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 …

Sound and Song

Frequent visitors to this site may remember Clamavi De Profundis*, a family band producing a variety of songs. Many of their early works are performances from J.R.R. Tolkien’s* legendarium, particularly his The Lord of the Rings* trilogy. But some of their renditions, including one of the entries below, are from other books in the series. …

Thoughts on Tactics: How History Affects Fiction and Makes It Believable

Not long ago, this author discovered the above picture, which discusses some fans’ thoughts on how the Fellowship of the Ring might have simply flown to Mordor to dispose of the One Ring rather than “take the long way around.” As the commenter explains, this would have been a bad idea narratively because the entire …

Writing for Fun

Sometimes, writing is not fun. Life has gotten in the way, stress is eating at the author, or burn out has finally struck at the end of a long spell of creativity. Or, just as bad, a roadblock has suddenly appeared to stem the flow of the writer’s imagination; turning a project he loved into …

Theology and – Indiana Jones?!

Check out this insightful article from Fr. Dwight Longenecker, readers! The Theological Theory of Indiana Jones By Dwight Longenecker January 3rd, 2016 Is it possible that the popular Indiana Jones trilogy is a cleverly-structured, well-thought-out, theologically-astute analogy of the Christian spiritual quest? I do not suggest that it is an allegory, and I realize it is …

Shades and Shadows: The “Pulp” Aspects of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings

There are writers who dislike how Professor Tolkien’s magnum opus is considered the last word in modern fantasy. Most of their argument revolves around how present authors in the field of fantasy ignore shorter action/adventure tales in the “pulp” format of fantasy for epics that practically copy and paste from The Lord of the Rings.* …

“The Road Goes Ever On and On…”

Given the impact J.R.R. Tolkien’s magnum opus has had on the world of writing, we tend to forget that it has had at least as much influence on the world of music. From heavy metal folk bands such as Blind Guardian* to family enterprises like Clamavi de Profundis (some of their songs are available on …

A Unique Conceit (or Three) from Western Television

Gargoyles Retrospective | Disney's Dark Horse https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=hc7yQ4nX_8k Along with others in the Superversive movement, this author tends to highlight various writing techniques which are popularly seen in Japanese anime. Since writers in the Orient frequently make use of practices forgotten here in the West, this is only sensible. If one wishes to learn a craft, …

A Word to the Wise on Fellowship

Click the link to learn more, readers! And remember: when selecting friends, choose well and wisely. Good friends are worth more than their weight in gold. Friendship: 4 Things 'The Fellowship of the Ring' Can Teach Us We need fellowships for our own “quests,” too. Saturday, March 3, 2018 James Walpole In The Fellowship of the Ring, the …

Further Reflections on Evil

The picture above has a very apt Terry Pratchett* quote attached to it, one which ties back to this post here. In that article I stated that there are some villains who simply enjoy being evil. Not only does this author stand by that point, she wishes to emphasize it once again. A great many …