We live in amazing times for human creativity. There are more opportunities, for more people, of more backgrounds, to create than ever before. I think when we look back on the early 21st century, we’ll recognise it as the turning point into a creator culture, in which we value people for their creative talents, overContinue reading “After Patreon: we need a Bill of Rights for creators”
Category Archives: Writing Journal
Beyond the Rhetoric of Story
Since I began work on The Rhetoric of Story, a little over a year ago, the success of the course has far exceeded my expectations. Since launching on Udemy, the course has been in the top 12 of writing for 4 straight months! To date over 1600 students have taken the course, and they’ve hadContinue reading “Beyond the Rhetoric of Story”
A sad truth. Readers will always steal from writers.
This is a little story about volition. Specifically, the choices writers make about how we share and “monetize” our work. It’s a sad little tale, but please read to the end for the moral. “there’s an extra irony here, that these were writers, who no doubt stomp around the internet chanting Pay The Writer wheneverContinue reading “A sad truth. Readers will always steal from writers.”
Odd Gods
Gods are an irresistible subject to writers. They were, after all, the first characters, in the first stories. “In the beginning was the word” is both true, and a clever way for ancient scribes to improve their job security. God is, when all’s said and done, whoever is writing. I found myself writing these storiesContinue reading “Odd Gods”
Creativity Is A Wild Mind
“Creativity is a wild mind & a disciplined eye.” ~ Dorothy Parker Read more Dorothy Parker. Learn the Rhetoric of Story, course code STORYTEN.
Can you name a story where nothing changes?
Two old tramps stand in a field. One struggles to take off his boot. The other does nothing to help. They talk, but they don’t listen. They are are waiting for somebody. Whoever it is does not arrive. And that, folks, is the whole of Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett. Beckett’s play is oneContinue reading “Can you name a story where nothing changes?”
Watch Blade Runner 2049, then read this.
Spoilers. Watch first, then read. Blade Runner is a diamond of a movie. A broken genius crazy novel, adapted into a mashup noir / scifi screenplay, directed by an auteur who had his main sight on other projects, vandalised by a studio who didn’t know what they had, with its best lines of dialogue improvisedContinue reading “Watch Blade Runner 2049, then read this.”
Five questions the new Blade Runner must answer
Any Blade Runner fan who doesn’t have mixed feelings about the Blade Runner 2049 sequel probably isn’t much of a fan. Hollywood sequels have a bad track record of course. And while the presence of Harrison Ford might encourage some to hope for a sequel as mighty as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, many ofContinue reading “Five questions the new Blade Runner must answer”
Westworld didn’t deserve those Emmys anyway
If you really want to divide people into two opposing tribes, and judging by the political divide between Conservatives & Liberals it seems that we do, then this is the real dividing line. People who treat culture as absolute. vs People who see culture as a construct. Pop quiz. Is America a real place? OrContinue reading “Westworld didn’t deserve those Emmys anyway”
Emotion Tone. The thermonuclear weaponry in the writer’s arsenal.
You’re sitting in bed on a Saturday morning with your nose in a novel, or maybe in row F of the cinema with a movie on the screen, or you’re just having a quiet night in with Netflix, and your nose is bubbly with snot, tears streaming down your face, laughter bursting from your lips.Continue reading “Emotion Tone. The thermonuclear weaponry in the writer’s arsenal.”
Let’s be honest, the novel is dead.
Writers can be a hugely insightful bunch. A good novelist can tell you what’s going on inside the head of another human being at fifty yards. But when it comes to seeing the blindspots in our own self-awareness, novelists suck. Today, The Bookseller published a little summary of a radio interview with Robert Harris, whoContinue reading “Let’s be honest, the novel is dead.”
In defence of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
Over on G+, in response to my thoughts on liberal dystopias, Jason Baryla mounts a sterling defence of the widely maligned Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. # “Maybe it’s because of how much Donald Trump resembles Baron Vladimir Harkkonen” Sorry if this is off-topic, but I cannot agree with this statement. The Baron was a hedonist withContinue reading “In defence of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen”
Damien Walter 