Elliot Reese
So I suppose I should start with an introduction. I’m Elliot Reese, a member of an organization that gives accreditation for online schools. In my spare time, I like to read fiction and “dissect” it. By that, I mean I like to look at it from the point of view of someone who has seen patterns before.
You see, I’ve noticed that all writing follows patterns – patterns probably a lot older than most of us would be comfortable thinking about. They’re not clichés, per se, and more like conventions and standards by which specific types of stories are judged. Every story where “fear the superman” is a theme will always have a superior being that inspires fear, for obvious reasons. In the same vein, a story about romance and love will inevitably have a romantic couple in there somewhere. You could say these are archetypes for stories, in the same way that there are archetypes for characters.
Rather than take away from them, though, I find it more intriguing. Some stories attempt to subvert or alter the conventions of their archetypes. Sometimes, they pull this off rather magnificently. Other times, they fail dismally. Sure, everything has a pattern and deviation from it has long ago become a pattern by itself, but that doesn’t detract from their entertainment value.
What this place is all about is probably just me talking about what interests me or a place for me to talk about work without talking about work. Yeah, I know, dull.
