Ah... the misunderstood villain. The guy who murders and steals and blows things up because he had a rough childhood. It's becoming a bit of a cliche these days. Can horrible life circumstances change personalities and behaviors? Sure. Every writer knows that your villain must have a backstory of some sort, because a guy who... Continue Reading →
In July of 2000, The Onion magazine released a fake satirical article about the Harry Potter series leading to a rise in Satanism among children. Unfortunately, some people thought it was real, leading to a small wildfire of panic and condemnation toward J.K. Rowling. It was a simple mistake -- but people believed it. There... Continue Reading →
There's just something about the hero-against-the-world -- and I'm not the only one who feels that way. I heard it discussed on SASF -- Stories are Soul Food -- to whom I owe the credit for this term, 'hero-against-the-world.' Immeadiately the 'ooh, that could be an article' light lit up inside my head. Our culture... Continue Reading →
Alright, my friends, I know this topic has nothing at all to do with writing or literature. However, it does have to do with the Christian life, specifically in the area of apologetics, but also in understanding this world God has created and defending our hearts against the tricks of the devil. There are those... Continue Reading →
I'm going to be honest with you -- this post originally began as a rant on the material I'd been forced to read for school. But then I got a book for Christmas, called The Christian Imagination, a collection of essays on literature. The one by Leland Ryken -- mind you, not the Christian Science... Continue Reading →
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in... Continue Reading →
I come before you to make the case that we need more platonic relationships in fiction, especially YA. *Ehem.* Practically every mainstream YA book out there has some sort of romantic relationship. Why? Because the teen years are when romance and sex are common -- at least in this day and age. However, I was... Continue Reading →
Alright, folks, I'll keep this short and sweet. It's Christmas and there's a lot to do and you've got a ton on your plates. But even amid the chaos, remember that Christmas is one of the seasons in which we can shine the brightest. And this can be done in so many ways, from proudly... Continue Reading →
“A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.” ― C.S. Lewis I was driven to reflect on the veracity of this quote early last autumn, whereupon, after having spent a summer binging on everything British I could get my hands on, I returned to... Continue Reading →
Did you know, the average teen spends upwards of eight hours a day on their phones? It’s true. Especially among adolescents, phone addiction has become extremely prevalent in our culture. And it’s causing a lot of the problems we see in teens today. But wait, you say. How can it be an addiction?... Continue Reading →
