Ender Wiggin experiences abuse at the hands of his brother Peter even before he ever enters the Battle School. Largely ignored and emotionally neglected by their parents, Peter terrorizes both Ender and his sister, regularly threatening to kill them both. According to Graff, it is this sociopathic quality that prevents him from being chosen for … Continue reading Empathy as a Weapon in the Ender Saga Part II: Abused and Abuser in Ender’s Game
Month: February 2019
Empathy as a Weapon in the Ender Saga Part I: The Empathetic (Sympathetic) Monster
I just finished reading Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card. I can’t say these are books I like. But at the same time, they are not easily dismissed. They are books that some people absolutely hate, and which are deeply meaningful to others. Let’s begin with Ender’s Game. The novel … Continue reading Empathy as a Weapon in the Ender Saga Part I: The Empathetic (Sympathetic) Monster
Wednesdays Writing Prompt
A Thursday Response to Wednesdays Writing Prompt: One. Shaking hands—a trembling finger Resting lightly on the trigger A second passes in a hundred years Blood-drums pounding in your ears Two. Bead of sweat trickling down your brow Sneering lips—you’ve got her now Heat in your chest a rising fire Vicious sensation of vengeful desire Three. … Continue reading Wednesdays Writing Prompt
Lessons from GoT Part 3: This is the Way the World Ends
George R. R. Martin is often credited with describing his writing process as being more like a gardener than an architect. In other words, he prefers to discover a story as he goes, editing it here and there like a gardener tends his plants, but mostly allowing the process to unfold naturally, rather than planning … Continue reading Lessons from GoT Part 3: This is the Way the World Ends
Lessons from GoT Part 2: Building the Sandbox
One of the most common tropes used in a fantasy series is to begin with a young, naïve hero who is scooped out of his sheltered, mundane experience (usually by a mysterious bearded wizard) into some kind of grand adventure. In The Rivan Codex (a great read for anyone interested in the mechanics of very … Continue reading Lessons from GoT Part 2: Building the Sandbox
Lessons from GoT Part 1: When Every Bleeding Grain of Sand has a Name… [Spoilers for Book 1 below]
Have you ever read the credits on a movie and find a long list of “Bartender”, “Soldier A”, “Drug Addict,” “Man with Hilariously Large Penis” etc? Characters who appear only for brief moments with few, if any speaking lines and whose names remain unknown because the script writer never bothered to give them a name? … Continue reading Lessons from GoT Part 1: When Every Bleeding Grain of Sand has a Name… [Spoilers for Book 1 below]
The Rookery 