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Heavy Metal

After the recent shooting in Orlando, the media’s attention once again turned to gun control, the meaning of the Second Amendment, and the nation’s obsessions with firearms. Everything that could possibly be said on both sides of the issue has been said, but there is one truth on which I believe everyone can agree: entertainment without weapons would be pretty boring. · Mark Carver

Of Names And Such

As a reader, how much do you pay attention to the names of characters or places? How much do you think about the significance of the name itself? · Rebecca LuElla Miller

A Whole New World

One of the most common pieces of writing advice is “Write what you know.” I took a big risk and wrote about something I didn’t know, and my eyes and mind were opened. · Mark Carver

Does Anybody Work In Speculative Fiction?

Maybe “ordinary” doesn’t make for a good story. Still, I’d think within stories about the exciting and the exceptional, there need to be those who hold down the fort, who keep the supply lines coming through, who make sure the soldiers have shoes. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Speculative Worlds And Christian Tenets

What are some of those Christian beliefs that would subvert our culture today? · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Remembering The Soldiers Who Died

It doesn’t seem to me that speculative stories are short on wars, and therefore people serving the rest of their culture or nation or species by marching into danger and possible death. What novels actually show beloved characters dying as part of their commitment to fight for right? · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Act Your Age

I’m perfectly happy to believe all the crazy worldbuilding you can throw at me. I will overlook a few tropes if the plot is halfway interesting. But if your characters do not “act their age,” then you need to explain why that is so. · Megan Ebba

Use What You Know

Like so much else about fiction, immersion into a fantasy world is as much a result of the readers’ imagination as it is the writer’s execution. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Culture Wars And Speculative Fiction

Are speculative fiction writers creating worlds that reflect disagreements and opposing factions representative of societal struggles? · Rebecca LuElla Miller

A Mommy/Youth Pastoring/Writer’s Way To Go About Creating and Populating Fantasy Worlds

Mary Weber is the author of the Storm Siren Trilogy, a young adult fantasy published by Thomas Nelson. Her debut novel Storm Siren released last August and the second in the series, Siren’s Fury, is due out in June. · Mary Weber

A Rich Web

The web of rich and potent customs surrounding Easter is a testament to how profoundly religion molds culture. And it makes me wonder again why religion is so neglected in speculative fiction as an element of world-building. · Shannon McDermott

Thanksgiving Day And Speculative Fiction

In speculative literature, Thanksgiving can be much more than just a celebration. Whether or not a story world holds harvest festivals and how they are celebrated can define a culture and make it come alive. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Divergent, Great Stories, And Good Writing

The book series was one more hot story that had fans craving the next book and the next. Granted, though the first book opened as #6 on the NY Times best-selling list, it didn’t reach the stature of Twilight or Hunger Games and certainly not of Harry Potter. Still, it had a loyal and avid following. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

In The Beginning …

There’s nothing new under the sun — no matter what galaxy or fantasy world you care to mention. The challenge is weaving it all together so it feels fresh and new. · Michelle Levigne

Art And The Clive Staples Award

There are good books on the list, and I don’t think it’s going to be easy to pick the one I want to vote for as best of the lot. But I’d like to think through the process of making that choice. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

World-building: The Undervalued Element Of Speculative Fiction

Books that transport me somewhere else have a dense culture filled with rituals, slang, moral right and wrong, tradition, art, entertainment, bureaucracy, and so much more. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

What Makes Fantasy Work? Part 2

I hope our readers here at Spec Faith are thinking about the Christian speculative novel–fantasy, science fiction, supernatural, or whatever–they would like to nominate for the Clive Staples Award. Let’s find the books that work and pick the best of the lot to honor. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Magic In The Story: The Two Faces Of Magic

This week we delve deeper into the mysteries of ‘Magic in the Story’ and find ourselves confronted by the fact that there are two faces of magic in Narnia. · Christopher Miller
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