I started watching Game of Thrones with a couple friends of mine because everybody and their grandmother (actually, no, your grandmother wouldn’t watch Game of Thrones) have been telling us how good it is. And it is, but that’s not quite the point of this essay (that’s not a rant). One of the great things… Continue reading Too Many Characters, Too Little Time
Tag: Lost
One Year
Holy crap. This is my fifty-second post. That means I’ve been keeping up this blog for one year. One post a week for a whole year Dang. I’m actually quite impressed I’ve managed to keep this up. My last attempt at a weekly blog wound up becoming bi-weekly, then monthly, then wheneverly. The fact that… Continue reading One Year
Instant Tension: Just Add Guns!
Say three guys are discussing the proper pronunciation of the word milk. Then the argument heats up and they start yelling. Things are starting to get a little intense Now one of them pulls a gun on the others. Things just got real, man! Then the other guys pull out their guns! Just like that… Continue reading Instant Tension: Just Add Guns!
Protagonists and Such
Call him the main character, the lead, the hero, the player character; most every good story has a protagonist. He (or she) is the person we follow. Either because they provide the viewpoint and let us into the world or because they’re out on a grand quest. A lot of stories rise and fall based… Continue reading Protagonists and Such
Time Doesn’t Flow Linearly
Well, actually time does go linearly in real life. But this is fiction I’m talking about. Y’know those stories where events are told in the order of the sequence of events? Well this isn’t about that. Lost’s early episodes followed a basic format: focus particularly on one character on the Island all the while showing… Continue reading Time Doesn’t Flow Linearly
The Consistency of Continuity
The way reality (and by proxy, stories) works is that if one thing happens then something else does. Because of this, we have a natural sequence of events that happens. It’s a consistent sequence of events that have bearing on each other. Man, describing continuity is difficult. Basically, if something happened, it happened. Events that… Continue reading The Consistency of Continuity
Everyone’s Got A Story
If you meet me in person, chances are at some point I’ll ask you what’s your story. Who you are. What brought you from wherever you’re from to where you are what now. Because whatever the reason, it’s your story and tells a good amount about you. So naturally, when I watch/play/read something, I’m looking… Continue reading Everyone’s Got A Story
A Series Of Arcs
I decided to sit down and watch some old How I Met Your Mother episodes once, and by old I mean Season One. It was weird to watch since everyone was well, so different from where they are in the more recent seasons. It’s jarring in light of where they end up. This, of course,… Continue reading A Series Of Arcs
Imply, Don’t Show
Every aspiring writer is at one point treated to the ancient adage of “show, don’t tell”. The idea is that rather than telling us that Sam is an impressive diplomat, it works better if the writer describes her being a great diplomat. It gets boring (and annoying) if a writer keeps on saying that a… Continue reading Imply, Don’t Show
Sacrifice
There’s this trope in fiction called the Heroic Sacrifice. The idea is that a character gives himself up so another can live or succeed. When done right it can be an incredibly powerful writing tool. Doesn’t have to be sacrificing your own life, though. At the end of The Dark Knight, Batman has just saved… Continue reading Sacrifice
Essays, Not Rants! 