The Rise of Skywalker, the final Star Wars movie opens in a few days. As a Star Wars fan since the original release of the very first movie, I am eagerly awaiting the final movie of the saga. I am eager to see how the story concludes, and am also hoping to finally uncover the … Continue reading Waiting for Skywalker
Author: alanirvineblog
Professional Storyteller, writer, playwright, director
Advantages of Limits: Triangulation: Dark Skies
We artists like our freedom. We want to explore whatever ideas intrigue us, follow our inspirations where ever they lead us. We loved being told to “write about whatever you want.” Creative Freedom at last! And yet, we also dread being told to “write about anything you want.” Our minds go blank. Too many choices! … Continue reading Advantages of Limits: Triangulation: Dark Skies
Why Ghost Stories?
The first stories I learned to tell were ghost stories, and ghost stories have remained one of my favorite types of stories. I tell a lot of them, particularly in October. And so people often ask me why ghost stories? Why are we drawn to them? Why tell them? In thinking about that question, I … Continue reading Why Ghost Stories?
The Apocalypse Ain’t What It Used To Be
I don’t mean to turn StoryStuff into a blog just about stories of the Apocalypse, but my last couple of posts did get me thinking about the various post-apocalyptic stories I have enjoyed in print, film and TV over the years. Thinking over them, pulling them down from the book shelves and out of the … Continue reading The Apocalypse Ain’t What It Used To Be
A Peaceful Apocalypse?
Shortly after finishing my previous post on the post-apocalyptic comic book Dark Age, I read When the English Fall by David Williams (from Algonquin Books.) The focus here is firmly on telling a realistic story of a community surviving an apocalypse. Williams starts out with an entirely plausible (and likely) event: a solar … Continue reading A Peaceful Apocalypse?
An Apocalypse is a Terrible Thing to Waste
I love a good post-apocalypse story. Back in high school in the 70s, I eagerly read the post-nuclear war novels like Alas Babylon by Pat Frank, Maleval by Richard Merle. In grad school, I loved George Stewart’s Earth Abides, about a world where 98% of the population dies in an epidemic. I’ve always been intrigued … Continue reading An Apocalypse is a Terrible Thing to Waste
Strange God in a Strange Land: Struggling with Heinlein’s Classic, part 2
In my previous post (Reader in a Strange Land), I discussed Robert Heinlein’s classic SF novel Stranger in a Strange Land and how I struggled with the novel’s view of the future until I realized that it is really a view of the past. But even as I worked through that difficulty, I wrestled with … Continue reading Strange God in a Strange Land: Struggling with Heinlein’s Classic, part 2
Reader in a Strange Land: Struggling with Heinlein’s classic. Part 1
I sat in front of the cart of books, looking for one to claim as my Summer Reading Club prize at my local library. A big, blue spine caught my eye: Stranger in a Strange Land. Although I’ve been a fan of Science Fiction most of my life, I have never read Heinlein’s classic. Maybe … Continue reading Reader in a Strange Land: Struggling with Heinlein’s classic. Part 1
Welcome to Story Stuff. I love stories. All kinds of stories. Novels, short stories, comic books, movies, TV shows, radio dramas and podcasts, plays, storytelling, and probably some others I have forgotten. I make my living with stories - as a storyteller, a director, a writer. And I love talking about stories. That's what this … Continue reading
It’s the Little Things: Days and Dates
When I read for pleasure, I gravitate to fantasy, historical fiction, and some science fiction. I like these genres for many reasons, including the fact they allow me to experience other worlds, whether a newly created imaginary world, as in fantasy and SF, or a world that once existed, but has passed away in the … Continue reading It’s the Little Things: Days and Dates
