2022 – A Year in Review
INTRODUCTION It’s hard to believe that another year has already gone by. I could swear it was 2020 yesterday, but it’s been two years since then. That’s crazy to think about. As I began reflecting on the year to get ready for this post, I started to get rather annoyed at myself. I hadn’t used…
2021 – A Year in Review
I hate writing introductions, so I’m going to keep this brief. The year may not be over, but if I don’t write this yearly wrap-up now, I’ll probably forget. I tend to forget to do things on time. I’m working on it. I’ll start by summarizing what I did this year and then talk about…
Book Review: The Last Wish
This is a Spoiler-Free Review. I decided to take a (very brief) break from reading Sanderson. But I still wanted to read Epic Fantasy (. I like short stories, and I had heard that The Witcher series started off with short stories. And what with the show coming out recently, I decided, “why not?” It…
Book Review – The Hero of Ages
Spoilers for The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson to follow! Well, this review is gonna be tough. I noticed with my last couple of reviews, I haven’t done a very good job of criticizing what the book didn’t do well. I hate to be overly critical of books, but at the same time, it…
The Importance of Chapter One (or the Prologue)
So why is the first chapter so important? The first chapter is many things, but it ultimately helps the reader decide if they want to keep reading. As writers, we want our readers to keep reading our story. The first chapter is our best bet at getting them to keep reading. So, what can we…
Book Review – The Well of Ascension
Spoilers for The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson are to follow! Well, I finished another book. And it was a good one! After the end of Mistborn: The Final Empire, I didn’t think that Sanderson would be able to make the sequel nearly as good as the first one. And while it wasn’t as…
Piggy’s Glasses, The Conch, and the Face Paint: An Exploration in Symbolism in The Lord of the Flies
This is a paper I did for my English class, so this article will not be focusing on teaching as much as I usually do in my articles. Symbolism is a great way to enhance a story that has been used in many novels. Some have been used masterfully and have greatly improved the quality…
Book Review – Mistborn: The Final Empire
So I just finished Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson. And let me say, this is why I read books. It truly was amazing. I cannot say anything bad about the book whatsoever. So let me give a few highlights. But before the highlights, let me give a brief summary. This will be a…
Why Do You Need Interesting Characters?
I have been thinking about this topic a good bit lately. Interesting characters. Why do we need them? Isn’t it the plot that keeps us coming back? In a sense, yes, it is the plot that keeps us coming back. But, in another sense, no, the plot isn’t what keeps us coming back. I recently…
Why I Write Epic Fantasy
I may not have specified which genre of fiction I write yet on this blog. I write epic fantasy. But why? What draws me to that genre first and foremost? Why not historical fiction or romance? Well, the answer is quite simple. I write what I read. My Dad once told me of an author…
Titus Watson 