Sharon X Wong

Writer of words. Builder of worlds.

Category: Uncategorized Page 1 of 2

Down Among the Sticks and Bones Analysis, Chapter 4: To Market, To Market, To Buy a Fat Hen

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On February 21, 2021

In Book Reviews, Down Among the Sticks and Bones, Musings, Uncategorized

This chapter is the first of Part 2: Jill and Jack into the Black, and fittingly, it deals with the crossing of borders. This chapter marks the short space of time where the girls are free—free from their parents’ expectations, and free from the rules that govern the new world they are in.

They also make their first real choice. That’s not quite true, of course. They chose to go through the door. But that was framed as inevitable, the conclusion of the way they were brought up, with no other way out left to them. Here, they have a choice of where to go, and either by instinct or chance, they choose the Moors.

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Every Heart a Doorway Analysis, Chapter 6: The Bodies We Have Buried

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On July 26, 2020

In Book Reviews, Every Heart A Doorway, Uncategorized

Warning: Contains spoilers

In Chapter 6, the group has formed! On Eleanor’s request, Jack, Kade, Nancy and Christopher help to dispose of Loriel’s body and bond over their creepy experiences. Once they have Loriel sitting in acid, they search for Jill.

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Mirenna’s Gift

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On May 24, 2020

In Short Stories, Stories and Poems, Uncategorized

The priest did not greet Mirenna when he opened the door to her room. Not that she minded. She was more concerned with looking past him into the grand hall beyond, which she had only seen once. All she glimpsed now was a stained glass rose, framed in gold, one of many that had been set in the walls. Her room was tiny in comparison, and so dull – bare walls, a plain chair and table, a wooden shelf she could not reach. She waited until the priest had shut the door and sat himself down before she spoke.

“New dreams have come to me,” she told him.

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Writing Goals: Walk before you run

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On May 20, 2019

In Uncategorized

Goals are great, but adaptability is greater.

So this year I started with the goal of finishing my novel, The Space Between Worlds, by the end of the year.

I no longer have this goal.

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The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne: A Review

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On April 9, 2019

In Uncategorized

If you don’t know A.A. Milne, he’s the guy who created Winnie-the-Pooh. If you’ve never heard of Winnie-the-Pooh, I both pity your childhood and admire your ability to avoid Disney references.

If you, like me, had a childhood speckled with stories set in the Hundred Acre Wood, you might be surprised to know that A.A. Milne also wrote a murder mystery novel, entitled the Red House Mystery. (I certainly was.) This book follows Anthony Gillingham, a man whose idea of exploring the world is trying out every possible profession. When he stumbles upon a murder, he decides to try out being an amateur detective, along with his trusty Watson, Bill Beverley.

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Walking with Snakes

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On March 25, 2019

In Uncategorized

People will tell you to be careful of snakes in Australia. I mean, they’ll tell you to watch out for spiders, kick-boxing kangaroos, drop bears, and every single animal in Australia, but snakes tend to top the list. And it’s true that the drop bears do serious harm—I mean, it’s true that there are poisonous snakes, but to be honest if you live in an urban area you won’t see too many. You have to go looking for them. Or venture in their territory.

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Arrival vs Story of Your Life: New Ways of Thinking

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On March 11, 2019

In Musings, On Media, Uncategorized

Arrival is a 2016 sci-fi film written by Eric Heisserer and directed by Dennis Villeneuve, and tells the story of Louise Banks, a linguist who helps to communicate with aliens visiting Earth. It is based on Story of Your Life, a short story by Ted Chiang. If you have neither seen this film nor read this story, I very strongly encourage you to do one or the other before reading this blog post. I’m going to spoil both of them, and they are both excellent pieces of craft that do not deserve spoiling. Go now; the blog will still be here when you get back.

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Story behind a story: Trial by Fire

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On January 14, 2019

In Musings, On Miscellany, Short Stories, Stories and Poems, Uncategorized

Truth time: This is mostly an excuse to link to a story I wrote that was published as part of the Short Fiction Break 2018 Summer Writing Contest, which you can find here. It’s called Trial by Fire and involves a prisoner being offered a chance at freedom … as long as she can pass the trial.

On the other hand, I also have something to say about how I wrote this story, and maybe learnt a lesson from it, although I’m not sure what that lesson was.

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Why I Write (Fantasy)

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On August 28, 2018

In On Miscellany, Uncategorized

I almost exclusively write fantasy and science fiction. I write about things that aren’t real, that couldn’t be real, not in this time or place. I do this because I love to make things up. I’ve been making things up since I was small. As a child, I populated my backyard with fairies, and I populated the school playground with cheese-eating grass-gulls. I didn’t just make things up. I also read about made up stuff. I grew up with Brer Rabbit and Aslan, and I spent my teen years with Harry Potter, Frodo Baggins, and Arthur Dent.

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A Tale Of Chinese Ingenuity

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On May 17, 2015

In Stories and Poems, Uncategorized

This is the story of the time my brother and I bought tickets to a show in China, and is a little more interesting that the description suggests.

You see, every night in Hangzhou (at least at the time this took place) there is a show on the West Lake. It’s called ‘Impressions of West Lake’ and it is a very cool show that involves the performers acting, singing, and dancing on a stage that is partially under water. You should definitely see it if you ever get the chance.

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