I’ll start by positing an hypothesis (H0), and its logical alternative (H1): H0: Epic fantasy is dominated, if not by male authors, then by a “masculine” aestheticism, ethos, and structural focus (it’s “the hero’s journey”, not the heroine’s). And, as with other male-dominated bastions “threatened” by egalitarianism (a.k.a. feminism and femininity), it systematically defends this [...]
Category Archive for ‘Thinkythoughts’ 
What fantasy authors do in their spare time, part #354:
Talk about deep stuff. Like, why are there Chosen Ones, and why aren’t more of them jerks? In private email, got to conversing with Sam Sykes, a fellow debut fantasy author of Tome of the Undergates, about the whole concept of the Chosen One and the trope’s not-so-subtle inherent message that birth matters more than [...]
Why is Oree Shoth blind?
A friend asked me this, so I’ve decided to answer here because I think it’s something others might like to know. The question was, why did I decide to make Oree Shoth, protagonist of The Broken Kingdoms, blind? Bear with me; this is gonna be another long one.
Comforting Futures, and Whether (or Why) We Should Avoid Them
Meant to post this yesterday, but was traveling for the weekend and got home exhausted. So this continues my one-year-long “tradition” of writing anti-oppression-related posts on MLK Day; it’s just late, sorry. I’m working on a dystopian short story right now. It’s tough going; those of you who follow me on Twitter have probably seen [...]
Women, Warriors, and Gender Policing
I’ve avoided addressing this topic for awhile now, mostly because I think it’s the kind of subject that someone, somewhere, could write a book on. (Actually there are a few.) And since I’m busy writing fantasy books, I don’t have the time. Still, I’ve noticed that a lot of readers of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms [...]
Character Study: Enefa, part one
I was hesitant to do a character study of this member of the Three, since her entire story is pretty much a spoiler for The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Still, 100K has been out for over 6 months now, and the mass market has been out for three, so I’m going to chance it. If you [...]
The Inheritance Trilogy That Could’ve Been*
Trilogy: A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. Per Wikipedia, page last modified 23 October 2010 at 11:14. I note this because I’ve gotten some questions lately about my choice to make the Inheritance [...]
The “harm” of political correctness: a rant
This has nothing to do with writing, though it is partly inspired by some stuff I’ve seen in the SF/F blogosphere lately. Sorry in advance for that. Heard today about the decline of the Tribune company, which once managed some of the most respected newspapers in the United States. There are probably a lot of [...]
Bridges and Centers
I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of “bridges” since reading this analysis of a prominent New York Times reporter’s writing on Africa, and his admitted tendency to center his stories on the non-African foreigners (usually Americans) present, rather than the people whom the stories are ostensibly about. Texas in Africa — correctly, IMO [...]
Reflections on finishing the Inheritance Trilogy
::whew:: I have now finished the first draft of The Kingdom of Gods. Deep breath taken; celebratory drink with friends accomplished; happy tears shed. There will be more revisions, of course — lots more; “writing is revising”, as they say. Having done this process twice now, here’s how it usually goes:
