Tag: Writing
-
Babylon Blues Meets Deus Vult Wastelanders!
Bloodthirsty demons and black-hearted cultists. Guns and swords and high technology. Unshakable faith in the face of soul-rending evil. These are the defining points of Babylon Blues. And Adam Lane Smith’s Deus Vult Wastelanders series. Deus Vult Wastelanders is a heavy metal Christian pulp fiction series, set in a post-apocalyptic America where demons and cultists run rampant…
-
The Romance of the Sword
In the age of the gun, the romance of the sword lingers in pop culture. From wuxia novels to martial arts flicks, heroic fantasy tales and stories of sword and sorcery, people enjoy stories of blademasters cleaving their way through hordes of enemies. On first glance, this seems strange. These stories hardly have any bearing on modern…
-
Worldbuilding with Real World Martial Arts
The average author treats martial arts simply as a collection of techniques to be displayed in fight scenes. But martial arts is more than just techniques: it is a way of life, one that resonates throughout the individual and society. The superior writer recognizes that, and sees opportunities for worldbuilding and characterisation. Sigmund Ringeck’s Knightly Arts…
-
Why I Write
Much of modern entertainment is a garbage fire. Many male characters are weak, wimpy and wishy-washy. They exist not as men in their own right, but simply to make the designed Strong Female Character look even more powerful when contrasted against their incompetence. Shounen protagonists inevitably run away screaming at the first signs of romance and emotional…
-
How to Level Up Your Bad Guys
Everybody loves main characters who grow into heroes. Over the length of a series, tested in fire and steel, they overcome their weaknesses, become even stronger and more capable, and become more than they are. Indeed, character growth is the foundation of shounen manga — readers want to see the hero grow from a zero to a…
-
Writing the Prepared Professional
One of the reasons I love thrillers is the genre’s dedication to authenticity. Cops talk and act like cops, spec ops guys see the world much differently from ordinary people, and so on. The genre provides a dramatised window into the lifestyles and activities of these professionals, and how they see the world. Key to…