A Slayer Comes to Town

by Scott Westerfeldon Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Creative writing teachers are fond of sweeping generalizations:

“Never use adverbs.”

“Never begin a story with the word the.”

“There’s only one plot: the shift from innocence to experience.”

A friend of mine in Louisiana had a writing teacher who enjoyed proclaiming, “The king dies and the queen dies. That’s not a story. The king dies and the queen dies of grief. Now that’s a story.” I’m not sure what that’s supposed to mean, nor what any of these sayings are supposed to do for young writers. Probably make all but the most dedicated break down and get a real job.

But recently I heard a good one: “There are only two plots: a stranger comes to town and someone goes on a journey.” This aphorism helped distill an idea I’ve developed over years of reading and writing science fiction and fantasy, resulting in my own sweeping generalization: “There are only two kinds of fantastic … read more»

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Available Until
Thu 10/29

Joss Whedon's Dollhouse: 21st Century Neo-Gothic

by Peter Tupperon Dollhouse

An innocent young woman walks through a house without
clocks or windows. She climbs the hardwood stairs, where
she is not supposed to go, and opens the door to a darkened
room. Another young woman is strapped down, nearly naked,
moaning and writhing in pain as wires and needles pierce … read more»

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Wed 10/28

Panem et Circenses

by Carrie Ryanon the Hunger Games trilogy

In the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins takes our obsession with Reality TV and extends it to the most horrifying ends: a society that views kids killing kids as entertainment. It’s easy to find this an uncomfortable premise–to turn our noses up and say that while we may enjoy read more»

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Tue 10/27

Learning to Fly

by Sylvia Dayon Stephanie Plum

Bounty hunter. It held a certain cachet.

–Stephanie Plum, Three to Get Deadly (3)

This simple statement is Stephanie Plum in a nutshell. But it is important to note that while the statement itself is simple, the reasons why such a thing would be important to Stephanie are a little … read more»

Available Until
Mon 10/26

More Than Entertainment

by Stephanie R. deLus©, Ph.D.on shows created by Joss Whedon

When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.

-ABRAHAM LINCOLN

It’s been tough to write this essay. Many a word has already been written about Joss Whedon and his creations. Many, many a word. A bit of research would convince anyone … read more»