Monthly Archives: March 2012

Stumbling through the Arena: Thoughts on the Hunger Games Movie

Posted on March 27, 2012 by

Folks who’ve been reading this blog for a while probably realize that I’m a big fan of Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy. I frequently use it as an example, and have written up some more in-depth discussions of the books, … Continue reading →

Posted in Movie Reviews, Reviews, Science Fiction | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Explorations of Religion in Science Fiction…but what about Fantasy?

Posted on March 20, 2012 by

In the real world, organized religion is messy. It has inspired wars and peace treaties, marriages and shunnings, art and book burnings. It is incredibly varied, both between areas where different organized religions predominate and within each area as well. … Continue reading →

Posted in fantasy, Genre Observations, Science Fiction | Tagged , , , | 33 Comments

Characters’ Age: Musings on How it Affects Writing

Posted on March 13, 2012 by

In the western world, we live in a culture that idolizes youth, and I suppose that’s understandable. We naturally gravitate towards characters who are young, healthy, vibrant, powerful, and exciting. And yet, some of my favorite characters in fiction (e.g. … Continue reading →

Posted in Genre Observations, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

An Unscheduled Rant: The Death of Science Fiction and Unrepentant Ignorance of YA SF

Posted on March 8, 2012 by

While I do tend to blather on about my thoughts about speculative fiction, I don’t normally post off my weekly schedule or post rants. In what is perhaps a bit of a departure from my norm, today I’m going to … Continue reading →

Posted in Genre Observations, Science Fiction, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Reflections on the Workshop Experience: Viable Paradise

Posted on March 6, 2012 by

So as I’ve mentioned before, this past October I attended the Viable Paradise writing workshop. The basic facts are pretty simple: it’s a week-long writing workshop for science fiction and fantasy taught by eight professional writers and editors. And the … Continue reading →

Posted in Genre Observations, Random Thoughts, Writing | Tagged , | 12 Comments