Author Analysis: John Perry

I hope you're all excited for our first Author Analysis.  Today, RTStephens brings us a look at my fellow reviewer and RCL-er, John Perry.  Click below to see how he moved from writing stuff which was, in his own words in a guest post he once wrote for me, "Very bland and poorly constructed," to stuff that, well, isn't!

Mini-Reviews Round 46

That's right, we're starting the vacation off with some short stuff!  Click down below the break to see what I've been reading recently.

Plans for the Next Two Weeks

So, as you may have gathered, I'll be (mostly) afk for the next couple of weeks.  Fear not, though!  There'll still be plenty of good stuff to read here at the regularly scheduled intervals while I'm off on vacation.  If you're interested to know what to look forward to, click below.

Fandom Classics Part 64: Synchronicity

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I've been watching the old Battlestar Galactica recently, and I'm really enjoying it.  Oddly, I find that one of the things I like most about it is also something I really enjoy about MLP: the total, unironic sincerity of the show.  Granted, in Battlestar Galactica they're being totally, unironically sincere about the absolute rightness of the military, the incompetence of civilian leadership, and the like, but dang it, this is the kind of show you don't see anymore: the kind where the villain is literally just Snidely Whiplash without the mustache, and yet he's not a parody, or a deconstruction, or anything else.  He's just a cartoonishly evil dude who's sincerely cartoonishly evil.

All that said, I don't know if I'd recommend it per se (think a hyper-militaristic version of the original Star Trek, in terms of plots and production quality), but I'm having fun watching it.  Now, with TV reviews out of the way, let's get on to fanfic reviews!  A Hoof-ful of Dust's Synchronicity, below the break.

Mini-Reviews Round 45: Most Dangerous Game Edition

You all knew this was coming, right?  Obselescence is running a contest--basically, "write a great fic that uses terribly cliche ideas (alicorn OC/2nd person/OC x main six shipping/etc.) but it still amazing."  That contest is now in the public voting round, the judges having narrowed it down to five finalists.  Click below for my reviews of those five stories!

Fandom Classics Part 63: The Song of Syhlex

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The Alps are up starting today!  Even if you aren't a regular Tour de France viewer, you might want to check it out for the next few days; mountain stages are always the most fun, and because of a few key injuries, this is the most wide-open the race has been in years.  Cycling, woo!

Okay, okay, back to things you all care about (Mystic, I miss you and your cycling-caring-about): my review of The Descendant's The Song of Syhlex, below the break.

Fandom Classics Part 62: The Sisters Doo

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Carrot cake-flavored candy corn is a thing, in case any of you were wondering.  And in fact, it's a surprisingly delicious thing.  Of course, I like carrot cake and candy corn in their natural states too, but this particular venture into the dollar store candy aisle gets an A from me.

My review of Ponky's The Sisters Doo, below.

When is a Story Done?

There are a lot of steps to writing a fanfic, almost all of them optional.  You can come up with an idea, plan an outline, write a draft, revise, edit, engage the services of a beta reader, modify, edit again... or you can just slam out a thousand words, publish, and hope for the best.  One way will probably give you better results than the other, but both are processes which end with a story.

I'm not interested in talking about that, though.  I'm interested in talking about what happens after you submit your story to the attentions of readers at large.  Click below for my thoughts on what does--or doesn't--come next.

Mini-Reviews Round 44

For those of you who are the con-going types and who have some deep-seated desire to meet me in person, it turns out that I know a guy who's going to be presenting at GenCon, and he offered me a free ticket.  So, I'll probably be there!  Honestly, the whole thing was very abrupt, but I figure that I can finagle my way down to Indy for a long weekend.  This'll be my second GenCon, the first being when I was seven years old and they were still holding the thing in Lake Geneva every year, so it'll be a new experience.  I'm pretty excited about the prospect, though!

Anyhoo, mini reviews below!

Fandom Classics Part 61: Best Young Flyer

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After spending countless man hours, and at the cost of many bothan lives, I figured out how to make that snazzy link to the guest columnist stuff which you should now see at the top of the page.  Kneel before my computer prowess!  Also, consider this your about-two-weeks-to-go reminder; plenty of time to write a post, even if you haven't started yet!  I've got two confirmed posts being worked on, and a few more "maybe"s, so if you're on the fence and would like to give it a try, I could use a few more.  For now, though, enjoy some Chris-written reviewing goodness.  My thoughts on Bookplayer's Best Young Flyer, below the break.

Fandom Classics Part 60: What You Can Imagine

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The Tour de France is underway, and there's already some good news: Mark Cavendish is out of the race with a dislocated collarbone!  Okay, it's bad news that he's hurt, but that's hardly a career-ender, and it's good news that he's gone; his whining and hypocrisy (on the subject of what is or isn't appropriate contact in a sprint, not on anything non-sports-related that I know of) make him incredibly unlikable to me, and when he's racing I almost don't want to watch flat stages because I don't want to risk seeing him win.

Okay, enough cycling talk.  My review of Darf's What You Can Imagine, after the break.

Mini-Reviews Round 43

It's the Fourth of July!  Go eat some hot dogs!  Light some fireworks!  Punch an Englishman in the face!  Make sure you apologize to him afterwards, though; Americans have enough of a reputation for rudeness already.

EDIT: I'm also celebrating with this family tradition.  Figured I'd better get a picture of the finished product so you could all appreciate it properly.  Jello: is there anything it isn't good for?

Mini-reviews, below!

Fandom Classics Part 59: The Irony of Applejack

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Sorry if this one ends up going up a little behind schedule; I got home late today, and figured I'd rather miss my regular update time by a few minutes than do a rush job.  Hope it was worth the wait!  My take on Mister Friendly's The Irony of Applejack, below.