Jason Letts's Blog, page 6

Out-Pottering J.K. Rowling

For those of us who write young adult fantasy, no figure looms larger in our minds than the queen herself, Ms. J.K. Rowling. Writers have always fantasized about the fame and fortune that comes with a wildly successful fantasy series, but now that towering pedestal not only comes with those perks, there's company as well. In the writing game, only the immortality of Shakespeare can top her, and I'm willing to bet more than a few authors would willingly sacrifice that for her kind of renown.

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My Lost Rundown

The show's over. That's it. Watching an episode a day for the past several months, I tore through all six seasons, right up until the final curtain. So what did I get for my massive investment of time? What can I make out of this stunningly intricate and meticulously detailed story? Let's find out. If you haven't finished the show, I recommend you stop and turn back here. If you've watched it all though, check your impressions against mine and let me know how we stack up. How about we kick...

The Reader's Bill of Rights (Pt. 2)

Continuing from last week, here are amendments 6-10!

The 6th Amendment: The Right to Anonymity for Beautiful Characters

What does it mean to read about or write a character who is beautiful in a book? Certainly, it must mean something very different than a beautiful character who appears in a movie, a comic, or on a stage. After all, the printed word is the one medium in which the only images assembled form within the mind of the reader. Therefore, while your attractive character may have a...

July Gift Card Giveaway!

In honor of my favorite month, every single person who purchases a copy of Powerless: The Synthesis from either Amazon.com or Smashwords before the end of July is eligible to win a $20 Amazon gift card! All you have to do is make a post here declaring you've bought it, and your name will be put in the drawing. If your name is drawn, you'll just have to answer a simple question confirming you've bought it and then I'll fork it over. It's that easy! Don't forget to join the blog to the right...

The Reader's Bill of Rights (Pt. 1)

Striving for fiction that stretches the known bounds of creativity and entertainment, writers and readers of fantasy must hereby cast off the shackles that have long crippled storytellers and left them open to mockery and derision. By our wallets, our mouths, and our eyes, let us choose to support those artisans who cast off the tired old clichés and reject the facile storylines that have continually plague us. For the writers toiling on their next masterpiece and the readers hungry for...

Fighting Over The Da Vinci Code

In case you couldn't tell, I have lots of opinions, strong opinions I'm not afraid to voice and fight over. But usually the fighting turns out to be thoughtful arguments over the merits of a story, and not an angry altercation in the back of a movie theater, but, as you'll see, those things happen too.

After all, books and stories are something worth getting up in arms about. Convictions about what we appreciate in a story and our logic about why certain elements did or didn't work can run as ...

The Great Orphanage of Fantasy Literature

It takes a sophisticated reader to see the omissions in a story and understand how they make as startling an impact as the flashy spectacles and dazzling effects. Beyond their valor and courage, their heart and the soul, the heroes and heroines of many of our most popular stories are shaped by the same notable absence: they have no parents.

It couldn't be easier to make a list for this category. Harry Potter. Lyra Belacqua. Luke Skywalker. Frodo Baggins. Luke Skywalker. Tom Sawyer. Link from T...

Most Creative Super Power Contest!

Back when X-Men 2 came out in theaters, I had a roommate by the name of Tom. He was an insomniac who would stay up all night playing online computer games and chugging 2-liter bottles of Coke. I asked him what he would choose if he could have any super power, and he replied without hesitation: My super power would be "infinite bladder." And in that spirit, I am proud to announce the

Most Creative Super Power Contest!

The rules are simple: Dig deep into your noggin, dredge out the most...

Welcome to Powerless!

This series stands by the one true pillar of the fantasy genre, the reason we keep coming back to uncork our imaginations and let the most outrageous possibilities sweep us away. For page after page of the unbelievable, the absurd, and the downright crazy, we read tales of the fantastic because of what it says to us about being wholly and fallibly human.

Every instance of fantasy in every form of narrative we imbibe works best when it coalesces and revolutionizes essential human experiences...