Willow heads homeward on the #BuffyRewatch on @tordotcom

slayerThis week’s essay is Willow’s homecoming episode: “Same Time, Same Place.”

If you’re local and want a chance to connect, I’ll be appearing at SF Contario this weekend. My tentative panel schedule:

Gardenview Sun. 2:00 PM Writing as an Evolving Process

Writing as an Evolving Process: As with any other art, writing requires practice, and a writer’s skill can improve over time. Writers discuss the things they have learned as they have evolved and ways in which they have gained a new level of expertise. How can you tell when you’re improving? How can you judge your own progress as a writer?

Solarium Sat. 11:00 AM Great First Lines

Great First Lines: “Call me Ishmael”, “’It was the day my grandmother exploded”, “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel”; There is nothing like an unforgettable first line for hooking a reader in. What are your favorites? Can you force a good first line, or do they just happen?

Courtyard Sun. 1:00 PM The Heroine`s Quest

The Heroine’s Quest: How do three letters change the way we view the sword-bearer? Should there be different rules, spells, or goals for the female adventurer?

Xander is Heroic! Hey, #Buffyrewatch, that’s not news…

slayerI have reached the end of Season 6 on the Buffy Rewatch, so this week’s write-up is all about Evil Veiny Willow versus her friends.

I am a few weeks ahead of these essays, which means I’ve just watched the third ep of S7, “Same Time, Same Place.” This means I’ve got something like 18 episodes left: eighteen weeks, which seems at once a very long and a very short period of time.

People have asked over at Tor, so I should say it here too: I have no plans to jump into an Angel rewatch, or to do the comic seasons that follow “Chosen.” In some ways I do find the idea appealing, but I didn’t love Angel enough to do it justice, and the people who regularly read and comment on the column have convinced me I’ll be happier with Buffy, as a story which I’ve consumed and loved, if I stay far far away from Seasons 7 and 8.

Feel free to go there and have a go at changing my mind–you’ve got four months! But if you know me, you probably also know that once I make a decision I cling to it like something very clingy. A barnacle?

We got Entropy all over the #BuffyRewatch @tordotcom

slayerThis week’s BtVS essay is on “Entropy,” which–in case you’ve forgotten–is the one where Anya and Spike get drunk together and things happen. Sad, spoilery and not too difficult to understand stuff.

I’ll be on the road this weekend, so I may pop in on the comments thread very sparingly.

I am several weeks ahead of these essays in terms of viewing, so right now I’m watching the very last episodes of S6. For all that the general woe of this season doesn’t work for me, I do love the rampage at the end, and its resolution.

Normal’s overrated on the #BuffyRewatch @tordotcom

slayerI have reached “Normal Again” as I make my way through Season 6. I have to say, it’s really quite a bit more upbeat than I remembered, if only because the previous episodes are such incredible downers.

Enjoy!