Why I’m Sick of the Chosen One

It’s a trope we all know. It’s been used by some of the most beloved authors in some of the best known works, the foundational works of fantasy and science fiction. But I don’t like it. OK, anything can work if it’s done reeeaaaally well. But if you want to pull off a...

Just How Anti Do You Like Your Heroes?

This is an important question, both for writers and for readers. The anti hero has gain prominence lately, and there are a lot of reasons for that. But it’s less a question of “should my protagonist be flawed?” and more a question of “how flawed should my protagonist...

What I Learned from Anthony Bourdain.

Anthony Bourdain’s death hit me hard. He was an inspiration to me, through his writing and his television shows, making an impression on both my writing and my outlook on life. As a writer, I have to say his prose connected with me on many levels. His style was...

Walking the Tigh-Trope

  Saw the new Deadpool movie recently. Loved it. Recently, I read a discussion about it, and one of the points brought up was the use of tropes and cliches, and was it enough to be self aware and hang a lampshade on the trope, or if it still counted as lazy...