By Loring Slivinski 10/9/2020 The first signs of our impending doom appeared on the day of the Juniper Festival, when I was just fifteen summers old. It was one of five holidays that the island of East Thera, my home, celebrated throughout the year. Each holiday had its own purpose, songs, and rituals. I hoped … Continue reading The Birth of a Dragon
The Legend of the Beginning Part 1: The Dragons
Some might see me as a writer, but in all honesty I'm an explorer. I don't make this stuff up, I find it by wandering the universe looking for lost civilizations. I recently stumbled across an interesting planet called Atum. I've been reading through scrolls I've found in the long-dead and decayed cities there, and thought … Continue reading The Legend of the Beginning Part 1: The Dragons
Maiden, Mother, Crone
As I've mentioned in a previous post, authors often use archetypes to help readers connect with their characters. These are universal, symbolic patterns, that, according to Wikipedia, "serve to relate to and identify with the characters and the situation, both socially and culturally." In researching archetypes that might help readers to better identify with the … Continue reading Maiden, Mother, Crone
Embracing the process
The hardest thing about being a creative person is subjectivity. You pour your entire soul into a piece of work; a few people will love it, many will be indifferent, and others will take your submission as an invitation to make you feel like a wart on a worm in the eye of a newt. … Continue reading Embracing the process
Finding Inspiration in the Weird
As a writer, I'm always looking for inspiration. Fortunately, Mother Nature is a wonderful muse, especially when she presents us with creatures just as wondrous as any the most imaginative among us could invent! Aye Aye Take for example, the Aye Aye, cutest critter in the animal kingdom. OK...maybe not so cute. In fact, I'd … Continue reading Finding Inspiration in the Weird
Why writing is like playing poker
Photo by me Have you ever had one of those dreams where you are supposed to be doing something, but you discover that you've completely forgotten how to do it? I had a lot of marching band dreams like that: I'm in the middle of the field with the rest of the band, and I'm … Continue reading Why writing is like playing poker
Cats, cats, and more cats!!!
I like big cats, and I cannot lie. Actually, not just big cats. Little tiny cats who should be much bigger (like my Panda Bear, pictured below), weird cats, hissy cats, cuddly cats, purry cats, grumpy cats, cute little kitten cats...pretty much anything feline. Panda Bear And I'm not alone - humans have been engaged … Continue reading Cats, cats, and more cats!!!
On Archetypes: The Trickster
So, what is it that makes a story "pop"? Stories that speak directly to the human experience, with characters and themes that are familiar to us all tend to be the ones to capture our hearts and give us "all the feels." How do authors achieve this? Often, they use something called an archetype: A … Continue reading On Archetypes: The Trickster
A Sampling of Monsters (Or: Five Mythological Beings I Hope You Never Meet)
Baba Yaga - Slavic Images via Shutterstock The Baba Yaga is a common mythologic figure in Russia. She's the quintessential witch - she's ugly, flies through the air, has a long gross nose, lives in a hut, and eats people who she doesn't like. What's not to love? Her nose is so long -- … Continue reading A Sampling of Monsters (Or: Five Mythological Beings I Hope You Never Meet)
The Seeing of Things: Living in a Mythological World
This is the excerpt for your very first post.
Loring Slivinski, Author 