khaosworks | Entries tagged with writing

"Ever since J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis created the worlds of Middle Earth and Narnia, it seems like every windbag off the street thinks he can write great, original fantasy, too. The problem is that most of this "great, original fantasy" is actually poor, derivative fantasy. Frankly, we're sick of it, so we've compiled a list of rip-off tip-offs in the form of an exam. We think anybody considering writing a fantasy novel should be required to take this exam first. Answering "yes" to any one question results in failure and means that the prospective novel should be abandoned at once."

Don't necessarily agree with all of its no-nos, but amusing nonetheless.

Holy crap, there's a copy of my book, The Nightmare Factory, in the Library of Congress.

And in eight other libraries in the US, including Yale, Cornell and Berkeley.

See here.

(P.S. I wrote the stories in it when I was between 17-21, and the angsty pretentious self-centeredness shows. It's not terribly good, except for maybe one or two stories. Just so you know.)

I have an idea for a television series called Extraordinary. College-age girl wakes up one day to find out she has superpowers. It'll be Felicity meets Supergirl with a dash of Superman: Secret Identity thrown in.

Pay me. Or write fanfic. Whichever.

Lance Parkin wrote this, on page 130-131 of the book, and it makes me well up every time I read it. So why should I be the only one to suffer so? Here it is.

And the truth is: the Doctor was the finest dream of hundreds of human beings, refined as they tapped away at their typewriters. For generations, they'd made him a hero to countless millions in over a hundred countries. Then, just once, he hadn't come back. His enemies had kept him away. But despite their best efforts he hadn't been forgotten. There were those who remembered him when they walked past a dummy in a shop window or sat on a beach looking out to sea, and every time they ground pepper. And, after far too long, a new generation of children were about to hear that music for the first time, and they would learn their sofa wasn't just for sitting on...

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an icepick through the keyhole

Entries tagged with writing

The Fantasy Novelist's Exam

I'm in the Library of Congress

High concept

From "The Gallifrey Chronicles":

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December 2011

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