Blog Archives: February 2018
"The Hunger Games": Review and Analysis
February 26, 2018
View this book on Amazon
I know I’m late to the game on this one, but I decided to read it, and it warrants a review and analysis. This post is kind of long, but if you’re interested in learning something about writing from a famous book, hang in there. My main purpose is to critique the book from the standpoint of a writer.
As a reader, the book was moderately entertaining, fast-paced, and had everything a reader would want, particularly teenage girls, to whom the thing is geared. From that standpoint, it’s easy to see why it was ...
Kindle Paperwhite Browser Issue
February 25, 2018
Here's an update on my Kindle Paperwhite. I still love it, but I had a problem with the browser. The browser is almost useless, but it does have some functionality, and should work. I could not find a fix on the internet or on the Amazon site, and Amazon "customer service" is totally unresponsive. I thought maybe I had to reset it, but I dreaded that, so I fooled with it until I figured it out.
When I tried to load a website (this one, actually) the Web and Google portions of the browser locked up. In other words, I could do everything ...
Three Phrases to Avoid
February 25, 2018
Whether you are writing fiction, non-fiction, a business letter, a legal brief, or anything else, there are three phrases you should avoid. Two of them make you sound like an idiot, and one of them is unnecessary.
There are times when this childish phrase may have application, such as its variant, “outreach.” One can reach out to a troubled person and try to help them. Fine. But the phrase has somehow come into fashion, particularly with journalists, to replace the words “contacted,” “called,” “talked to,” and others, which mean that you ...
Story Structure in a Movie: When Trumpets Fade
February 25, 2018
One great place to study story structure is by watching and analyzing movies. Although novels don’t need to follow the structure as closely as screenplays do, it’s still instructive, and the closer your novel does follow this structure, the better off you’ll be. It’s also a good idea to try to achieve the same structure in your novel as you see in movies.
For this analysis, I’m doing one you can presently see in its entirety on YouTube. I will provide an Amazon link to it in the event it’s taken down.
All stories must ...
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