"The best writers and artists are driven not by the need to show you themselves, as if to invite you into the prison of their minds, but by the desire to open windows so that you get a glimpse of glorious realities that stand outside and above us, enduring truths that do not depend on... Continue Reading →
The Matrix: Out of the Shadowlands
I watched The Matrix for the first time this February. I know -- I'm quite behind. However, I was never too interested in the movie, because I'd heard its premise already and knew about the various cultural tie-ins, like the red-pill blue-pill thing. And to be honest, I found it kind of cheesy, with the... Continue Reading →
The Returning King: Truth Behind the Type
I read Ivanhoe two summers ago as part of a binge through British literature – that is, literature written by actual Brits, and literature about the Brits written by others. My literature course for the school year took a plunge into the Kings of Britain and the legends of Arthur, so I thought it... Continue Reading →
Why Disney Can’t Write Evil Villains Anymore
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special surprise today -- a guest post from Mara Scudder, co-writter of the Story Fortress blog! They do absolutely great work there, analyzing popular movies, books, and television and explaining just how writers can imitate the techniques that make our favorite stories work. Mara is a Christian artist,... Continue Reading →
Fearfully and Wonderfully, Part One
“Life is life - whether in a cat, or dog or man. There is no difference there between a cat or a man. The idea of difference is a human conception for man's own advantage.’ ~ Sri Aurobindo, Indian philosopher and creator of yoga. We are always being told, directly or subtly, that we are... Continue Reading →
What I’m Working On…
This post is updated periodically to remain current. I've told you that I'm a writer. But what exactly am I writing? Well... a lot of things. I've written several novels over the years, all now in various stages of drafts and editing. Most are nowhere near publishable and will probably remain practice stories. But... I... Continue Reading →
On Heroes and Propagandizing
What happens to a culture when you take its heroes and change them -- subvert them? What happens when readers and viewers see their childhood role models presented differently, buying in to woke agendas or radically altering their behavior or discarding the beliefs they were built on? I'm not talking about heroes from history --... Continue Reading →
Happily Ever After: Destiny or Delusion?
Every child who's grown up on fairytales or Disney has heard the refrain, 'and they lived happily ever after.' It's a theme of every fairytale -- not counting the Grimms', naturally. Why? Why were stories finished with this line or something like it? Because it was convenient? Perhaps. But why are stories that don't end... Continue Reading →
The Spirit of the Times and What That Means For Authors
Ya'll, there is a lot of material in here -- it's no quick and easy read, but boy is it thought-provoking. I mean, no one can argue that we aren't living in tough times. I've heard several versions of the "good men make good times, good times make lazy/bad men" cycle, but it's fascinating how... Continue Reading →
Animism and the Cause of Multiverse Madness
This summer, my youth pastor preached a series on worldview. His lecture on animism was particularly interesting, as he pointed out just how deeply it's infiltrated the entertainment of today. In what ways? Let's start by defining animism. It was certainly a term I had never heard before. My pastor defined animism as the over-emphasis... Continue Reading →
