Recent content by Benjamin Clayborne

I think the issue here is that present tense is harder to pull off than past tense, so it's one of those things that we see new authors overuse, and so then it shows up on lists like this. There's nothing wrong with present tense if you know how to do it right. It's sort of like saying that...

I think ultimately the only really useful statistical advice is "I enjoyed it and would pay money for it." You can look for patterns in people's responses (Hmm, 80% of my beta readers hate chapter 4 because of what Joe does) if you want to try to figure out what to change, but ultimately no...

Two options: THE QUEEN OF MAGES is currently available for free at Smashwords: Smashwords - The Queen of Mages - a book by Benjamin Clayborne. If you don't feel like reading the whole thing, the beginning of THE SILVER WAR contains a synopsis of QOM, that's a measly 2400 words long, which should...

Hey gang. So I'm at the point now where I'm handing out copies of THE SILVER WAR (sequel to THE QUEEN OF MAGES) to beta readers. I've got a couple pals on the task already, but if anyone's interested in taking a crack at it and telling me what you think, I'd be much obliged (and I'm happy to...

If you want a cinematic feel, you might be better off writing a screenplay. ;) Novels and movies are different media and it's extremely difficult to make one work like the other. They have different strengths and weaknesses. Novels let you trivially see inside a character's mind and thoughts...

My first novel (and its sequel) are both multiprotagonist, and in many cases the characters are not in the same location, so cliffhangers don't work very well (I get annoyed being left hanging for three or four chapters in such a situation, so I don't want to do it to my readers either).

High five. Diaspora is, to date, my favorite novel of all time (insofar as you can have just one favorite novel... in reality it's a constantly warping vortex of three or four books). Actually, it's equivalent to he/his/his or she/hers/her. "vis" (from "his" or "hers") is the possessive...

Greg Egan used ve/vis/ver, which I liked. "Ve went to the store to get ver favorite candy." "It's vis problem, not mine." Of course you could avoid the issue entirely by not using pronouns—maybe the Soljuws instead always use proper names, or use titles or styles or other forms of address...

The problem is this: someone with the innate skill of an Orwell or a Tolkien or a Heller will always succeed given a chance, but you can't tell whether someone is an Orwell or a Tolkien or a Heller until you've already given them a chance. And even then, history is littered with authors who...

Forgot to post that Part 16 is up... but now Part 17 is up too. :) Bjarheim's Shadow, Part XVII

There actually are objective ways to measure it: categorizing the content of, and quantifying the intensity and number of, messages that appear in various forms of media, for example. Run experiments where a man and a woman go into an electronics store and ask the exact same question, and gauge...

Where did I say women were alone in it? But it's prima facie absurd to claim that men get the same quantity or intensity of such treatment as women. Yes, one example of a powerful woman disproves the assertion that more men are in positions of power. If you'd like, I could list how many of...

The problem with the idea of writing being a meritocracy is this: who decides what defines merit? It's the same problem I keep blathering about, about trying to define a book as "good" or "bad." Mug's game. As a writer, you have goals, and either you meet them or you don't. If you want to make...

I enjoyed Downton seasons 1 and 2. I still sort of enjoy 3 and 4, because of the visuals (costumes/sets), some dialogue, and the performances. But the storytelling, ugh. In the last two seasons there have been SO many plotlines that meander for several episodes without any meaningful...

I didn't figure I needed to address the other half, since it was basically a plea for "geez, I'm tired of hearing about this," rather than acknowledging that there IS a major problem in gender relations and that maybe the people who are up in arms about it have a point. To wit: You can't...