Originality vs Execution: Which Is More Important?

Recently there was a lawsuit filed by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne against Sam Smith and his producers for the song “Stay With Me”.  They claimed that if sped up, the song sounds exactly like their 80’s hit “Won’t Back Down”.  The video below illustrates this very well: I have mentioned before on this blog

New Podcast Up: Television Writing & Sci-Fi Awards

In this episode, Ryan and I discuss the current writing on television and how it is a reflection of competition with writing in cinema, and is much better in many ways. What makes television writing so much better lately and how can the indie writer bank on that wave of good work? We also lament the

“The 100”: The Death Knell of the Teenage Dystopian Fad

Yesterday I noticed that the CW was airing a new series titled The 100, a dystopian/post-apocalyptic science fiction story based on the novel of the same name by Kass Morgan.  I don’t get very good reception on my HD antenna, so I waited until today to watch it on Hulu. After 15 minutes in, the cringing

How to Revitalize An Overused Plot Line

One of the things I often lament is the tired plot line or the plot line that is completely overused.  There are many of them, but recently there have been two blockbuster films and one best selling book that are, in essence, the same plot as other well known films or books. Three cases prove

Science Fiction Is On the Rise

I am a huge science fiction nerd and have been since I was a small boy.  Apparently we nerds are growing in number around the world, at least in the realm of e-book sales.  In a recent Wired Magazine article by Graeme McMillan, the big publishing houses are taking notice.  It appears that with the success