Is Combat Boring? Lloyd Alexander’s Taran Wanderer
After last article’s break to look at the potential impacts of COVID-19 on the future of fantasy, it is time to return to the current series on the potentially boring…
Corona, Or the Future of Fantasy
With a perniciousness matched only by the disease itself, it seems that Corona has infected all of our communications as well. Fortunately, this particular variety of the contagion is far…
Is Combat Boring? Tolkien’s Pelennor Fields
Last article I revived the claim that combat in literature is boring. I talked about the tainting effect of movie special effects which have prompted authors to futilely chase after…
Combat is Boring – Revisited
In one of my first articles on this blog, I proclaimed that combat (in literature) is boring! Combat, in and of itself, often adds less value to a novel than…
The Cartography of a Novel
In the last article, I mentioned that I do a lot of visual work when I prepare to write a novel, particularly maps. Ever since I was a child, I’ve…
Families & Fantasy
There is a dearth of families in fantasy. There are, of course, exceptions, but most of these are where said families and/or children are important to plot, character, or theme. …
The Aestarin Alphabet
Last week, we looked at some background on the languages of the Aestari and humans, particularly concerning the names of peoples and places and how they interrelate. Now, let’s take…
A Look Behind the Languages of Isfalinis
The world of Isfalinis, much like our own world, has many languages. In “Tears from Iron” the most readily obvious language is that of the “Words of Power” used in…
The Author’s Dilemma: Who lives and who Dies
The fantasy genre tends to be violent. By its very nature, there are usually swords, sorcery, monsters, and dragons… or at least some variety thereof (although to be fair, fantasy…
What makes a writer?
I can sum this article up in six words: “A writer is someone who writes.”I’m not talking about the various measurements of success or popularity, but simply the idea of…