Matthew D. Ryan's Blog, page 33

Would You Want to be a Vampire? Part One: The Traditional Vampire

With the popularity of vampires among society today, this actually becomes a question worth asking. Once upon a time, most people would have answered with a resounding “No!” Why, you might ask? Let’s discuss that. At that point in time, humanity’s definition of a vampire was very different than it is today. Once upon a [...]

Book Review: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

“The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe,” by C.S. Lewis is probably the most famous of the books of the Chronicles of Narnia. Although it is listed as book two in the series because the events that take place within it follow the events that take place in “The Magician’s Nephew” it was actually written [...]

Fantasy Literature: Short Stories vs. The Novel

The art of writing a short story is distinctly different from writing a novel. There is far less “room” in a short story than a novel; you must make every word count, particularly if you are up against a tight word count. The story must be unified by a single theme or over-arching idea; there [...]

Book Review: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew

I’ve decided to reread the entire “Chronicles of Narnia” series by C.S. Lewis beginning with the first book in the series: “The Magician’s Nephew.” I read the series several years ago, but remember only highlights. I never read the series as a child, only as an adult. Anyway, I completed this book in three days. [...]

Blogging: Is There Such a Thing as Posting Too Often?

I run a blog (this one, of course) and try to post to it at least twice a week, sometimes three times. There are a number of blogs that post far more often. Some five times a week; others, even several times a day. My purpose for blogging is to gain exposure for my writing. [...]

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It’s Christmas Eve. Pretty much my favorite time of the year (excepting maybe Thanksgiving). Time to hang out, light candles, listen to endless Christmas Music, and decorate the Christmas Tree. Although I briefly considered doing a monster mishmash of a vampire Santa, I decided against it–in honor of the holiday there will be no regular [...]

Movie Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (pt. I)

I’ve always been a big fan of J.R.R. Tolkien. I read “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” for the first time when I was like nine or something. They were the first real series I ever read. I enjoyed Peter Jackson’s movie adaptations of “The Lord of the Rings” considerably, so I had [...]

Fantasy Literature: Writing and Revision: When is too much?

Writing fantasy literature, or any kind of literature, is hard work. And as it is often said, the secret of writing consists of “Revision. Revision. And Revision.” Any piece of original writing can be improved with revision. No piece of writing will come out perfect on the first draft, that’s a fact. The human brain [...]

Winner of Blurb Blitz Blog Tour Announced

I am pleased to announce the winner of my recent blurb blitz blog tour. It is MomJane for her post on Tamaria Soana on December 5th. She has won a collection of Nosferatu metal miniatures. Congratulations. And thanks for participating. Filed under: Awards, Fantasy Literature, Vampires Tagged: blurb blitz blog tour, Drasmyr, Fantasy literature, prize, [...]

Fantasy Literature: Writing Groups: On the Web or Face to Face?

So you want to be a fantasy writer? Good. The two most important rules of writing are: 1) write, and 2) read. Do lots and lots of both, as often as you can. The third rule is 3) join a writing group. Nowadays, anyone can be part of a writing group of some kind. The [...]