The Second Element: Mechanistic Metaphysic The materialist understanding of the universe is the most familiar iteration of this mindset to us moderns. We live in a culture which, at least pro forma, asserts that all reality is matter-in-motion, with each
The tradition of folk-magic, of ‘superstition,’ and of magic in general is old and endemic to humanity. Its philosophical bones appear in modernity, in the medieval era, and in ancient times, in materialism, in mysticism, in simple superstition. To make
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
This work requires knowledge of Tolkien’s Turin Turambar. Find commentary here. “Evil have been all your ways, son of Hurin. Thankless fosterling, outlaw, slayer of your friend, thief of love, usurper of Nargothrond, captain foolhardy, and deserter of your kin.
Fantasy and sci-fi are legendary for exposition dumps. See, worldbuilding and its ilk is often quite important to the story, even to the point of being a part of the pitch to get the reader interested, but too often it
The steady pattern of a story’s plot is to go downhill at three speeds: fast, faster, and even faster. Then, the climax hits and (if it’s a comedy) the thing suddenly shoots upwards, fast enough to make you dizzy. In
The Lord of the Rings is famous for taking ‘too long’ to end. The Ring is destroyed in chapter 3 of Book 6 of the story, followed by the final battle with Sauron in chapter 4. The next five chapters
The Lord of the Rings movies have three major pitched battles: Helms Deep, Pelennor Fields, and the Fields of Cormallen. Unfortunately, for all that Helms Deep is a (flawed) masterpiece, its successors are, in my opinion at least, not nearly
Title by translator C. Potter. Before this sword a thousand men have died; Before these eyes a thousand thousands have found their end. Yet here I stand, and You are too mighty for me; Here I kneel, and You overcome
Many of us have heard this piece of writing advice: “If you give Frodo a lightsaber, you have to give Sauron the Death Star.” On the surface, this directive sounds plausible. We want to maintain tension, and obviously if you