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A Day Like Any Other by Mavis Gallant Analysis
This story is interesting to me because of the year it was written. As a modern parent, I hear a lot about how ‘parents these days’ are overprotective of our children, interfering too much in their lives, stunting their emotional development. Yet this is a story of one such mother, and it dates from 1952. Have […]
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Little Red Riding Hood Fairytale History
“Little Red Riding Hood” is one of the best-known fairy tales. Depending on who tells it, this is a feminist story, or a patriarchal one. Little Red Riding Hood is told to children, but probably features often as a sexual fantasy. Elle avait vu le loup – “She’d seen the wolf” in French means she’s lost her virginity. There are also…
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Literary Dogs
I almost always hate when pets are described in books. Unless they’re like Vincent from Lost & integral to plot, I prefer to ignore them. Maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up w/ pets, but I mean – everyone likes their pet & they’re all the same, so why bother pointing them out? It’s like “flowers are […]
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How To Structure A Subplot
When most people talk about subplot they’re talking about a minor story which exists to bulk out the ‘main’ story. If the subplot doesn’t affect the main plot in any way, and simply shares setting/characters, we might be better off calling it a related short story. Alternative Opinion: Subplot Is Not A Useful Concept ‘Subplot’ […]
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The Influence Of King Arthur
Was King Arthur real? People have been hoping so for 1500 years. And how similar was he to the historical Jesus? See: In Search of the Historical Arthur by C. Dal Brittain, professor of medieval history and fantasy writer Another good place to start with a King Arthur story is with “The Legend of King […]
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How Appearances Deceive
Hilda Bewildered Pre-reading Questions Post-reading Discussion In Hilda Bewildered, list the ways in which outside appearances do not match what’s inside or underneath. Highlight below for some answers: The taxi that Hilda gets into looks like a Citroen from the 1960s, but once inside, the dashboard indicates that this is an ordinary modern vehicle. The Princess […]
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Buildings As Characters In Fiction
Sometimes in literature you’ll hear a setting interpreted in the same way as a character. What does this mean? When should you do this? See: How can setting be a character? This article focuses specifically on buildings as character. Most stories: Setting affects character. In some stories: Setting interacts with the characters. IS HOUSE AS CHARACTER A […]
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In order to critique it, we’re going to have to show it
I am always saddened to hear that some teacher or librarian is in trouble because of something I have written. They are the true heroes in my mind. But I have come to believe that if a book has power, it will always have the power to offend someone. I don’t want to write books […]
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Twin Tropes In Storytelling
Twins fascinate us. In stories, they may exist for this reason alone, but there are other reasons why twins feature prominently in stories, especially in stories for children.
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Naturalistic Animal Behaviour and Picturebooks
This week our local agricultural group sent an email containing the following information: Warning: Fox Attacks on Chickens. In the last few days, 9 chickens have been killed by foxes in Centre St and Daffodil St at 3 properties between 3am and 4am. The fox is able to climb fences 6m in height. Sid Drumstick lost his entire flock in one night. Chicken owners […]
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Ideology In Children’s Literature
Every novel, every painting, every work of art with meaning contains an ideology. Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it. It seems to me nonsense, in a period like our own, to think one can avoid writing of such […]
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Parasocial Relationships In Fiction and Life
Let’s talk about parasocial relationships (PSRs). Who do you think of when you think Person In A Parasocial Relationship? Is it, by any chance, an Annie Wilkes archetype cf. Stephen King’s Misery?
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Portal Fantasy and the Symbolism of Doors
Portal fantasy or portal speculative fiction is a story which transports the characters into a magical world via a gate/wardrobe/magical tree or anything else the author might imagine. As a child, this was my favourite kind of story, alongside the everyday humorous category of middle grade fiction written so well by Beverly Cleary.
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Notes On The Hero From Vogler
If you’re reading something and you’re not sure who the hero is, it’s the character who changes the most. [But this is a little complicated.] The hero is usually the most active one in the story. A hero springs into action with the arrival of some outside force — that includes the reluctant heroes. Heroes […]
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Content We Crave
What do you want from a story? How does this differ over time? What do you think other people want from their stories? When writing your own, which human cravings are you catering to? Overweening pride, lust, natural disaster, sheer avarice, all varieties of personal weirdness, terrible things done by polite and decent people — […]
