C. J. Moran

I write because I have to

Category: Brain Soup

The Model of Friendship

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On April 28, 2021

In All Posts, Brain Soup, Lloyd Alexander

In The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha by Lloyd Alexander, Lukas (self-proclaimed town laze) pays a street magician for a trick. The magician dunks Lukas’s head in a tub of water, transporting him to a distant kingdom. There Lukas is crowned monarch—but everyone thinks he’s named Kasha.

The kingdom is a disaster. The threat of war looms, and selfish ministers scheme. However “Kasha” makes some friends: a strong-willed freedom fighter and an impudent versifier. Together, the three heroes stabilize the kingdom. Kasha might just be falling in love with the freedom fighter.

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Optimize Your Life! Now!

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On November 4, 2018

In All Posts, Brain Soup, Fantasy

Seems like we’re due for another blog post, considering I haven’t written one in 500 years.  After work, all I feel like doing is hanging out on the couch in plaid sweatpants.  On the weekends, I’m tied up thinking of obscure worldbuilding details for my alternate history fantasy novel (like the boardgame titles), narrating my dog’s internal monologue, and doing a spot of laundry.

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Lions, Tigers, and Audiobooks, oh my!

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On February 25, 2018

In All Posts, Brain Soup, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Keywords: Audiobooks, ebooks, learning styles

I have a friend who almost exclusively reads audiobooks.  Another listens to them while driving.  Plenty of people love audiobooks.  I don’t get it.  They have never held the same appeal for me.  Print has always seemed better: easy to find, and tangible.  Plus, old books have that distinctive smell (yes, I’m that weirdo).

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Stranger Things in Cynical Times

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On December 12, 2017

In All Posts, Brain Soup, Science Fiction, Science Fiction, TV shows

Netflix dropped Stranger Things 2 onto its streaming platform the weekend before Halloween, and I snapped up all nine episodes before Monday rolled around.  Yes, it’s that addictive.  Since then, I’ve been meaning to write something about it, but needed more time to formulate how to discuss it.  This time, I’m going to try something different from other blog posts.

Stranger Things 1 was magic.  It was a sheer joy to watch, with well-developed relationships and a gripping story, soaked in atmosphere.  Stranger Things 2 didn’t quite recapture that magic, which would have been a feat, though it was still great television.  To its credit, season 2 devoted time to plot elements that vexed some viewers from the first season, including justice for Barb.

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To Adverb or Not to Adverb

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On November 23, 2017

In All Posts, Brain Soup

That is the question.

Authors get a lot of conflicting advice about whether adverbs are good, bad, or the scourge of the earth.  Some top authors recommend against using any adverbs, while a number of bestsellers contain copious amounts, and the debate rages on.  Knowing how to use adverbs is about developing judgment to figure out how they effect the style of your piece.

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Beware the Anti-Pollyanna

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On November 12, 2017

In All Posts, Brain Soup

How does an author craft a memorable fictional character?  Authors have asked this question for hundreds of years.  Having an exciting plot is an asset to a story, but a story needs well-developed characters to make it exceptionally readable.  No one wants to read a book populated by flat or boring characters.

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The Four Day Sprint

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On October 24, 2017

In All Posts, Brain Soup, PKD, Science Fiction, Science Fiction

On October 12th, I got an e-mail announcing the Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards.  The e-mail included a call for genre short stories between 1,500 and 4,000 words with an early bird deadline of October 16th.  Winners would get their work published, receive prize money, and be paid to attend a conference.

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The Good Place: A Sitcom About Sitcoms

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On October 18, 2017

In All Posts, Brain Soup, TV shows

WARNING: Spoilers, if you have not watched up to the episode of The Good Place that aired on 10/12/17.

We could be doing things differently.

We live in the golden age of television.  Critics and viewers alike flock to ambitious, serialized dramas like Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Lost, Stranger Things, etc.  These shows have garnered the combination of enough praise and/or ratings to compete with more conventional dramas.  The golden age of television hasn’t been as kind to sitcoms.  Though ambitious, serialized shows like Arrested Development, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, and Community received critical praise and cult followings, they struggled with ratings and faced the threat of cancellation multiple times.

The Good Place is another one of these ambitious, serialized sitcoms.  It’s an amalgam of philosophy, heart, wackiness, food-based puns, disturbing clown paintings, and phenomenal acting and writing that’s just plain awesome.  Season two makes it increasingly clear that the show is also a deconstruction of sitcoms. 

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What’s the Point of Fantasy and Sci-Fi?

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On October 10, 2017

In All Posts, Brain Soup, Fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien, PKD, Science Fiction

You hear this sentiment from literature lovers all the time, but not in so many words.  They’re the ones who have read every modernist and post-modernist classic, though maybe they are lying about finishing Infinite Jest.  When I tell them I read fantasy and sci-fi, they respond with an ominous “oh,” and that look, half distain and half dismay.  Everyone knows, fantasy and sci-fi aren’t real literature, but poor pulpy substitutes.

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