Category Archives: Uncategorized

How would you describe a character who APPEARS courageous, but only because he or she has never been tried under fire? Here’s how Anthony Trollope does it in his first novel, The Macdermots of Ballycloran (1843), when describing the villain … Continue reading →

I wanted to share an interesting writing technique that might be employed to amuse readers. It’s easier shown than explained, but it’s basically saying something without actually saying it. As an example, say I’m having a conversation with Judy about … Continue reading →

In The Young Outlaw: Or, Adrift in the Streets by Horatio Alger, Jr., a novel written in 1875, the hero is briefly employed as a chiropodist’s assistant, one of the few high points of a relatively uninspiring novel. Possibly in … Continue reading →

The argument that 1970s-1980s children’s programming wasn’t “educational” might have some validity. In example, I offer an episode of Spider-Woman entitled “Shuttle to Disaster.” A somewhat prophetic title, in light of later developments. Spider-Woman makes a marionette out of a … Continue reading →

Spiderwoman 1979. Credit for giving a woman the lead in a show, but that’s about all you can say in praise of this poorly written, poorly drawn cartoon. Like most cartoons of its time and later, Spiderwoman 1979 relies heavily … Continue reading →

I just finished reading The Runaway Bride by Lucy Gillen, a Harlequin Romance written in 1972, so you wouldn’t have to. The heroine and her love interest are pretty standard 70s fare–a childish woman who doesn’t know what she wants, … Continue reading →

Let’s break down the structure of The Green Rain to see how it works as a piece of science fiction and a piece of social commentary: Inciting incident: a rocket containing a chemical called chlorophylogen, intended to terraform the moon, … Continue reading →

“Whatever man has built throughout the centuries has been destroyed by man himself–because he could not leave Nature alone.” This underappreciated science-fiction novel, which was written just five years after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a … Continue reading →

While working the second draft of my latest novel, a romance with a time-travel twist, called Passing Strange, I revised a key piece of dialogue between my two main characters, David and Cole. Here is the original: “Lady, this place—it … Continue reading →

Below are the last several chapters of Rhoda Broughton’s 1886 novel, Doctor Cupid. As this is an excellent denouement to a romance novel, I thought it would be a good example of how to tie up loose ends in a … Continue reading →