Tag: Writing
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A Blade for Monsters Part 1
Alan Beringer had learned the hard way never to assume he had seen everything. It was perhaps the only reason he managed to hang on to his breakfast. The bodies, or what was left of them, were scattered across the hall. In the middle of the aisle was a heavily-gnawed arm, the flesh only mostly…
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A High Art
Our art is The rending of flesh; The breaking of bones; The tearing of nerves; The domination of wills. Our art is Steel scribing perfect arcs; Wood smoking on impact; Survival in a lightning shuffle; Strength through motion. Our art is Eight angles of attack; Eight million methods of combat; Infinite ways to wrestle, crush,…
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What Makes a Hero?
A couple of days ago, Rawle Nyanzi made a thoughtful post about virtue and heroism. I think he hit the nail on the head by attacking the notion that heroism and villainy are subjective. Heroes can be found in every corner of the globe. From Chinese wuxia tales to Western knights-errant, classical Japanese samurai to modern day manga…
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Putting Strength in the Bank
A favourite saying among old-school bodybuilders and weight lifters is to put strength in the bank. It means stopping just short of doing your absolute maximum in a training session, to do just one or two reps short of complete failure. It’s hard-won wisdom with sound basis in biology. Strength training requires gradual adaptation over weeks…
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Reflections on the Pulp Revolution
A fortnight ago, Jesse Abraham Lucas wrote a blog post that resonated with me. He wrote about what PulpRevvers call GroffinGate, in which an Internet commentator named Groffin said (among other things): And for all your glorification of the insular and self-aggrandizing indie-literature circuit, you have no minds of comparable skill or prestige, and will not for…
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Holistic Health for the Working Writer
We live in a new pulp era, an era that prizes proliferation and productivity. Pulp Speed, the ability to write at least 3000 words a day, preferably more, is an essential skill for the writer who wants a shot at the big leagues. Through Pulp Speed I have written in the span of two years…