Book Review: Tender Is The Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

Tender Is The Flesh. A complex, layered dystopian novel that examines language as a tool for the normalisation of horror.

3 mins ago • Livia J. Elliot

April 2026

The First Sentence Fallacy: How Great Openings Earn Their Power

“The first line of a book should hook you” is fairly common advice—but there is more to it. First lines are memorable not on their own, but because…

Apr 29 • Livia J. Elliot

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Know the Rules, Break the Rules: What Embassytown Teaches About Meaningful Dialogue Formatting

Dialogue formatting guidelines are there for a reason, but with a good enough counter-reason, you can break the rules and craft something memorable…

Apr 22 • Livia J. Elliot

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Scarcity Makes Status: What Dune and Blade Runner Reveal About Prestige

What do Blade Runner and Dune have in common? Look closer at their worlds. Both revolve around the same mechanism: scarcity, demand, prestige. Let's get…

Apr 15 • Livia J. Elliot

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When Nothing Happens: Recognising Pressure Beyond Plot in Literature ~ Reading Craft #5

Some of the most devastating literature operates by suspension, drift, delay, even repetition. This essay discusses five forms of pressure that extend…

Apr 8 • Livia J. Elliot

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Book Review: Ubik by Philip K. Dick

Ubik by Philip K. Dick. A masterpiece that challenges reality in a multi-layered, faceted take on Plato's allegory of the cave.

Apr 4 • Livia J. Elliot

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The Anatomy of Paragraph Breaks (Part 3): Enhancing Meaning

Paragraphs are one of the most important tools in storytelling—and used well, they can layer meaning and reveal thought-patterns. This is Part 3, of my…

Apr 1 • Livia J. Elliot

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March 2026

The Anatomy of Paragraph Breaks (Part 2): Voice and Pace

Paragraphs are pacing devices that can accelerate, destabilise, or fracture a reader’s experience. This essay covers how to break the rules of…

Mar 25 • Livia J. Elliot

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Book Review: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road by Cormac McCarthy. A bleak, philosophical discussion on survival, morality, and the human spirit in the shape of a novel.

Mar 22 • Livia J. Elliot

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A Feint Within a Feint Within a Feint: Destiny and Deception in Dune

Listen now | From “a feint within a feint within a feint” to free will, prophecy, cycles of history, and weaponized religion, we break down what makes…

Mar 18 • Livia J. Elliot

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The Anatomy of Paragraph Breaks (Part 1): Structural Rules & Story Beats

Paragraphs are one of the fundamental structures of a story. This is the first part of a two-volume essay discussing guidelines for splitting…

Mar 4 • Livia J. Elliot

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February 2026

From Surface To Subtext: Developing a Critical Reading Practice ~ Reading Craft #4

When we collapse depiction into endorsement, literature that thrives on ambiguity and contradiction becomes intolerable. Let's analyse how interpretive…

Feb 25 • Livia J. Elliot

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