"All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered."

A Basic Plot: Overcoming the Monster

Well, since we’re about to enter the spookiest season and since I’m after all writing a Gothic novel, I thought I could start with one of the oldest tropes in the world: the story in which the hero overcomes a hideous monster.
According to Christopher Booker and his Seven Basic Plots, this is not only one of the older plots but perhaps the oldest: the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh is often considered the earliest written story in the world and revolves around the journey of our hero to the lair of the great and evil Humbaba, to whom we own the ruin that’s fallen over Uruk. Our hero confronts the monster and, as it usually happens, he wins.
But what constitutes this trope and why do we find it appealing?
Let’s try and find out.
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Pride Month

Pride Month 2025 – Words of the Day

She Knew Better than Any Man: Female Lovers in Brantôme’s Courtly Chronicles “This reminds me of certain women who love their companions so dearly that they would not share them for all the wealth in the world—jealous as a beggar with his drinking barrel.”— Pierre

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Did you say Parametric?

The Buzzword Syndrome Some words age like wine. Others, like milk. And then there are those that never had a fair shot to begin with, poured over cereal before anyone checked the expiration date. “Parametric” might just be one of them. It started in all

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