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Last Stands, Custer, General Gordon, and Being a Christian Warrior

What defines a Christian warrior? This article looks at the negative example of Custer–and the positive example of Charles Gordon. · Travis Perry

From The Writers’ Toolbox: Flawed Characters Can Be Too Flawed

The point is simple: to be believable, characters need flaws, but if their flaws overshadow their higher nature, readers may not care enough to continue on the reading journey with them. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Speculative Fiction And Contemporary Culture, Part 2

How can writers speak into today’s troubled culture, whether dealing with the political divide, racial unrest, dealing with a pandemic, economic concerns, or what have you? · Rebecca LuElla Miller

The Female Don Quixote and Heroism for our Times

Arabella, The Female Don Quixote, shows us something about why we need a world with heroes. · Jill Domschot

From The Writers’ Toolbox: Keep ‘Em On The Line

Writers also need to create characters with whom readers can relate and for whom they can cheer. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Does ‘Strong Female Character’ Mean Girl Kicks Guy in the Face?

Does having a strong female character simply mean having a girl kick guy in face or is there more to her than just physical strength? · Parker J. Cole

The Joker in Film: A Case Study in Evil

Joker, the movie, has 11 Oscar nominations. How does it compare with other portrayals of the Joker in film? Which is a “greater evil” and what real-world evil people are they most like? · Travis Perry

Does Family Enhance Female Heroes?

Was Mark Carver’s post on Speculative Faith yesterday right about a need to have more families with children in speculative fiction? In particular, would children benefit female heroes? · Travis Perry

Characters And Their Development: From The Writers’ Tool Chest

Characters make the story, even in speculative fiction. For all our intriguing Other Places, readers still read because they care about the characters. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Against the Tragic Villain Backstory

I’m mostly against the tragic villain backstory as a storytelling device. Let me tell you why. · Travis Perry

Two Kinds of Heroes

Would you be surprised to discover that heroes have been studied–and have been found to come in two distinct types? · Travis Perry

Speculative Fiction Writer’s Guide to War, Part 9: Perceptual Distortions in Combat

Tunnel vision, slow-motion time, abnormal hearing, memory loss, and intrusive thoughts are just a few possible effects of combat stresses. · Travis Perry

First Man: An Example of Fearlessness

First Man not only shows a fascinating lunar landing, it portrays a man unlike most people. Armstrong’s character gives insight in how to portray a hero. · Travis Perry

A March of Stereotypes

Taking a broad view of speculative fiction, and especially of science fiction, we may discern the march of female stereotypes. · Shannon McDermott

Writers Of Amish Fiction May Not Have It So Wrong

Can speculative fiction find a place for these women? Can they be our protagonists? Do we see them as worth the spotlight? Or do our female protagonists all have to do as the men do? · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Female Villains

When it comes to contemporary literature written by Christians, I was hard pressed to think of one female antagonist. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Fantasy That Works

Next time you read a fantasy, see how it measures in these areas: premise, conflict, realistic characters that act, a dense story world, a story that says something important. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Are Antiheroes Anti-Christian?

It’s not always clear where the line is between antihero and just-plain-flawed hero. Regardless, antiheroes are out there in full force these days, and they seem to be getting more popular. · Kat Heckenbach

Thankful Characters-A Reprise

Despite privation, death, dangers, and the concerns for the future, the early colonists found reason to rejoice. They exhibited a degree of contentment, a gratitude for what they had rather than resentment for what they had lost. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

The Bonds Of Friendship

As humans, we’re wired for relationships. Being lonely is one of the most awful things we can imagine, and so we crave the close connection brought by deep friendships. This truth comes into beautiful focus in almost any story you read, and points to the wonderful ways in which friendship enrich our lives. · Zac Totah
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