thomasedmund - Tumblr blog

[thomasedmund]

(ARC) Review: In Those Fading Stars

If you’re a Sci-Fi ‘concept person’ then this is the book for you. Not concept as in “I have the concept of a plan”, but if you love crazy, off-the-wall and original thinking then this it the sort of short story collection you’ll want to get amongst. While highly variable in tone, there is a consistent thread of bleakness in these stories, the very first one perhaps the most heartbreaking.…

[thomasedmund]

Weekly Writing Roundup 16.9.2024

I’ve been a little busy this week so just rushing through my roundup today! I actually really like this video – because its touching on a pretty relevant topic and kinda scratching through the surface more than most. So-called Morally Good heroes I do think had fallen out of fashion for quite a while, it was actually 2012 Avengers with the “don’t you think thats a bit old-fashioned’ that to me…

[thomasedmund]

On Writing (Tropes): A Rant about Multiverses

So we all know that writing (including screen) has fads and trends: but it seems to me that there can be a strange occurrence – usually more towards screenwriting, when sometimes a trope that is ‘in’ is not always due to its massive popularity but rather some sort of convergent process where everyone is doing X despite little demand for it. In case it isn’t obvious from the title I feel…

[thomasedmund]

Weekly Writing Roundup 7.9.2024

Let’s see,, today we are talking about: Midpoints, (bloated) Hollywood endings, and some snarky snarky from Jenna Moreci The Midpoint (Secrets of Story Structure, Pt. 7 of 12) Or as I like to call it “the saggy middle” Act 2 is tough in novels and Weiland is an expert in story structure. Interesting that often a problem with endings comes from problems with beginnings or not connecting them…

[thomasedmund]

On Writing and AI: Nanowrimo

https://nanowrimo.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/29933455931412-What-is-NaNoWriMo-s-position-on-Artificial-Intelligence-AI I have to say this was NOT a topic I expected to be posting (ranting) about today, but if anything the past 8-10 years have taught me is that you can’t make this stuff up. First up some general rants I have to confess I don’t actually like Nanowrimo – if anything the notion…

[thomasedmund]

Weekly Writing Roundup 2.9.2024

This week – an article on short story submissions, Tolkien vs TV series, and a few laughs Publishing Advice from a Serial Submitter to Literary Magazines Bit of an eye opener above – for me I have recently found it to be quite a struggle trying to balance or rather make-sense-of different writing motivations. I’m actually enjoying Rings of Power Season 2 – although I understand what NerdWriter…

[thomasedmund]

(ARC) Review: The Mole People

The Mole people is quite hard to review – but not because there is anything wrong with the book, its just a relatively straightforward solid piece of writing. The structure is a little bold and interesting: the first half is predominantly about the MC and their mental health struggles, before we even get to the ‘Mole People.’ However this works well as it helps build attachment and grounding for…

[thomasedmund]

Weekly Writing Review: 24.8.2024

This week: The trope of secret identities, KM Weiland on Theme, character vulnerability over likability, and how to flesh out ‘lean’ manuscripts. This is an interesting one to me because I am NOT a fan of secret identity plotlines. Just to be clear I have no problem with the trope per se, its when issues with the secret double life become a key focus of a (usually) superhero story. I was beyond…

[thomasedmund]

Weekly Writing Roundup: 19.8.2024

This week: A bit on Non-Fiction, P.O.V., a thought on Imposter Syndrome, Is It a Book? 5 Ways to Test Your Nonfiction Book Idea I don’t usually post about Non-Fiction (even though its 50% or even more of what I read ??) but above is a nice post on topic. Choosing Story Perspective: Direct Versus Indirect POV P.O.V. is so interesting to me, because while the ‘categories’ are quite simple and…

[thomasedmund]

(ARC) Review: The Unwelcome

Is evil real? Is it a metaphor for the bad things people do or does it prowl the earth like a living, breathing entity that possesses the souls of vulnerable humans? The Unwelcomed begins with the arrival of a young Radcliffe student at the office of renowned psychotherapist, Dr. Morton Prince. Pursued by a city marshal hellbent on solving the murder of two infants strangled by her father, Clara…

[thomasedmund]

A Deepish Dive into Supernatural

So there are quite a few posts that I’ve been procrastinating on this year – and talking about Supernatural is one of them For the youths out there Supernatural started in the dark ages of 2005 which was not only a time of broadcast television, its was also a bit of a strange time where Aotearoa/NZ was notably behind US releases (AND often NZ channels made weird choices like holding off on…

[thomasedmund]

Meekly Weekly Writing Roundup 10.8.2024

Yeah right you know its: I found this to be an interesting video – largely because I feel a certain relatability to Blomkamp – not because I’m a talented directed, but more that Blomkamp seems a very “ideas” strong sci-fi type creator. Its a familiar feeling to have the most epic sci-fi ideas but not the plan to develop full length material. Something I noted in the video is that Blomkamp’s…

[thomasedmund]

Review: WolvePool (DeadPool and Wolverine) with a touch of spoilery overanalysis

link to past overanalysis So anyone familiar with my blog for a long time will know that I love wolverine and love Jackman’s depiction over the years. All all honesty I’d accepted Logan as the end of the character and Jackman playing him (it was tough tbh) – so it was with quite a bit of surprise when I saw an early trailer for Deadpool and Wolverine. Given todays not only spoilery and but also…

[thomasedmund]

On Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma

Oh the Dilemma’s you’ll face (this post is taking ages to write, not because its meticulous and full of words, but because this topic is requiring a lot of thinking) In my recent post On Writers: The Problem with Power I promised I was going to review/riff on Dederer’s Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma. A Claim I semi-regret now, not because the book was bad or not worthy of a discussion, but rather…

[thomasedmund]

(ARC) Review: The Ocean Hugs Hard

“hugs” might not be the strongest eldritch horror/mystery evoking verb here Confession: I don’t usually pay much attention to blurbs, and instead rely many on my own ‘vibes’ of whether to pick up a book, however this byline of The Ocean Hugs Hard is perfect: “THE OCEAN HUGS HARD is a mystery with the salty whiff of the ocean, a tinge of nostalgia, and a dollop of mind-shattering eldritch…

[thomasedmund]

Weekly (maybe more like Monthly) Writing Round up 28.7.2024

Phew – its been a wee while since I’ve posted due to being on holiday (and also deciding against my better judgement to yeet myself down a slope and land on my arse – sprains are very painful) So not much order to this one – just throwing out what I’ve come across lately… I confess for a Fantasy lover I am not very learned about sub-genres. I’m not so sure I 100% This is a bit of a weakness of…

[thomasedmund]

On Writers: The Problem with Power

First a brief rant. If you’re anything like me you’ve been somewhat rocked by the news about Neil Gaiman (a man who I’d always though of as the Dave Grohl of writing – however I’ve also recently learned that Grohl and the Foo Fighters have some problematic elements too so go figure) being a disturbing Sex Offender at worst and a likely Sex Pest at best. Even though I’ve long come to terms with…