Tag: Writing

Replay Value

So, in spite of some of the less than charitable things I’ve said about Dragon Age: Origins, I’m playing it again. And I know it won’t be the last time. My wife and I like to discuss different things we like about the game, other ways we plan on playing it, and even toss dialog… Continue reading Replay Value

Diving Right In

I’d really like to say, “This is a subject that requires no introduction.” It’d be a funny way to open up the subject of exposition, since a lot of stories start out with something expository. Especially in genre fiction, more often than not, the world or worlds in which the tale is set will be… Continue reading Diving Right In

Regarding Feedback & Encouragement

“The Enrichment Center promises to always provide safe testing environments. In dangerous testing environments, the Enrichment Center promises to always provide useful advice. For instance, the floor here will kill you. Try to avoid it.” This is GLaDOS’ way of providing feedback & encouragement. Needless to say, there are some moments in Portal at which… Continue reading Regarding Feedback & Encouragement

About Amateurs

The word “amateur” has a bad connotation. You might look at an art’s student attempt to recreate the Mona Lisa, or a mod for Half-Life designed to make it look like Wolfenstien 3-D, or an Uwe Boll film and say “Ew, that’s completely amateur.” By that, you’re likely to mean “poorly designed, conceived or executed,… Continue reading About Amateurs

What's In A Title?

So. The Project. Nice and enigmatic, but I doubt people will be flocking to Amazon to download it to their Kindles. Mrs. Alchemist keeps asking me why I haven’t given it a real title. Honestly, it’s because I can’t pick one. What we have here is a story with a fantasy setting. The protagonist, Asherian,… Continue reading What's In A Title?

PT: Bouncing Back

It’s been a while since I’ve put together a PT post, and this seems about the right time. Why? Because after the last week I’ve had, wallowing in self-loathing and lamenting my state of affairs, I realized there was something I desperately needed. A swift kick in the ass. Going through transitions in life can… Continue reading PT: Bouncing Back

The Need To Write

“I once knew a writer who tried that route (psychoanalysis). Cured him of writing all right. But did not cure him of the need to write. The last I saw of him he was crouching in a comer, trembling. That was his good phase. But the mere sight of a wordprocessor would throw him into… Continue reading The Need To Write

One-Trick Ponies

Some people are good at just one thing. There’s nothing wrong with this. While you don’t want to over-emphasize specialization in any endeavor, as you never know when something outside of your specialization is going to come along and topple your entire plan, trying to be good at everything usually means you’re just mediocre in… Continue reading One-Trick Ponies