I watched Dune for the first time last week (remember how I said I'm late to the party on everything?). Rather than getting me excited for Part 2, it made me think about how hard sci-fi and high fantasy are overrated. Don't get me wrong; I love Lord of the Rings and Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere. … Continue reading Can We Please Have More Soft Sci-fi and Plain Ol’ Fantasy?
Reviews
Treasure Planet: The Storytelling Masterpiece We’ve All Been Ignoring for Two Decades
Space pirates. Incredibly designed aliens. Spaceships with sails. Cyborgs. A cute alien blob creature. What isn’t there to love about Treasure Planet? And I didn’t even mention the characters or plot yet! This post was extremely difficult for me to write because I love (read: LOVE!!!) this movie—so it’s hard to not just gush and … Continue reading Treasure Planet: The Storytelling Masterpiece We’ve All Been Ignoring for Two Decades
Improving Classic Stories through Adaptations: The Case of Peter Pan
We're all suckers for classic stories. Fairytales and folktales hold a special place in our hearts, whether it has to do with nostalgia or just plain ol' good storytelling. But have you ever gone back to read a story you loved as a child and thought, "Hmm...this isn't quite as good as I remember"? For … Continue reading Improving Classic Stories through Adaptations: The Case of Peter Pan
Good Adaptation Practices from Pride & Prejudice
There's certainly been a theme of adaptations on the blog recently. Maybe it's because my current WIP is an adaptation... Just maybe... Anyway, in looking through everything I have on adaptations, I came across my post on Pride & Prejudice (2005) from two years ago. It's one of the first in-depth reviews I ever did … Continue reading Good Adaptation Practices from Pride & Prejudice
“Is it okay to like bad stories?”
As someone who pushes relentlessly for better storytelling in the world, this is a question I get asked quite often. Sometimes, people ask it as a trick question—if I say yes, then they ask why good storytelling is so important. If I were to say no, they would inevitably find out that there are "bad" … Continue reading “Is it okay to like bad stories?”
Writing Wins from Star Wars: Visions
Star Wars: Visions is one of the coolest ideas the Star Wars franchise has ever come up with. It allows people all across the world to make Star Wars their own while showcasing their talents to a huge audience—how amazing is that? I liked the first season of Visions, but not enough to write anything … Continue reading Writing Wins from Star Wars: Visions
What We Learn from a Character’s First Scenes in The Force Awakens
May the Fourth be with you! It's no secret that I'm a Star Wars nerd. As I talked about last month, Star Wars shaped me both as a person and a writer as I was growing up. Love or hate certain parts of it, there's no doubt that Star Wars has, in all likelihood, the … Continue reading What We Learn from a Character’s First Scenes in The Force Awakens
The Stories that Shaped Me: Star Wars
How do you like Tuesdays? Specifically, what do you think of my Tuesday blog posts? I think it's beneficial to talk about good (and bad) stories so that we can learn from what others have done. Let me know your opinion in the comments! For now, I'm starting yet another new series about the stories … Continue reading The Stories that Shaped Me: Star Wars
Pixar Uses a Secret to Make Their Stories Unique—Now You Can Use It Too
Have you ever noticed that most protagonists are...kinda the same? Whether it’s a children’s picture book or an adult thriller novel, the protag usually falls into one of two categories: a boy (young man, man, etc.) looking for adventure or a girl (young woman, woman, etc.) looking for independence/freedom. The secondary character and/or best friend … Continue reading Pixar Uses a Secret to Make Their Stories Unique—Now You Can Use It Too
The Magic of Encanto
It's been almost a year and a half, and everyone is still talking about not talking about Bruno. (Read the sentence again, you'll get it.) If you were around back in 2014 when the Frozen craze hit, you'll recognise the signs of an instant Disney classic. But Encanto is truly something special - it has … Continue reading The Magic of Encanto
The Story Canvas 