This. Executives can’t rely on one writer/writing team, so they hire three. Now they have three scripts to choose from. All the scripts have parts they like and don’t like. They highlight the parts they like and give them to three new teams to try and “synthesize” into one whole script. Lather, rinse, repeat, and then…

I think the problem was two-fold. One issue, the marketing, has already been discussed already. But if I were a parent who didn’t know the story’s literary roots (as I’m sure the majority of American parents do not), I’d be really nervous about taking my children to a film that glamorized letting strange men remove…

This is heartbreaking, and my heart goes out to Elizabeth. I wish that there was a way to make every person who does not believe in legalized abortion have a day or two to live in the shoes of a person who finds themselves in a situation where they have to have one.

This is a cold reality I am facing myself. I recently…

That’s why I’ve come to prefer Batman Beyond over the years. Everything I like about Batman, but greatly reduced angst and a Batman who doesn’t take himself quite so seriously. Terry McGinnis even manages to have a successful relationship eventually.

The Weather Warden series, by Rachel Caine. Lots of fun and action, with an interesting world. But by the fourth or fifth book, the author started going off the rails in trying to “up the ante.” Wardens who could control the elements with the help of Genies wasn’t enough, mother nature as its own antagonistic entity…

I totally understand the appeal of a light and fluffy read and brain candy/escapist novels, too. I used to eat them up (when I had free time) and I actually think a lot of times books like this are great because they are gateways to more reading. I think if you liked this book, you should try Snow Crash. It has some…

Personally, I just thought it was bad writing, a-to-z. I’m in an industry where I’m trained to see it, so that infringes on my ability to read something “just for fun,” but here goes:

1. Tautology. Dan Brown does this to. It means excessive repetitiveness, even within the same sentence. Ernie Cline repeats the same…

I was coming here to say the exact same thing. I understand a lot of people love it for its nostalgia value, but all told, there’s not a lot there in terms of quality beyond some cute ideas. I think Spielberg’s involvement will most likely improve upon the source material, given his superior skill as a story teller.

The problem was that it wasn’t presented as though the characters were knowingly quoting dialogue from other works, it was presented as their actual dialogue. And while it’s OK to nudge-nudge wink wink with dialogue once in a while, it shouldn’t make up the bulk of your actual dialogue.

E.g., in one of my stories, a…

But the test you used (I googled and found the same one, judging by the image you posted) didn’t include punctuation, capitals, or many unique or unusual characters as the user above suggested are important. I’d be curious as to your score with the first test that appeared on the search, with the Aesop’s fables that…

I will point out that Cassie Clare has been fully documented as doing all three. Her original fan-fiction series were 80% lifted from out of print fantasy novels (with names changed to HP universe names) and 20% “homage quotes” from series like Monty Python and Buffy that she never credited as homage until pressed.

I’m…

Part of the reason behind the astro-turfing comes from the way Amazon is set up. It’s been a few years since I was in the game, but when I was marketing my book, one of the only ways to get your book to appear on the various genre lists was to have X number of positive reviews. So you encouraged friends and family…

The only reason I’m hanging in with that storyline is if they justify it all by turning him into a supervillain of some kind. Sort of like a big, “SEE?! He was never really nice, he was actually a giant creep all along!”

Thanks, the fact you’re not over-the-moon enthusiastic about the first three is actually selling me on the fourth. It feels like most iO9ers have read the book and therefore aren’t being strictly objective about this show (probably because they know the story and characters already) or at least seem to be able to…

But what if one honestly didn’t like the first three episodes? Is it significantly better? Because both my husband and I opted to give up after Episode 3, and we’re usually pretty forgiving towards SF.

I would argue that even Tolkien couldn’t support a three hour run time. Especially not as managed by Peter Jackson.

The actress who also plays Rebecca (II) on the Originals? I was bummed to see her part was mostly cut.

The most annoying ret-con ever is their claim that her clearly brown eyes are actually hazel. Why can’t they just have a brown haired, brown-eyed heroine? //My rage is in no way related to the fact that I’m a brown haired, brown-eyed girl who loves to read.

I’ve loved this movie for ages, and my mom and I will watch both this and the 1980s (90sish?) remake. The remake isn’t as good but it ALSO has an amazing house.

I thought they had a lot of really taller and skinnier than average extras, compared to the normal crop of extras.

Keep in mind that background is normally cast by a third party (like Central Casting) and they don’t always have a rigorous screening process. So the call might be “tall and skinny” and anyone who had…