Last week, we looked at the dichotomy between a sin’s historic fact and its moral guilt as they relate to redemption arcs. I asserted that redemption arcs are just not quite possible, in their fullness, outside of the Christian understanding,
The redemption arc is a difficult but powerful tool in the writer’s arsenal; it’s an even more difficult thing to undergo in real life, as Saul of Tarsus could no doubt tell you. See, sin exists. Because men sin and
Last week we discussed two issues common in modern writing: failure to take it seriously and disregard for realism. Today we’re continuing the topic with another issue endemic to the failures of popular media, particularly films and TV shows. We
If you’ve followed popular culture over the past few years, even at a remove, you will likely have noticed a paucity of truly excellent stories on the television screen (actually your computer, but that’s neither here nor there), particularly of
The archetypical ‘pure evil’ race (no, not that kind of race) in fantasy is the orc, as inspired by (ripped off from) Tolkien, often by way of D&D. If you’re interested in writing fantasy, you almost certainly have some thoughts
Stories can have some wild, wild premises. When it comes to the beginning of the story, the catalyst if not the chronological beginning, we’ll accept a coincidence that would break the entire story if it were the hinge of the
Last week we looked at a scene from The Princess Bride. This week we’re going for something a bit more brutal, much less comedic, certainly more gory. This won’t include a review of the movie the scene is from- I
What does a fight scene do, besides the obvious of ‘stop one person, allow another person past,’ tournament style? I could say that I’ll be answering that question, but honestly, it’s too big. Fight scenes come in all shapes, colors,
In this second installment of the series, we’re still looking at G.K. Chesterton, because I’ve been continuing a read-through of his works. Today, though, we’re not looking at his fiction; no, we’re looking at what his literary criticism, at his
G.K. Chesterton, as I have already noted, could write some odd stories. In that, he is far from exceptional. What makes Chesterton so intriguing is his mastery in writing those odd stories, that he could take a premise as outrageous