Discovering New Worlds, One Syllable at a Time
“That story was so good!”
The kid has no idea what he’s saying. He has no idea how much it means to me. He’s one of my son’s classmates. He’s helping out at the school’s end-of-year carnival, and we’re chatting as I wait for my daughter to attempt to drop a teacher into the dunktank.
“You really think so?” I ask him.
“Yeah! You need to come read next year!”
“Next year you’ll be in middle school!”
“So?” He smiles at me. Continue reading “The Cure for the Rejection Blues”
Star Wars theory time!
Ever notice how the Empire was mostly made of humans? In the old Expanded Universe of novels, it was written in that the Empire was anti-alien, making it very difficult for any non-humans to rise in the ranks. However, if we’re honest – even though there’s a higher percentage of non-humans in the Rebellion, there’s still a lot more humans, aren’t there?
I think I know why. Continue reading “A Rebellion Lacking Aliens”
Sometimes what comes after the plot wraps up is just as important as the rest of the story. Discussion and possible spoilers to follow for Avengers Endgame and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
So Tuesday I got to see Avengers: Endgame. I’d sum it up as: Satisfying. There are plot holes aplenty, but I generally didn’t mind because the character work, plot work, action setpieces, and so on were generally heartfelt, wonderfully acted, and will scripted. But there’s one part of the movie I wanted to focus on: That really, really long ending.
Now, I wasn’t looking at my watch, so I can’t tell you how long it was. I can tell you it was a significant length, though. It reminded me in all the right ways of the epilogue from Return of the King.
I’ve heard people complain about the ending of Return of the King.
They’re wrong. Continue reading “Avengers and Epilogues”
So, here I am, reading Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle, a novel about some astronauts visiting another planet on the far side of the galaxy. While there, they encounter humans that are animalistic. They wear no clothing, just as animals here wear no clothing. OK, so far pretty logical.
The main characters meet a young woman as their first encounter of this savage human species. And yes, she’s naked. Boulle brilliantly describes her motions as completely animal-like. The scene is quite arresting. And as Boulle further describes this character, he makes sure to tell us that she walks with her “breasts outthrust.”
Sometimes the goal of a writer isn’t writing; sometimes the goal is surviving.
I was hoping that today’s post would be, “The Terrible Burden of Doing Nothing.” After literal weeks of no recharging time for this introvert, I had set aside Friday as a chance to form a little cocoon. It’d be an opportunity to read for fun or write. The only thing I had set to do today was a load of dishes and play with the kids.
Step one of that process was, of course, sleeping in. The kids didn’t have school, and I had no ministry appointments, so there was no reason I had to get up early.
For some reason, I couldn’t fall asleep until past one they night before. And then my baby daughter decided to start her screaming at 5:30. And then the tornado warning at 7:30 kinda had to get me out of bed.
Did you know that contrary to popular belief, sleep exhaustion doesn’t aid creativity? It’s true that it can cut down on inhibitions depending who you are, but writing down that stream of consciousness, at least for me, isn’t always gold fiction. Or, you know, ever. Continue reading “Write Again”
Jonathon Mast: Author