Blog Entries from Bone2pick

  1. Prose versus Story: The Great Divide

    In my first blog post I explained that, when reading literature, I value story over prose. I then compared my appraisal of those two facets of fiction with how I would prioritize a school’s campus against its student body and faculty — with the campus representing prose, and the students and faculty representing story. Using that analogy, I stated that while I care about campus quality, and believe I’m fully capable of appreciating beautifully and brilliantly constructed schoolhouses, the...
  2. “Important” Supporting Characters

    According to the almighty Wikipedia, a supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or cameo appearance. That’s an adequate definition in my opinion. It does, though, beg a couple of questions. For starters, what is a reasonable standard or indicator for considering a character “important to the...
  3. Grimdark My Way

    What exactly is the grimdark genre, and why is it so awesome? Well, I imagine that once I answer the first question, the answer to the second will instantly become apparent. In case it needs to be stated, my conceptualization of the fabulously ferocious grimdark genre is merely that — mine. Others will disagree, and they’ll likely (hopefully) have thoughtful reasons for doing so. This disclaimer will hold true for most, if not all, of my blog posts going forward. With that out of the...
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  4. Books Read in 2022

    Bolded titles were my favorite (4.5 or 5 star) reads of the year. Some of the books, such as the two from H.G. Wells, could be considered outside the genres where I’ve placed them. I did my best. :) Fantasy (14) The Darkness That Comes Before, R. Scott Bakker At the Earth’s Core, Edgar Rice Burroughs Traitor’s Blade, Sebastien de Castell Tigerheart, Peter David Beyond Redemption, Michael R. Fletcher Smoke and Stone, Michael R. Fletcher The Grey Bastards, Jonathan French The King...
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  5. Character, Plot, & Theme

    Recently in a thread on this forum, a member put forward two potential “driving forces” of a story (plot & character) to suggest where the greatest share of a writer’s focus should be. I then chimed in to say that I subscribe to a theory of three potential driving forces, those being: character, plot, and theme. And in this post I’ll go into more detail about those three, as well as what I view as their hybrids. (1) Plot-driven: I opted to start with plot because I suspect it’s the most...
  6. Liker of Language

    A good many avid readers and writers proudly, and often, identify themselves as “lovers of language.” Lovers of the written word. Of prose. It’s an understandable sentiment, though I am not in that camp. I am, if you will, a “liker of language.” I appreciate it. I value it. But it’s not where my heart is. It’s not my first priority as a writer or reader. I’m a lover of narrative. Of stories. Of characters, conflict, themes, and perfectly delivered resolutions. That’s ultimately...
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