The Ransacked Library @theransackedlibrary - Tumblr Blog

A brief look at choices and consequences in The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin

#the pendragon cycle #rise of the merlin #Charis #Taliesin #morgain #character analysis

Many people are deeply divided in America these days. We silo ourselves off into echo chambers for a variety of reasons, but the result is the same: my truth rather than the truth. When you have a civil conversation with someone of an opposing viewpoint, one of two things happens: you’ll either find holes in the opinions you held and reassess to get closer to the truth or you’ll gain a deeper understanding of what backs your opinions by having to clearly articulate them against pushback.

As storytellers, we should always endeavour to find the truth in the story. It might not be pretty and it might make us uncomfortable, but if we put pen to paper it’s our duty to find the truth in those words. To do that, we have to talk to each other. We can’t give into violence and anger.

Read the full article here.

#writing #Charlie Kirk #free speech

What you should know about the world you're creating.

Warning: Before we start, there will be a range of small to major spoilers for the following:

The Blacklist

The Americans

Star Wars: A New Hope

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

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It’s easy to think of worldbuilding as something only required for a fantasy or sci-fi piece with vast new landscapes, unknown cultures, and all the moving pieces needed to make it feel real. And, yes. Those genres 100% need a lot of work to build up a world from scratch, but there’s plenty of worldbuilding to be done in other genres as well.

There are two (very highlevel) buckets of worldbuilding:

Where you build a world different than this one (past or present)

Where you use our world as a foundation to construct your story atop of

In both cases, you need a set of rules (or boundaries) that you, as the writer, will live by while playing in that world’s sandbox. It’s a pact you make with the reader/viewer that sets expectations. Break those and you’ll break trust.

Read More on Substack.

#writing #worldbuilding #writing tips #the blacklist #the americans #star wars a new hope #harry potter and the sorcerer's stone

I'm counting it a successful weekend as I lob more articles into the to be edited folder so that I can actually start posting them regularly.

#writing #let's gooooooooo

It’s that time to play ‘is it really worldbuilding or just procrastination’ again. Must be a day that ends in Y.

#writing #worldbuilding

Setting the Stakes

Where the Fantastic Four Movie Got it Right

I don’t go to the movies much anymore, and that’s disappointing because visual media is my brand of storytelling. I used to love going with a group of friends to watch the big blockbuster and shut the rest of the world out for an intriguing story that would leave my mind spinning through all of the best parts for days after. In the last few years, I just don’t find most of those stories being told on the big screen worth the 2.5+ hour runtime and all the money you end up shelling out while you’re there. The flat characters and safe choices that result in an unimpressed audience certainly isn’t limited to film, but at least if it’s streaming on your TV at home there’s the option to pause the show while paying $.20 rather than $5 for a bottle of water.

Despite my running frustrations with Marvel and their movies (which I used to adore as a rule), I’d heard decent reviews on the new Fantastic Four movie from a collection of YouTuber comic fans that had all but given up hope on the MCU. The bar felt low, but with reviews that included no overt politics, characters leaning into their strengths rather than being stepping stones for others, and a cast that brought their A Game, I decided to give it a try.

And you know what? It was excellent.

Read More on Substack

Where the Fantastic Four Movie Got it Right

#the fantastic four #the fantastic four first steps #movie review #writing advice #writing #marvel

Me (writing an article about earned endings): I need one more insanely stupid death to round these examples out...

Staring me in the face:

Yep. That'll do it. Still bitter.

#Logan Echolls #you deserved so much better

doctor--reid

it would be so cool if when i wanted to write i could just write. that would be awesome. unfortunately, that is not the case and i am suffering because i have approximately 25 ideas in my brain at all times and only 2 of them have words on the page