I feel like world-building is something that can often be overwrought. Plenty of fantasy/science-fiction writing resources offer guides and rubrics where you can figure out language, cultural histories, religions, foods, and political systems; creating a world with a Tolkien-esque detail for your story to play in. It’s Hemingway’s iceberg theory: for everything on the page… Continue reading Flight of Fancy
Another Week
Oh man, it’s Saturday already? And I’ve gotta get something else on this blog? Maybe I’ll phone it in this week, since I did post a whole-ass essay last week. Truth be told, I’m noodling on another, though this one’s gonna be less Tolkien and more MSN. Which is a weird sentence to write, but… Continue reading Another Week
Wars And The War of the Ring
One of the (many) things I love about The Lord of the Rings is how remarkably anti-war it is. It feels like a counterintuitive concept; the book stands triumphant in the canon of the fantasy genre, a genre known for its swords and war-making. Even The Lord of the Rings is built around the precipice… Continue reading Wars And The War of the Ring
Interim
Huh, this week got away from me. Turns out planning for an overseas trip while working overtime doesn’t give you too much time to work on that essay you had planned about The Lord of The Rings and war. Especially when that essay starts getting longer than usual. But it’s coming. Honest. I do realize… Continue reading Interim
Fishing (Virtually) (In Space)
It’s late on a Saturday and I’ve got a rant essay cooking but needs more time to really give it its due and it’s late on a Saturday and I don’t want to rush it, so in the meantime, here’s this one. Destiny 2 now has fishing. It’s one of the new activities this Season… Continue reading Fishing (Virtually) (In Space)
Too Many Streams
I was an early supporter of Netflix streaming; I remember talking my family into signing up and being able to enjoy watching TV shows and movies online (without having to download them!). It wasn’t new, per se, I remember missing an episode of the 5th season of Lost and being able to watch it the… Continue reading Too Many Streams
Jedi Fantasy
I wasn’t super impressed with Jedi: Fallen Order when it came out a few years back. Sure, it was fun, but it felt clunky. The combat felt like a lesser Dark Souls, but got markedly better when turned down the difficulty — though I felt that the game lost that appeal of being able to… Continue reading Jedi Fantasy
Genre Is Dead, Long Live Genre
Genre is such a weird thing. Don’t get me wrong, I totally get why we need it: sometimes things need to be classified so we have an idea of what we’re getting into, and it helps. Knowing that Halo is a first-person shooter lets you know you’re not playing a role-playing game and calling Portal… Continue reading Genre Is Dead, Long Live Genre
Contradictions
There was a delightful irony to the world of Bionicle that drew me in when the toy line started back in 2001. Here was a tropical, tribal-looking island that drew a lot on Polynesian imagery populated with robots who could wield magical elemental powers. Well, technically biomechanical robots, but there was still this really cool… Continue reading Contradictions
Vacationing
I’m out of town this weekend, visiting a friend, so no real blog post this week. I probably could have written something earlier, but I’ve been busy with life stuff (which had also been interfering with Burning Shores time), so there’s that. Plus I’ve been trying to make a point of traveling without my laptop… Continue reading Vacationing
Essays, Not Rants! 