Andrew Ferguson
Children's/YA Author
Archives
6 Things I’ve Learned About Writing Fiction
Posted on May 28, 2021 Leave a Comment
Today I’ve decided to share a brief selection of some of the lessons I’ve learned over the years which I think has helped to make me a better writer.
Movie Review: Spider-Man Homecoming
Posted on May 27, 2021 Leave a Comment
I finally did see Homecoming at the end of 2018 when my wife got me the DVD and it was just the breath of fresh air I needed to make me love Spider-Man again.
6 Terrible Bad Guy Lines From the Big Screen
Posted on May 26, 2021 Leave a Comment
This is a list of lame lines of dialogue delivered by villains. Lines that were probably meant to sound cool and sinister but failed to produce quite the right effect.
Pants, Plants and Plans: A Beginner’s Guide
Posted on April 17, 2021 Leave a Comment
If you’re struggling with whatever method comes naturally to you, it may be time to try a different approach. And so, what follows is my own concise analysis of each approach, comparing pros and cons as evenly as I can.
Theme: The Truth Behind the Tale
Posted on April 12, 2021 Leave a Comment
What fundamental truth(s) are you conveying in your idle fantasy? What aspects of real life are you exploring? And equally as important, how are you conveying that truth?
Should You Use Profanity in Your Story?
Posted on March 16, 2021 Leave a Comment
This all got me thinking about the use of profanity in fiction. We authors walk a fine line between realism and rudeness, especially when it comes to writing dialogue. Where do you draw the line?
Well… it depends.
50 Quotes About Fiction
Posted on March 9, 2021 Leave a Comment
1. “I like telling stories.” — Hunter Parrish
2. “All fiction has to have a certain amount of truth in it to be powerful.” — George R.R. Martin
3. “Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity.” — GK Chesterton
Fiction: Reality Refined
Posted on March 5, 2021 Leave a Comment
There are two kinds of story in this world. Those that are not at all true to life and therefore are completely unsatisfactory, and those that create the illusion of being true to life but, in fact, are not. Very few stories (even those meticulously and faithfully based on true events) accurately reflect real life once they’ve been structured in a way which allows them to be communicated, because real life is far too much of a jumble for that to be possible.
5 Sci-Fi Tropes I Could Live Without
Posted on March 4, 2021 1 Comment
For some reason, sci-fi is just chock full of certain clichéd tropes, some of which are so very ridiculous that it frankly beggars belief that they ever became clichés. The others are just plain done to death. What follows are some of my (least) favourites.
Super Snappy Speed Reviews: Star Trek Edition
Posted on February 27, 2021 Leave a Comment
The day we’ve all been waiting for with a combination of both hope and dread is finally here. Star Trek: Discovery premieres in America today, and so, in honour of this momentous occasion (and since we Brits won’t be getting it until tomorrow), I am pleased to present Super Snappy Speed Reviews: Star Trek Edition!
We’ve already had super snappy speed reviews for books (twice, in fact), TV shows and films but today it’s going to be a bit different. Today I’ll be reviewing all thirteen Star Trek films in order of release. As ever, these reviews only reflect my own personal opinions and impressions, phasered, disruptored and bat’lethed into just two or three sentences.
Andrew Ferguson 