DO YOU LOVE THINGS THAT ARE AWESOME!?!?
Under New Management, The Walking Dead Shambles On
I haven’t written about The Walking Dead for a while. I haven’t felt like it’s been worth writing about for a while. But now that it’s under new management and a major cast member has exited the show, I was interested to see where the series stands after nine seasons, an eternity on network television.
(Coincidentally, this ended up being 3,600 words, an eternity on the Internet, so if you don’t feel like reading that and want to leave right now, I really can’t blame you. I wrote it, though, so I’m posting it, dammit!)
Nick DeWolf’s Review of “A Dirty Job” by Christopher Moore… or… “Word Salad” by A Usually Solid Writer
Moore is regularly a bright, funny, poignant writer who fine tunes his books the way a great chef would a recipe, removing all excess ingredients and giving us just enough of each of the primary flavors that our senses are delighted and intrigued. This time, it he took whatever was in his fridge that wasn’t quite rotten but not still fresh, poured it into a casserole dish, set the oven to 450, and prayed. Then when it didn’t come out right, he slathered it in cheese, added some 150 proof rum, and lit the top on fire. And as such, I will politely decline the offer of seconds, thank you.
Tattoos And The People That Love Them (a.k.a. This has nothing to do with writing.)
I always liked tattoos.
My brother’s friend had two full sleeves, and a few on his chest and back. The running joke was, he couldn’t walk past a tattoo shop without stopping inside to get one.
An exaggeration, of course, but he did have a lot of tattoos. So many, they blended together on his arms into a swirl of Jackson Pollack-type images and colors.
I thought that was too many. I like tattoos where you can tell what the individual image is. It stands apart from the others, like a panel in a comic book. My brother’s friend had so many on his arms, they were a blur.
Continue reading “Tattoos And The People That Love Them (a.k.a. This has nothing to do with writing.)”Interview With Author Timothy Johnson
1. What made you want to be a writer?
It was probably a mixture of narcissism, masochism, and the right teacher in the right class telling me I had potential in something when I felt I had potential in nothing but had to decide what I was going to do for the rest of my life.
I took a creative writing class in college when I didn’t have a major, and when I started writing, I thought I was brilliant. At the time, I had been writing songs, so it seemed natural that I’d become a poet (because that’s a practical decision in this world). Then I was in a room with friends who literally laughed at my work, and I realized I wasn’t good.
Continue reading “Interview With Author Timothy Johnson”BOOK REVIEW – Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman is one of the best writers of this century and if you don’t think so I will fight you. With words. Not fists. Because I’m weak and cry easily.
Continue reading “BOOK REVIEW – Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman”
Let the Hate Flow Through You…
**DISCLAIMER: There will be no more Star Wars references going forward**
There is a place in the world for the bad…
So it was about ten years ago. Maybe more. Wait, how old are my kids? Good lord, I’m old.
Okay, it was more than ten years ago, but not quite twenty, and I was younger and energetic and doing a lot of theater. Primarily an actor, I also did lighting and directing and dance. Writing had been limited to short plays for children, so no experience with real, full-on adult drama. Still, I knew what I loved about theater; the art, the precision, the work ethic. Creating great product was more important than making dollars. I was passionate, and part of being passionate is working on thoughtful, interesting, insightful works which are seen by a handful of people, yet touch each of them deeply.
On Jonathan Franzen’s Rules for Novelists
In November, Lithub republished a list of ten rules for novelists by Jonathan Franzen that had originally appeared in the Guardian in 2010. It apparently raised a stink on the Internet. Reading the list now, I see why it was divisive. Some of his rules are obvious. Some are preposterous or pretentious. Overall, it’s just not a helpful list.
All of this is in my humble opinion, of course (this is my blog after all). Franzen has accomplished far more in his writing career than I probably ever will, but I see reflections of some broader issues in the literary community here that I feel the need to comment on.
To be clear, this isn’t really about Franzen’s list. This is about the impetus of some of his ideas. And admittedly, it probably reveals more about my own philosophies than Franzen’s, so take it for what it’s worth
Continue reading “On Jonathan Franzen’s Rules for Novelists”SLADE 2.0 (a.k.a Children Are The Future)
My six year-old son and I play a game he calls “Voices.”
It’s called Voices because I do different voices of different characters, and it developed from when I would play with him with his stuffed animals. I gave each animal a different personality and they, along with my son (as himself), would get involved in various adventures.
Continue reading “SLADE 2.0 (a.k.a Children Are The Future)”My Thoughts on Nick’s Villains Never Die
The first thing you should know about Villains Never Die is it’s going to be familiar. The second thing you should know about Villains Never Die is it’s going to be completely foreign.
That might seem like an oxymoron, but it isn’t. If the superhero story is a classic Mustang, Nick DeWolf brought it into his shop, tore out all of the old junk that engineers have improved in the last half century, replaced it with new technology, gave it a real good wash and wax, and then sent it out to the showroom floor.