Romance Is Science Fiction
Speculative fiction of the science fiction and fantasy sort has a classical problem: how do you “show, not tell” when it comes to a thing no one has ever seen and likely will never see? Here’s the thing though; I also love reading romance novels, especially ones that make an effort to be fair to […]
Frozen Is a Romance
I still maintain that Frozen, at the very least the first film, is a romantic film, and that the plot at the core of Frozen was lifted lock, stock and barrel from the classic formula for a romantic story. The modern definition of a romance story isn’t about sex. It’s a love story between two […]
Review: And Shall Machines Surrender, by Benjanun Sriduangkaew
I want to make clear before I go into the actual review that I was unaware that Benjanun Sriduangkaew, the author of the book, was the notorious blogger “Requires Hate.” I saw the book on a stand at a library, decided it was worth reading, and bought it at Barnes & Noble; it was cheap […]
Nostalgia Isn’t Optimism, and SF Writing Should Be Optimistic
Matt Singer’s article Why ‘The Last Jedi’ Pissed Off Star Wars Fans has been sticking with me for a long time. Singer argues that The Last Jedi is different from other Star Wars films in that it doesn’t wallow in nostalgia. I know that I need to not wallow in it either. Star Wars, the […]
Flow, and its place in Writing
Following on my last post about the practice of writing versus practicing writing, I recently came across a Cal Newport article entitled Flow is the Opiate of the Mediocre, in which he talks about the difference between practice and performance. “Flow” is a term coined by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, which he described as “a highly […]
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