The basic principle behind this trope is that when you want your readers to feel some kind of sympathy toward a character, have them pet a puppy / puppy equivalent. Often used to show who the good guy is, but can also be used to add depth to a villain. I first learned about this… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Pet the Dog
Tag: Brandon Sanderson
The interior designer’s approach to story
I recently read a fascinating post on John Brown’s blog with an interesting exercise for analyzing the kinds of stories you most like to read. By finding out what really turns you on in a story, you can have a much better idea what to write, and how to make your own stories better. He… Continue reading The interior designer’s approach to story
Worldcon 2011: Thursday
Wow, the last couple days have been packed with awesome con-stuff, but I’ve got a short break so I thought I’d blog about it. Thursday was great, attended a few panels but mostly just wandered around meeting people. I’m a little surprised with how many people read this blog. Got Brandon to sign my Kindle,… Continue reading Worldcon 2011: Thursday
Another publication in Leading Edge!
That’s right! My poem “Zarmina,” dedicated to Gliese 581 g (the first exoplanet discovered in its sun’s habitable zone) is published on page 98 of issue 61 of Leading Edge! Also included in this issue is an excellent essay by Brandon Sanderson, in which he introduces his second law of magic systems. It’s an excellent… Continue reading Another publication in Leading Edge!
More thoughts on indie publishing
Since my last post on indie publishing, I’ve been thinking a lot about this subject. I haven’t decided to take the plunge into self published ebooks yet, but I have decided to make some changes in my writing and my career strategy, in order to position myself more favorably if/when I choose to do so.… Continue reading More thoughts on indie publishing
Sick (blegh!), submitting, and thoughts on self-publishing
Sorry I haven’t been posting much recently; I came down with a nasty fever this week, and I’ve spent the last two days recovering. It really sucks, because my two temp jobs just finished, and I was hoping to get into another writing routine. The jobs were sucking up all my time, though it was… Continue reading Sick (blegh!), submitting, and thoughts on self-publishing
Some thoughts on the future
I went to the first class of English 318 yesterday, and the lecture got me to thinking about my mid- to long-term future as a writer. Brandon spent most of the period organizing the class, which was made doubly difficult by the ridiculously small classroom size. I swear, bureaucracies exist only to make life difficult. … Continue reading Some thoughts on the future
Getting back into things
So yesterday, I wrote through 4k words in WAFH 2.0 without even realizing it. I didn’t feel very productive, because I only did about 500 words at a time before something came up and I got distracted, but by the end of the day, ended up accomplishing a lot. That was a pleasant surprise. In… Continue reading Getting back into things
Travel writing + Gemmell + Sanderson signing = awesome
Today was an awesome day, which is weird considering everything that happened. Woke up at 4:45 am to catch an early morning flight back to Utah, took public transport back to Provo, and ran around on errands until attending the midnight Way of Kings signing at the BYU Bookstore. Yet it was awesome. Why? First,… Continue reading Travel writing + Gemmell + Sanderson signing = awesome
Rock Canyon Writing for Charity
So a couple weeks ago, I heard of this for-charity writer’s conference going on in Sandy this weekend. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the full event, but I did go to the evening extravaganza with fellow writer and quarkie Jimmy. The evening session was great! There were some excellent performances by Divine Comedy and… Continue reading Rock Canyon Writing for Charity