words & pictures & things I like

writer. gamer. artist. mommy. coffee addict. internet junkie. admin for @wondrousworldbuilding

[hayleewritesaboutbooks]

The Island of Doctor Moreau

My Overall Thoughts - 4.5/5 “Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should…” This book seems like a dark precursor to Jurassic Park. Except the big budget corporation aspect is removed and it’s just this guy, Dr. Moreau, who is The Most Evil…all in the name of science and knowledge. I read up a little bit on the historical context of the publication of this novel and was quite surprised and interested in the conversations that were happening around actual vivisection practice…WHAT…and also the world-rocking concepts of Darwinism which were sweeping the world. In the years preceeding this novel, the National Anti-Vivisection Society was founded—because this was apparently really a thing people did—and still exists today as an active animal welfare group.

Character Development - 4/5 The narrator, Prendick, struggles mightily with the ethical and moral implications of everything around him and it makes him an interesting narrator. I even found that I grew attached to a couple of the creatures, especially Dog Man. My attachment made the entire scenario all the more revolting, but then that was the whole point, was it not?

Story Structure - 5/5 Linear and unobstructive.

Tone/Style - 5/5 Very H.G. Wells style. Simple and clear. Prendick as a narrator was sympathetic and direct.

Content There is some gore and some murder. The creatures are quite unsettling, but most of that is left up to the reader’s imagination.

My Final Thoughts While perhaps not as specifically applicable to animal rights issues going on in the world today, the philosophical ponderings around man interfering with nature, fear, pain, and the nature of humanity will always be relevant. It was an interesting read. Not my favorite of Wells’s works, but easy and interesting.

[wondrousworldbuilding]

I had some thoughts, so I made a thing. :)

[wondrousworldbuilding]

I’ve had a couple of anon asks recently about how to handle a large world early on in the novel. Reblogging for you, nonnies. :)

[wondrousworldbuilding]

My ask box is totally caught up, all questions answered and queued. I’m around accepting asks!! If you have any worldbuilding writing questions, send them in! I’m dying to help you out. 

If you’ve submitted a question in the past and it isn’t answered in the next few hours, then resubmit and I’ll be happy to answer. 

[wondrousworldbuilding]

Discussion! Or ignorant question - I just recently ran across the “36 Dramatic Situations for Stories” or “There are only 7 Basic Plots”. How does this affect world building? The basic premise is that there are only so many ideas that make a story and nowadays it’s all a repeat cycle of stories refurbished or rebranded. Is there any truth to these two views?

A wise person once said: There's some truth in every point of view.

Yeah, I'm just kidding, I made that up. But it sounds like it's probably true.

If you Google "basic plots" then you'll come across a half million articles all giving you a number (and they won't all be the same) about how there are only x number of plots and all fiction is recycled.

I mean, I guess. But why does it matter?

If you take five writers--all of relatively equal talent--and sit them down at a table and say, "Write a 5000 word story about an anti-hero protagonist and their bff getting into a scrape and using morally-gray, ethically questionable means to get out of it. They must all conclude the story at their sweet grandmother's house for cookies."

That's a fairly specific set of circumstances and character types. But those five talented writers will write five incredibly different and probably somewhat equally enjoyable stories. In fact, you could tell a hundred different writers to do the same thing and not a single one of those stories will be alike.

So when you're talking about broad-strokes plot elements....yeah, there are only so many conventions and tropes that storytelling can use and writers *use the shit out of them*. You know why?

Because they freakin' work. People LIKE stories elements that they're familiar with. Even writers who do the unexpected are working within conventional storytelling tropes. A writer who turns a trope on its head still is expected to tell a satisfyingly story.

Writers who disregard the art of using plot and story tropes wisely are writers who will likely not tell a story that anyone wants to read. It will not be satisfying. It will be nonsensical.

When you ignore or destroy tropes, you need to do it *knowingly* and *with purpose*.

The originality comes in the details...and worldbuilding is one of those details that still has a universe of untapped originality.

Create your unique and inspired world and set a "well-worn" plot within it and you've created something new.

Now go write!

[wondrousworldbuilding]

Why develop a fictional culture?

When you’re creating a race of people for your new world, you need a culture to give those people and their way of life some context. The culture helps determine how the characters act, dress, eat, solve problems, among so many other things. You can (and sometimes, should) have multiple cultures in your world, depending on how large your focus area is. Cultures affect each other, but also serve in a narrative sense to draw contrast in-world and to draw parallels to the reader’s world. 

So here are some thoughts, big and small, that are meant to help inspire you as you create amazing cultures. (And remember that you’re thinking about the following questions in the context of the general population, not your main character(s).) You can simply answer these questions in short-answer form, or you can write a short story to flesh out one or two or three questions at once. If you do that, submit them to me! I’d love to feature them on the blog. 

How old do people believe their race is? How old are they really?

How prevalent are religions to the common person?

What is/are the origin stories of the main religion(s)?

What do most people think should be the highest priority:

biological family?

chosen family?

career?

service/charity (of any kind)?

religion?

entertainment/fun?

nation?

expansion (of nation/culture/influence/understanding)?

How do culturally shared priorities shape interactions?

What is the common greeting? Does it vary by age, class, rank, or sect?

How is gender viewed by the majority? Why?

What are common myths/legends of your people and how heavily do they influence the modern day?

How trustful are people of outsiders?

How welcoming are people, in general, of strangers into their homes?

How well do people of various factions (class, race, religion, etc.) get along in society?

How far has technology advanced, and how has it been implemented into their daily lives?

If magic exists, what do they believe is its origin? Its source?

If there is division between magic/non-magic, how do the two treat each other and why? How long has it been that way?

What sort of relationship do they have with their ruler?

How content is the average person?

How do people make their living and how big a part of their life is their career (if applicable)?

Do they have “weekends” and if so, what sets them apart from “weekdays”?

How do they treat their close friends?

How do they treat their enemies?

How do they handle small conflict, between individuals or small groups?

How do they handle larger conflicts?

How are they prepared for any potential war? Do they have some sort of military or militia in place? 

How many wars have they, as a society, fought over the course of their lives/history? How much of an impact does that have on their cultural identity? (i.e. WW2′s impact on patriotism in America, and how it’s yet to go away.)

What virtues do they value in individuals? What virtues do they say they value? If those are different, why?

How do they dress? Does it vary greatly by gender, or not? Is their focus on clothing very practical, religious, sentimental, or simply driven by the latest arbitrary fashion? How do the above answers reflect on the culture on a deeper level?

How do they treat their elderly?

How do they treat their children?

At what age does a baby become a child, a child a young adult, a young adult an adult, an adult an elder?

How much regulation does the day-to-day life of the average citizen entail? Or, how involved is the government in micro affairs?

How are these people seen throughout their known world? How do other cultures view this culture?

Check out the rest of the Brainstorming Series! Magic Systems, Part One Magic Systems, Part Two New Species New Worlds  Map Making Politics and Government Belief Systems & Religion Guilds, Factions, & Groups War & Conflict Science & Technology Wildlife & Ecosystems History & Lore

[just-some-writer]

The backyard renovation is coming along... . #gardening #greeninitiative #sustainable #flowers #vegetablegarden #selfcare https://www.instagram.com/p/BnL_-vTlH8X/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=10vabgkvqtiyf

[just-some-writer]

The kindergarten graduation was adorable! And while I can share pics of just how cute my kindergarten kiddos were, I can share this one. I love being able to see the smile on my kids' faces when they see us cheering them on. . #lifeofahouseparent #parentlife (at Roosevelt Independent School District)

[hayleewritesaboutbooks]

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

My Overall Thoughts - 4/5

I had a difficult time putting this book down. That’s not to say I didn’t; my life is incredibly busy. But each time I did, I was like, “Nooooo…” But I was into the flow of this book like I haven’t been a few reads. It was nice. The prose is flowing, and a pretty easy read. I was invested in the characters in a way I didn’t really expect to be, given that I’d read about all of them before.

I picked this book up because of all the hype I’ve seen about Madeline Miller’s new book, Circa, which I’m also going to read soon. I’m glad I did. It has inspired me to go back to the source material and read me some Homer again. It’s been too long. This review is spoiler free!

Character Development - 4.5/5

It’s a little difficult to comment on the character development of incredibly familiar mythological characters, but even taking away one’s prior knowledge, Miller develops her characters incredibly well. Being that they’re well-known and almost archetypical, it might be easy to paint figures like Odysseus, Agamemnon, and Thetis with a broad brush, flat and very important. However, every character is distinct and unique. The growth of Achilles’ character from childhood to death is wonderful and interesting. The internal conflict, as well as the conflict between he and Patroclus toward the end, was engaging and interesting. I know it’s crazy, but the final third of the book with heated disputes between Achilles and Patroclus was way more interesting to me than the happy-go-lucky-ish, sooooo-in-love middle part of the book. The way to know if I truly love a character is that I love to see them suffer—suffer—for their “happy” ending. 

Story Structure - 4/5

No complaints, here. While starting with birth and childhood for a story about the adults for many stories means it’s starting way too early in the time line, this book is an exception partially because of how well-written Miller’s prose is, but also in large part because of the audience’s familiarity with the main chunk of the story. Starting so early was almost like the the prequel to the story you already know. But on top of that, this entire retelling is through the eyes of a lesser-known character, the whole thing feels fresh. 

Tone/Style - 3/5

I’m conflicted on this one, honestly, because unlike many books, I have wildly different opinions on the tone and the style. On the one hand, Miller’s prose is beautiful and poetic. Utterly fitting for a book like this. I sometimes found myself grinning at nothing other than the diction and song-like syntax. On the other hand, she switches back and forth between past and present tense—more than infrequently—and there are few things that irritate me more. Mid-chapter, sometimes mid-paragraph, we go from one tense to another and I rolled my eyes. I’m a little bias against present tense to start with; it feels juvenile and simple to me. But the switching…especially with no formatting change to signify a difference…ugggghhhhhh. It was used most often in intense moments, to show that shift in intensity. I get that. That doesn’t make it okay, in my personal opinion. 

World Building - 3.5/5

There was little to no focus on world building. What was present was not bad, and it all added to the story. But in this area, it seemed that the author did assume some prior knowledge of ancient Greece in the reader. 

Representation/Diversity - 5/5

So this is set in ancient Greece before and during the war with Troy, so one cannot really judge it on racial diversity. It was what it was. But the main story was of the romance between Patroclus and Achilles. Sexuality was interesting, as I, at least, had not thought about how such a relationship would be handled in this time period. Given Miller’s creditials, I assume her portrayal of the culture is accurate. 

Content 

A few fairly explicit sex scenes, both of homo and hetero couples. A few f***s were dropped.

My Final Thoughts

Highly recommended to all fans of Homer and Greek mythology in general. This fresh look at the events of The Iliad through a new perspective is fun. Some have compared Miller’s writing to Mary Renault, and while I haven’t any of her stuff, perhaps you have and that comparison rings with you. Cool. I’m off to add, not only Circa to my list of soon-to-read books, but The Iliad and Odyssey, too.

[hayleewritesaboutbooks]

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

(Image source; another Norse Mythology review, but as I listened to the audio book, I didn’t have a book to photograph.)

My Overall Thoughts - 4.5/5

Neil Gaiman opens this book with his thoughts. He credits Norse Mythology with a great deal of his inspiration. In his touching preface, he discusses how much these stories have shaped him. In the audio book, which is how I experienced this book, his voice does so much for the tone of his already stellar writing style. The stories of the Norse pantheon, while not entirely new to me, were re-experienced and brought to life in a fresh way through the eyes of a writer who found them to be the inspiration for his work. I appreciated Gaiman’s handling of these old myths and it makes me want to read more of his re-imagining of classic tales.

Now, to be fair: I’m only mildly familiar with Norse Mythology. I’d heard summarized versions of some of these tales, but I am not well-versed in them at all. I’m not sure if knowing them better would have enhanced or detracted from my enjoyment of the tales. Who’s to say? But I know that given what knowledge I do have, I enjoyed this version. And I also enjoyed hearing more details from these stories which I’d only heard told briefly in the past.

Character Development - 4/5

This book, as it’s a collection of stories from myths—many of which we no longer have—assumes some level of familiarity with mythological style, if not these characters specifically. The introduction to the characters is quick, assuming that “Loki was a trickster” is enough for you to get him. And, honestly, it’s fine. It wouldn’t work for a piece of original fiction, of course, but that’s not what this is. The relationship between Thor and Loki is incredibly well written. I found myself chuckling at their interactions several times. As the stories went on, I honestly found myself enjoying at all more than I had originally. 

Story Structure - 4.5/5

This book is written as a collection of vignettes, well-known stories from Norse Mythology, mostly focused on Odin, Thor, and Loki. The collection of short stories work well for this book and does not feel choppy or purposeless. The stories follow a sense of chronology, beginning with Thor’s acquisition of Mjölnir and ending with Ragnarok. 

Tone/Style - 5/5

Perhaps the best part of any of Gaiman’s books is simply the fact that he wrote it. His wit, his voice (both his writing voice and his speaking voice), is smooth and masterful. His reading is almost hypnotic to listen to. He does not take any of the aspects of the story over the top, and he doesn’t have to. His subtlety works so well for this story.  

This is also the section that feels the most important of this review, honestly, because it is Gaiman’s largest contribution. He didn’t come up with the stories or the characters, but he did use his voice to tell us the stories. 

My Final Thoughts

I recommend this to any fan of Gaiman’s, of course, but I also think it would be a great place to dive in for anyone who hasn’t read him. With stories and characters that might be familiar, one can get a taste of who Gaiman is as a writer and be inspired to read more from him.

[theinkstainsblog]

Active Booklrs Who Want More Interaction

I’m seeing a lot of stuff about people feeling that booklr is really empty, that no one really replies to posts or reblogs to add their opinion and we’re all really lacking interaction and discussion. 

I’m definitely in the same boat and it’s a real shame. So what can we do? Well to start with I want to make a bit of a list of people who want to be more active in the book blogging community. Then what we can all do to help is follow each other / reblog each other’s posts and add comments / ask and answer bookish questions / reply to people’s reviews and so on. A lot of us are feeling this way so hopefully by bringing us all together in one list it will make it a bit of a difference - if only because we can stop screaming into the void and actually respond to one another. 

And if we all have more interaction and discussion, that might encourage others to join in too. 

So here goes (and if I miss anyone I am super sorry, please just reblog and add yourself and anyone else you know in!). 

@theinkstainsblog

@bookavid

@books-and-cookies

@magic-in-every-book

@howlsmovinglibrary

@audreys-book-nook

@immzies-adventures-through-books

@thatgirlreads

@boneseasonofglass

[just-some-writer]

@hayleewritesaboutbooks

[hayleewritesaboutbooks]

The Not-So-Nice Goings-On at Victoria Lodge: Without Illustrations by the Author by Philip Ardagh

My Overall Thoughts - 4/5

Author Philip Ardagh writes silly captions for a collections of images from the 1891 issues of the The Girl’s Own Paper, a female-focused publication in the UK that ran from the 1880s through the 1950s. The publication was, I’m sure, a rather serious one. Ardagh, however, saw a very troublesome story evolving throughout these images and decided to write it all down. 

This bit of absurdest humor plays off of the Victorian Era illustations—the elegance, mystery, and drama—in the silliest way possible. It’s good for a chuckle. Given its nature, there’s nothing to really delve into in my normal subjects, character development, tone, structure, and the like. That’s not what this book is for. It’s a ten minute read that will likely bring a grin to your face, especially if you like Victorian-Era things.

Philip Ardagh writes children and middle grade fiction, as well as a few other of this type of book. Were I to see some of his in a bookstore, I would probably pick it up. 

[hayleewritesaboutbooks]

You know what would be nice, but also stupid? Waterproof books you can read in the shower.

My husband (via hayleewritesaboutbooks)

[wondrousworldbuilding]

I’ve gotten some really great reads off of random internet recommendations recently, and so I’d like to keep up that trend. Reblog, reply, or send in an ask to give me a recommendation with the book title and author and your brief but compelling review. I need some help building up my to-read pile for this year. 

ALSO if you run a booklr blog and feature any of these genres, please reblog and I would love to follow you. :)

My “general” interests:

FICTION

Fantasy (high or low)

Science Fiction (hard or soft)

Thriller/Mystery (especially of the historical variety)

Victorian-Era (setting or published)

Intellectually stimulating contemporary

Philosophically-driven literature from any time period

Modern-day stories with vibrant characters set it unfamiliar cultures or settings

Compelling stories featuring characters with mental illness

Up-and-coming female authors of any of the above genres +1

NON-FICTION

Theoretical/Quantum Physics

Physical Cosmology

Psychology

Neuroscience

Sociology

Linguistics

Philosophy

Early 20th Century Historical Non-Fiction (Pre 1950s)

British History

Compelling (auto)biographies of interesting people (especially the kind you don’t expect to be interesting)

Be my friend on Goodreads and let us stalk one another’s book shelves. 

[brynwrites]

Conveying Worldbuilding Without Exposition!

(As requested by both an anon and @my-words-are-light​)

One of the hardest parts of writing speculative fiction is presenting readers with a world that’s interesting and different from our own in a way that’s both immersive and understandable at the same time. 

Thankfully, there are a few techniques that can help you present worldbuilding information to your readers in a natural way, as well as many tricks to tweaking the presentation until it’s just right.

Four basic techniques:

1. The ignorant character. 

By introducing a character who doesn’t know about the aspects of the world building you’re trying to convey, you can let the ignorant character voice the questions the reader naturally wants to ask. Traditionally, this is seen when the protagonist or (another character) is brought into a new world, society, organization. In cases where that’s the natural outcome of the plot, and the character has a purpose in the story outside of simply asking questions, it can be pulled off just fine. But there’s another aspect to this which writers don’t often consider: 

Every character is your ignorant character. 

In a realistic world, no person knows everything. Someone will be behind on the news. Someone won’t know all the facts. Many, many someones won’t have studied a common part of their society simply because they aren’t large part of that fraction or don’t have the time for it.

Instead of inserting an ignorant character and creating a stiff and annoying piece of expository dialogue, find the character already existing in the story who doesn’t know about the thing being learned.

2. Conflicting opinions.

A fantastic way to convey detailed world building concepts is to have characters with conflicting viewpoints discuss or argue about them. Unless you’re working with a brainwashed society, every character should hold their own set of religious, political, and social beliefs. 

Examples of this kind of dialogue:

Keep reading

[theexiledoverlord]

I can’t belive I actually did it.

[metvmorqhoses]

ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you my post™

[sixpenceee]

Artist Russell Powell creates paintings that can’t be replicated. Russell – who works full time as a first-grade teacher in San Jose, California –  paints stunning realistic portraits on his palms first, and only then stamps them on paper. He has to paint quickly enough so that his medium doesn’t dry, but the stamping showcases Powell’s unique fingerprints, making the images truly one-of-a-kind. Via boredpanda.

You can view my art tag here: http://sixpenceee.com/tagged/art

[thewanderinguniverse-deactivate]

University Study on Sexism in Doctor Who

[bluedesertbruja]

“Fun fact, Rose’s Bechdal test score would have been in the 80′s were it not for the episodes Moffat wrote during her run.”

[thewanderinguniverse-deactivate]

Guys, really, you should click the link. 

[burningupasun]

“Ironically, the woman who is often propped up as proof that Steven Moffat is, in fact, not a sexist was one of the worst in terms of the Bechdel test and overall independence of thought and character. While maintaining an average speaking time, the episodes she is in only pass the Bechdel Test 57% of the time, and she herself only passes 42% of the time. She also never passes it on her own after Series 5. It is also important to note that River’s “passes” barely scraped by this test. Her passing conversations were always around three or four lines of exchange total, limited to one per episode, and were always in the presence of/with the Doctor.”

[stayhenry]

@ that one person who tried to convince me moffat was the least sexist writer and that his run was progressive for women