I made an exception this past week for a pair of short stories (they could almost be called flash fiction) that Brandon Sanderson recommends for studying dialogue. Since the stories were fine examples of both storytelling and writing craft, I decided to share a review for them, along with a review for Sanderson’s contribution to this technical style.
Weekly Writing Update
Between finishing Verdon's Tragedy and making progress on Trust but Verify, I didn't have a lot of time for other writing this week.
Definition, Connotation, and the Function of Language
A long time ago, there were no dictionaries, no modern language associations, no Oxford standards. Language is a fundamentally organic system that has been evolving for thousands of years, as complex and intricate as something like the economy, and for most of its existence its rules have not been explicit.
Weekly Writing Update
A lot of writing happened this week. Most significant is probably the completion of A Matter of Facts. I both finished the rough draft and completed the revisions.
Blood Magic S2:E6: Contaminant, Part One Re-Release
In the original release post, I claimed that Kiluron and Doil needed more active roles, and that this should not have been a two-part episode. I disagree with my former self.
Weekly Writing Update
Finally, I had a relatively productive writing week. Not the kind of writing week where I feel like I could finish a full novel in a week or two, but the kind where I make good, steady progress on multiple stories.
Bleak House Review
In my review for A Christmas Carol I asserted that I will read most anything with “Dickens” on the cover, and this is a good example; I cannot recall any reason for it being on my reading list except for it being by Charles Dickens.
Weekly Writing Update
My schedule was very unpredictable and erratic this week, which led to not nearly as much writing as I would have liked.
Warfare on the Mediterranean in the Age of Sail Review
I learned an enormous amount about naval warfare in the age of sail, the tactics and techniques involved, how the evolution from oars to sails took place, and the geopolitical context behind conflicts that I only vaguely knew happened at all.
Blood Magic S3:E5: Blood and Dragons, Part One Release
In some ways, Blood and Dragons is the easy climax of the series, the obvious one. I’m hoping that I’m able to pull it off where that’s an advantage, and not a problem, because I’m really excited to finally be writing this pair of episodes.
IGC Publishing 