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
Nowadays, lamenting that everybody else seems to live in a separate reality is a not unknown pastime of the sane (assuming I do not presume too much by lumping myself into that sum). Whoever you are, you’ve probably run across
The Lord of the Rings is hands-down the greatest work of fiction ever penned by mortal man. I could talk for ages. Ask my family if you doubt me. The Lord of the Rings is the story that made me
Modernity is myopic. We tend to assume that everybody in the past, deep down, thought in the same way we do, with the same essential premises. Further, we’re terrible at logical (or strategic) empathy, at seeing people through their own
If you’ve read much G.K. Chesterton, you’ve probably realized that some of his stories are better starting places than others. Father Brown, generally speaking, is a much gentler introduction to his style and philosophy than Manalive or The Man Who
We’ve all heard the adage, “Show, don’t tell.” It’s practically the first thing any creative writing course teaches, after the formatting requirements, and I’ve made a pun off it myself. It’s sound advice, but like all short-form bits, it’s not
Magic (with its hundred other pseudonyms) is the staple concept of fantasy. It’s the excuse for a thousand plots and the solution for a million problems. In some people’s minds, magic can do anything, solve any plot hole, fill any
I have an affection for fantasy, born from The Lord of the Rings and fostered through the years, and an affection for historical fiction, born from many thousands of pages (hundreds of books, likely) in my youth. I’m not much