The Lack of Religion in Fiction and Issues this Causes

Kit Sun Cheah had an interesting article on his site recently. Titled “Guy Gavriel Kay’s Religion Without Religion,” he tackles an issue rampant in modern fiction of every variety: modern writers largely cannot write believable religions or religious characters. Every time they try, they leave a hollow world behind that does not satisfy a reader…

Further Thoughts on Sacrifice and Service

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” ― G.K. Chesterton Sacrifice and service tend to intertwine quite a bit. It is easy to forget, however, that they did not always meet in the manner we think of them today, as…

Romantic Relationships – A Speculative Commentary

Last week we discussed love among characters. This ranged from brotherly love (philia), or the affection between friends who are or can be as close as brothers, to romantic love. I was not able to express all my thoughts on romantic pairings last week and thus this post will contain those ideas. Previously, we discussed…

Love Among Characters – A Reflection

“Considering it, he realized that somehow he never worried about Miriam, and that was wrong. He did not worry about her because she seemed so self-sufficient, so strong. She was like their mother had been, only more so, much more so. But he felt it was wrong to think of a girl that way…It was…

Big Boys Don’t Cry! – A Look at Male Vulnerability in Fiction

There is a trend – perhaps seen frequently now, perhaps still moving about “on little cat feet,” as the poet says of the fog – that praises how men are crying more in films and TV shows. It may include books as well, but if so, I have yet to see those mentioned. A great…

Nice Guys Finish Last? Depends on One’s Definition of “Nice”

We have discussed Nice Girls, but what about Nice Guys? The standard response to that is: “Yeah, well, you know where Nice Guys finish – last.” Depending on the definition of “nice” in use, this can be quite true. But as with Nice Girls, Nice Guys do not all follow the perceived pattern of “nice”…

Nice Girls – Are They More or Less Difficult to Write than Bad Girls?

“Playing good girls in the ‘30s was difficult, when the fad was to play bad girls. Actually I think playing bad girls is a bore; I have always had more luck with good girl roles because they require more from an actress.” Olivia De Havilland via BrainyQuote.com Olivia De Haviland as Melanie Hamilton in Gone…

The Fall of the Apprentice – A Compare and Contrast

Reading Charles Edward Pogue’s novelization of Dragonheart* – for which he also wrote the screenplay – I was struck again by an idea that had flitted through my mind on a previous occasion. This is the difference between the corruption of Einon, the prince in the film* and the novel Dragonheart, and the fall of…

Mad Scientist: Cackling Goofball, or Deadly Menace?

The popular image of the mad scientist is one of a frizzy haired, generally harmless older man messing around in a lab. Such mad scientists seem and are typically portrayed as relatively inoffensive. Doctor Doofensmirtz from Phineas and Ferb* is one example of this common perception of the mad scientist, with Back to the Future’s*…

Sincerity in Fiction – A Lost Art in Need of Recovery

While on the Superversive Sunday Livestream, Anthony Marchetta and I discussed the differences between Japanese anime and modern Western storytelling. One of the items that came up was the sincerity with which Japanese writers portray their characters. Although I wanted a stronger word for the phenomenon at the time, in hindsight, I think Anthony hit…