I'm a software developer, blogger, novelist, and catechist; many of my daily activities involve thinking about things, working them out in my head, and then writing or speaking about them. Over time I've tried various software tools that help me to figure out what I think, to organize my thoughts, and to get my thoughts … Continue reading Tools for Writing and Thinking
Month: September 2016
Night Watch, by Sergei Lukyanenko
Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch series, recently concluded with the publication of the sixth and final volume, Sixth Watch, is a unique take on the whole "urban fantasy" genre, not least because it takes place in Moscow rather than in London or Chicago. Urban fantasy has rather been done to death, so much so that it … Continue reading Night Watch, by Sergei Lukyanenko
Academic Literary Analysis equals Conspiracy Theories!
So I overheard my son complaining about his English Lit teacher's need for him to analyze everything to death. "If the author is a good author," he argued, "the meaning of work will be obvious, because they know how to write clearly. It's like trying to analyze why a fire engine is painted red. The … Continue reading Academic Literary Analysis equals Conspiracy Theories!
Riding the Pantser Tank
Famously there are two kinds of novelists, plotters and pantsers. Plotters are those who work out the plot in great detail ahead of time, outlining everything to within in an inch of its life. P.G. Wodehouse, for example, was a plotter par excellence: he'd put each scene on a card and pin them to a … Continue reading Riding the Pantser Tank
On Catholic Fiction
This blog is associated with The Catholic Conspiracy family of Catholic bloggers; and as an author I write from a Catholic world view. But what does that mean for my novels? Are they "Catholic Fiction"? It all depends on what you mean by "Catholic Fiction". As a blogger I've written extensively about the Catholic faith … Continue reading On Catholic Fiction
