
"Is perfectionism okay?"
— Asked on Quora (Perfectionism)
Sure! But only if you do it exactly right.
— Leonard
— Asked on Quora (Perfectionism)
— Leonard
The first full-length novel I ever read was The Hobbit, followed soon after by the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The books became a formative part of my childhood, even if I did give up on trying to read the Silmarillion.
As something of a Tolkien fan, it hasn't es…
— Asked on Facebook (AmWritingFantasy)
— Asked on Quora (Shakespeare Plays, William Shakespeare, English Literature, Literature)
So here's something that feels kind of weird.
I grew up thinking I didn't like horror stories because, but it turns out that was because during most of my childhood, "horror" w…
— Asked on Quora (Universal Healthcare, Healthcare Policy, Health Insurance, The United States of America)
— Asked by Anat Eliraz
— Asked on Facebook (Fantasy-Faction - Fantasy and Science Fiction Book Discussion)
— Asked on Quora (Supervillains, Fiction Writing, Villains, Heroes, Fiction, Comics (narrative art), Fictional Characters)
— Leonard
— Asked on Quora (Super Power (ability), Superpowers (special powers), Human Behavior, Survey Question)
Well, since you asked, yes: I do indeed have a super power. I was gifted with th…
Time for a visit to Ye Auld Social Media Mailbag.
If you're looking for a broad psychological reason: why do amusement parks build roller-coasters? I mean, all those curves and hills and loop…
We took the long way home from our 4th-of-July weekend at InConJunction--handling things we'd been putting off until we'd reached full vaccination status--but we're finally back to relieve our house-sitter, and we had a great time.
Because we launched our first book in October of 2020, InConJunctio…
So I've noticed a thing since I started joining reading groups: Even the most beloved books have a lot people who hate them passionately.
When someone comes out and declares a book I consider sociopathic rubbish to be a masterpiece, it's hard not to think of it as a personal attack.
When someone…
Every time a new sequel for a beloved franchise hits the theaters a new wave of angry hysteria hits the Interwebs. The same things happens when the film adaptation of a beloved set of books arrives. No matter how it turns out, someone somewhere is going to be…
I love a good charlatan. It doesn't take a deep analysis of my work to notice that. I've got a soft spot for fictional con-artists like Harold Hill, Bugs Bunny, or the Hugh Jackman version of P.T. Barnum. Yet somehow I can't abide a liar in the real world. Counterintuitive, yes, but it's hardly the…
Once upon a time, the greatest and most advanced super-power in the world built a mighty wall and set up strict laws to keep out uncivilized foreigners who threatened its way of life.
Outside the wall, shut off from becoming part of the super-power's shining dream, the rest of the world busied it…
Reconciling the Dual Nature of Player Characters
The 1980's was one long journey down the road from pawn toward protagonist for the player characters in RPGs. The novelty of controlling a pawn as he crawled through mazes, battling monsters and collecting loot, was wearing off. Jaded players wante…
Reconciling the Dual Nature of Player Characters
Nameless, faceless, identical -- pawns exist to be sacrificed on the chess board. Growing emotionally attached to your playing pieces, struggling to keep them instead of staying focused on which ones to give up in order to move yourself close…
Much ink, both virtual and real, has been spilled on the subject of how important it is for a GM, in his limitless power,…