In “Martian Child”, David Gordon tries to adopt Dennis, a boy who believes he’s a Martian. David used to be a weird child too. He gravitated to science fiction where outsider characters like himself studied humanity. Through their eyes, he learned to fit in with other kids, and his love of stories became a successful writing career. He admits in a TV interview that the character most like him in his latest novel is not a human, but a creature.

So when asked how he will address Dennis’s issues, David says, “Fantasy is my business…It can be a survival technique…a way to deal with problems that are bigger than you….The short answer is…trying to find that balance between socializing him and letting him be who he is…on the one hand, help him out as much as I can, on the other hand…if this little guy wants to believe he’s from another planet…who am I to argue?” Continue reading →

Howard Tayler is one of the three founding hosts of the Writing Excuses Podcast, maintains a daily webcomic, and struggles with depression.  “No. I’m Fine.” is his 1,730 word account of how it feels to be overwhelmed by failure and inadequacy during a wave of depression and what it takes to overcome it. It’s not a long read, so I’m asking you to check it out and come back when you’ve finished.

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Pretend you know nothing about “A Christmas Carol”. Based on just its title, what is Charles Dickens’s novella about? Probably Christmas.

Say you discover the novel takes place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The main character is led by three spirits representing Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come. What’s the story about? Certainly Christmas, right?

Before we settle that, let’s meet Ebenezer Scrooge.

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