Author: harmamae
-
Out of the Silent Planet Awoke My Imagination – Let It Awake Yours Too
I’ve been meaning to read Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis for a long time, ever since I discovered Lewis really did write fiction besides the Chronicles of Narnia. Now that I have I can’t resist blogging about it, because it excited me so much to find out how good it was. I…
-
A Few Classics That Are Not Hard to Read
Classics are usually heavy reading. Even if they’re short, the language is unfamiliar enough that they take a long time to get through. But every once in a while you find one that surprises you, and here are three that surprised me. Note: I’m not including any classics described as ‘children’s literature’ in this list.…
-
More White Male Protagonists in Scorsese’s Silence
I went to see Martin Scorsese’s Silence the other day and was curious about others’ reactions to it, especially considering the way it discusses Christian faith (and I am a Christian). Reactions to the movie were not hard to find, but scattered among these were many who pointed out Scorsese had made another movie about…
-
On Following Your Dreams in 2017
We’re told we should either pursue our dreams at all costs, or quit dreaming and face reality. It’s a new year now–what should we actually do? Open your eyes and take a look around. The truth is, many people do make a living doing what they love, and yes, this even includes the arts. Somehow…
-
First Draft Depression
I’m doing NaNoWriMo this month–National November Writing Months–that thing where you try to write a 50 000-word novel in a month. It’s good to write a full novel again. But it also reminds me how excruciating the process of creation actually is. The minute you try put that thing in your head down on…
-
No, Let’s Talk About Being a Millennial
“Rhiannon’s life, compared with mine, seems very wobbly. She can never feel quite safe in her home or work; she is generally anxious and suffers from what her mum calls “impending doom scenarios”. … I’m not surprised. I’m only surprised by her and her friends’ general determination and resilience, and their lack of animosity towards…
-
Do People Fall in Love Out of Gratitude?
What’s going on here? A romance novel is seriously making the hero fall for a girl simply because she adored him first? “[T]hough Henry was now sincerely attached to her, though he felt and delighted in all the excellencies of her character and truly loved her society, I must confess that his affection originated in…
-
2015’s Top Posts at Stories and Stuff
I didn’t blog a ton, but I did get a few good posts out about stories and writing! So here are my best posts (judged purely on the basis of their popularity with the internet!) from this year: In Jane Austen, Nice Guys Finish First “Authors can easily write their ‘nice guys’ as Mary Sues. I’ve read…
-
Things I Learned About Love in 2015
Things I learned about love in 2015: I can fall in love. I used to wonder if I could. Then this year happened. Multiple times, sometimes at the drop of a hat, which is not reassuring because: Love is blind. When you’re in love even serious red flags don’t look like flaws at all. When you…
-
Worldview and Writing
I thought I left off my last post on a rather hopeful note. Turns out people start worrying the minute you acknowledge the world is not a bed of roses, even though we all agreed on that point millennia ago. I think it’s just facing the fact that life is just a precarious teeter on the…
Hmm... 