the monomyth or “hero’s journey.” Other tropes come and go, but the hero’s journey is truly timeless.  If you can get it to work for you, it can do wonders for your ability to understand and tell… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: The Hero’s Journey