Recent content by Donny Bruso

Amen. Stop butchering authors' hard work to fit in into a 2 1/2 hour block. I truly wish screen writers would come up with some ideas of their own instead of just swiping someone's hard work for a few bucks and making a travesty that convinces people that the book must be just as bad so they...

I can't speak for anyone else, but it does bother me when authors do that. I know it isn't intentional, but it speaks to either weak vocabulary or laziness on the part of the author. I'm not trying to insult you, just offering up what goes through my head when I see it in a book. Thesauri are...

I tend to agree with you, if you want the character to be taken seriously, then yes, they need to make a convincing argument. However, and there are times when this is useful, having a character offer up nothing but straw-man arguments can help sell their character as whiny, bigoted, shallow, or...

The paragraph that you've provided here works fine from my perspective. The things the dog is doing, whining and rubbing against Bob, can be interpreted through Bob's eyes, and the paragraph is all about his interaction with the dog. I don't see that as a shift of focus. But really it's a...

I've read the first several issues of the graphic novel that the show is based on, as well as watching the show itself. While there are differences between the two, anyone who has seen an adaptation of any book realizes that that is going to happen. I think that the show does a good job of...

The sad fact of the matter is that Presidential Elections in the US are, as George Carlin said, essentially a form of masturbation. I can already tell you that whoever wins the GOP primary is going to take the election. The American people are so angry with Obama for not being able to wave a...

George Lucas is definitely obsessed with his universe. I mean, besides Star Wars and Indiana Jones, (granted two very highly regarded franchises) what exactly has he done? Not much, really. He has a lot of producer credits to his name, but not much else going for him. So instead of creating...

Personally I have been remarkably unaffected by it financially. As I'm sure some of you know from other posts, I'm a serving member of the US military, and with our out of control leadership determined to spread democracy around the world like cheap fertilizer instead of fixing our own problems...

Pretty much second what everyone else has said, except for the castle visits, I haven't had that privilege yet. Considering all the things that a self-sufficient castle would need to have inside the walls to withstand a lengthy siege, and those it would have there simply for convenience, it's...

As far as current reality-based history goes, you really only have to accomplish one major thing to be remembered, but idolatry goes somewhat beyond that. I doubt that many, if any, people idolize Jefferson. He's known mostly for writing the Declaration of Independence, not really for his...

I don't have much of a system, honestly. I tend to go with what sounds/looks good on the page. If I have multiple cultures in the story I'll assign each one a country somewhat similar to their country of origin and pick names from that country on earth. Maybe modify the spellings a bit. As far...

This isn't technically a misused term, but it sort of falls into the same category: People who can't/won't proofread. Whether it's a manuscript you're submitting to a publisher, a short piece you're putting up in the showcase, or just a quick note in one of the threads, everything should be...

*Makes note: Characters are more interesting when they do things* :p And I agree with you both that First Law coming out prior to the stand alone books makes them pale in comparison.

We got a bit of it here in Massachusetts as well. I don't know what the magnitude was by the time it reached here, but it certainly wasn't huge by that time. It was fairly unsettling as I was underneath a truck up on a lift when it rolled through. Once we got everyone on board with the...

@pskelding All due respect, but I'm part of the military and I know a few things about combat. I'm not saying that Abercrombie's take on it is unrealistic. There is an old saw that War is hours of boredom followed by moments of sheer terror, and it's certainly true. My issue is that his story...