Puppets are great metaphors for writers. Writers are the string pullers of their worlds. They are the will behind the action, the sleight of hand making things happen without seeming to do much at all (except typing), the voice of the work behind the words. They are ventriloquists who throw their voices and make matter … Continue reading String Pullers and Sleight of Hand
Writing
Knitting and unpicking the Day of the Doctor
Rules and World Building If you write a story you're creating a world, or a part of a world. It could be as close to 'real life' (whatever that is) as possible or it can be completely made up or it could sit somewhere in between. But it will obey rules. The world you invent … Continue reading Knitting and unpicking the Day of the Doctor
Writing the Heroes of Sunny Hollow
So Sleepy Hollow is the west coast's Sunnydale. There is a female lead. So far so yay. Also it is a familiar supernatural tale of how a well read university educated British dude is the Watcher and he how is constantly shocked by the bizarre goings on of young modern Americans, while looking after two Slayers. … Continue reading Writing the Heroes of Sunny Hollow
Going Always – Writing and Doctor Who
So there has been plenty of time to think...in what seems to be a long running thing to write about writing and Doctor Who, because good TV, or even bad TV, takes a lot of effort to write. And regardless of what we write, we should bother to take note, especially in regards to dialogue, … Continue reading Going Always – Writing and Doctor Who
Eternal verities & Fairy Tales
The *in* thing So, there's Once Upon a Time, Red Riding Hood, Tangled, Snow White and the Huntsman and now Hansel and Gretel. Fairy tales are in. But fairy tales were always the in thing. There are feminist takes and post modern re-tellings and grunge and hyper-homogenised commercial versions. All worthwhile. And there's plenty to say about … Continue reading Eternal verities & Fairy Tales
Waiting for the change
Act One. There are some afternoons, interminably long summer ones, where the lower horizon shows Melbourne's distant hills in a smudged, faded-denim blue, and just above that there forms a band of frayed brown or burnt sienna. On such days people are cranky and suspicious. Lawns crunch and the sun glares down and down so everything is … Continue reading Waiting for the change
Dr Who: Book Ends
Steven Moffat. So very, very clever. He made Dr Who into a fairy story or, if you like, a myth, but not about the ever-continuing adventures of a mad man with a box, no. It’s a parable about writing, which is a metaphor about life and memory. At the end of this latest series or … Continue reading Dr Who: Book Ends
Shelf Life: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams stole all my best lines...says everyone...probably. He managed to define so much, so succinctly, about the world, about people, that there is little I can say to add to how well he managed it. Except, being a contrary sort, I will anyway. I was in primary school, and as my brothers, my mum … Continue reading Shelf Life: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
On Writing, analogies and um, writing
Been a bit quiet of late here, I make to no apologies since this a blog, not a cure for cancer. But if you want explanations, there's been life, study and assignment deadlines, work and the odd random visit to hospital. As you do. Anyway, none of the above have stopped me from writing and … Continue reading On Writing, analogies and um, writing
The Greater Good – More on Cabin in the Woods
So I saw this film. Suffice it to say it left an impression. If this is too in-depthy, my apologies. As storyteller Joss Whedon is oft concerned to explore the less than wonderful consequences of doing bad things for the greater good. This is especially clear in the film Serenity and most recently in Cabin in … Continue reading The Greater Good – More on Cabin in the Woods
Writing Bec 