Revisiting Cinefex (14): The Right Stuff, Brainstorm, Twilight Zone

Watch your fingers - the front cover of Cinefex #14 features a sizzling still of John Glenn's Friendship 7 capsule experiencing re-entry in Philip Kaufman's 1983 film The Right Stuff. The capsule's a model and the flames are backlit nitrogen gas, but it still looks like hot stuff. The inside front cover shows a helicopter … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (14): The Right Stuff, Brainstorm, Twilight Zone

The DNA of Storytelling

I blame writer and storyteller Damien Walter for setting me off on this train of thought. In his blog post Two. four. Seven. More. How many stories are there? he discusses various theories on the reduction of narrative to its basic building blocks. Paulo Coelho reckons there are four primal plots, Aristotle says two and … Continue reading The DNA of Storytelling

Revisiting Cinefex (13): Return of the Jedi

I reckon the front cover of Cinefex issue #13 must have shot off the press like a rocket, featuring as it does a dynamic still of the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy (AKA that most famous of pirate ships, the Millennium Falcon) speeding through the innards of the second Death Star. Open the … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (13): Return of the Jedi

“50 Words For Snow” by Kate Bush

I happen to believe that, as well as being an enduring and popular singer/songwriter, not to mention my all-time favourite recording artist, Kate is also a fantasy author. Sounds crazy? Let me explain. Kate Bush sprang to the attention of both the public and yours truly with her first single, Wuthering Heights, in 1978. In … Continue reading “50 Words For Snow” by Kate Bush

Revisiting Cinefex (12): Something Wicked, Stop-Motion and Dream Quest

There's a creepy beauty on the cover of Cinefex #12, but there's a fair chance you won't recognise her. She's the Dust Witch from the all-but-forgotten 1983 Disney film Something Wicked This Way Comes. On the inside cover is a location shot of Dark's Pandemonium Carnival from the same movie. The main body of the … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (12): Something Wicked, Stop-Motion and Dream Quest

“Reamde” by Neal Stephenson

I first stumbled upon Neal Stephenson (not the man himself, you understand) in my local library. I was browsing for something new that I could really get my teeth into, preferably by an author I hadn't read before, when I chanced on Cryptonomicon. I read the blurb and decided it fitted the bill. I borrowed … Continue reading “Reamde” by Neal Stephenson

Goodbye Word, Hello Scrivener

Writing's all about the words. It doesn't much matter what tools you use, just as long as you get the right words in the right places. I used to write with pen and paper, and sometimes still do. I've consigned the typewriters - both manual and electronic - to the scrapheap. These days I'm most … Continue reading Goodbye Word, Hello Scrivener

Revisiting Cinefex (11): ET and Robert Swarthe

The character on the front of Cinefex #11 owns one of the most famous faces of the 1980s - that's remarkable, considering he's a special effect. He's so famous I don't even need to tell you his name. His spaceship features on #11's inside cover, sitting on a full-scale woodland clearing set, and you can … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (11): ET and Robert Swarthe

Revisiting Cinefex (10): Poltergeist and Firefox

The cover of Cinefex #10 knows what scares you: it's the Hallway Beast from Tobe Hooper's 1982 horror film Poltergeist. Turn the page and you'll find a still from Clint Eastwood's high-tech thriller Firefox, showing the full-scale MiG-31 aircraft being stolen from its Russian hangar. There are two articles in this issue, spanning the regular … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (10): Poltergeist and Firefox

Nobody Knows Anything About Publishing

The publishing arena can be a scary place for a writer. Bestseller trends come and go. This genre's in, now this genre's out. Publishing companies rise and fall, merge and compete. The very medium by which people consume stories continues to evolve, at an ever-increasing pace. Everything changes, all the time. Whenever I need to … Continue reading Nobody Knows Anything About Publishing