Key Advice for Aspiring Writers
Storm Constantine was one of the first authors who inspired me to throw myself into writing fantasy. She also happened to be local to the area where I grew up, which was part of the fascination because…
Category: Literary & Media Analysis
The Human Adventure is Just Beginning: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, 40 Years Later
In the forty years since its December 1979 release, Star Trek: The Motion Picture is still something of an enigma in the Star Trek canon. From 1979 to 2016, thirteen Star Trek movies were produced.…
The Expanse: A Book Review
Welcome to the future, where humans have colonized the moon, Mars, and much more. Where people are categorized based on the planet they come from. Where living on a spaceship for more than a month…
The Extended Family of the Enterprise
I don’t call myself a Trekkie, but Star Trek has been part of my life since I was a kid. My earliest memory is from when I was maybe five years old, sitting on the…
Increasing Creative Flow
It is often a common problem for writers, the world over, to keep their creativity levels consistent from one day to the next. There are many things that a writer can do to try and…
Tristar Fan: How to Love Multiple Sci-Fi Franchises at the Same Time
Such an interesting name, isn’t it? What is a Tristar fan? Isn’t ‘TriStar’ that Sony company? Well, it is, but that’s not what I’m referring to here. It’s actually more like tri-star, triple stars. The…
The Birth of a Character
I see posts in creative writing groups all the time, where people are asking for advice on how to create a realistic character. Even naming characters seems to be something that causes many writers a…
The Downfall of Dragon Lady (And Other Odds and Ends from Game of Thrones: Season 8)
Thoughts about (spoilers) Dragon Lady from Game of Thrones (y'all know who I'm talking about): Okay, so I had for at least two seasons on this show predicted that Daenarys Targaryan was on a route…
Four Poets: A Commentary on Muslim and Christian Spiritual Themes in Literature
I was asked to discuss how four poets, from different countries, religions and times, might be linked together spiritually and how Muslims might benefit from reading them in a conversation with a conference organiser. The…
Are you a Plotter or a Pantser?: A Writer’s Comparison
Are you a plotter or a pantser? As writers, we all inevitably fit into either of the above categories, maybe even into both as we move from one project to the next. A plotter is…