A quick skim of popular YA and adult fantasy novels, whether by secular or Christian authors, reveals a host of stories with magically powered characters. I think of The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson in the secular field. Most YA fantasy stories by Christian authors include magic as well: Mary Weber’s Storm Siren trilogy, Kara Swanson’s Dust and Shadow, and Nadine Brandes’ Fawkes and Romanov, to name a few. As a casual observer of genre trends, especially in the case of YA books, I think it’s safe to say that magic-filled fantasy stories have definitely replaced dystopias. Even before this trend began, I noticed many Christian writers plagued by how to handle magical powers in their stories. While some shun magic altogether, others restrict magic to witchcraft and sorcery, avoid those, and opt for writing “magic systems” that may more properly...
Humility and Obedience as an Artist
Artists are powerful. Whether they are painters, poets, writers, actors, or musicians, artists wield a power that echoes the creative forces of God. While artists cannot create out of nothing, they do have the ability to recreate reality through mirroring reality in a way that follows the norms of their particular craft. All humans are artists in that they “are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life: in a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece.” (Pope John Paul II, Letter to Artists, 2). Yet, an artist in the traditional sense has a greater focus on creation and creativity in regard to what is beautiful. This does not make the traditional artist a better person than someone who is not a traditional artist, but I believe it does give the traditional artist an extra responsibility; rather than simply being responsible...
A Specific Sorrow: The Key to Authentic Characters
About a month ago, I attended Story Embers’ Authentic Character Summit. The event started out with a bang as the opening keynote was given by one of my favorite speakers: Tosca Lee. Tosca has a way of instilling what I would call an audacious passion for storytelling in me. Her pre-conference workshop at Realm Makers 2018 was unforgettable; I still use her character creation exercise whenever I get stuck with my own characters. I wasn’t surprised when I felt the same energy, desire, and fearlessness as before when I listened to her at the Summit. I won’t go into the specifics of what she said (you can purchase a recording of her keynote here!) since it was the general theme she addressed which really captured my mind and heart. How do we honestly portray the full human experience? How do we write characters so authentically that the reader believes...
How Fear Can Unlock the Soul of Your Story
Fear. The often unnoticed or else ignored shadow lingering behind characters or even right beside them without them even knowing it. As I was pondering stories in general a while ago, it struck me how many times characters are afraid within the overarching stories they live in. How many times they’re glancing over their shoulders, fighting back old memories, and purposefully avoiding certain situations even when it endangers their lives. These fears are always tied to an event in the past: a “Ghost,” as it’s called in the writing world. A Ghost happens. A character becomes afraid. And if that fear isn’t overcome, they end up acting in accordance with that fear for the rest of their lives, often without even knowing it. But then comes a moment where the character must get over this fear or else. Or else his world is going to be destroyed, his family...
A Writer’s Most Important Decision
There are hundreds of different elements to consider when you’re writing. I can’t say I’m an expert on all things writing, but one of the most common instances I see among young or newer writers is the feeling of being totally overwhelmed with how much there is to learn and focus on while writing. I’ve felt that more than a few times myself 😛 When I came back from Realm Makers several weeks ago and began playing around with a story idea, I was struck by the realization that I now knew not one, not two, but three different ways to write theme and character arcs in a story. *cue headdesking* I had a similar problem with a new way of story structure I’d learned, and I knew from browsing through writing craft books that there were millions of other ways out there, most that I was afraid to...
How to Be a Joyful Writer
Sometimes being a writer is the most exhilarating experience in the world… And other times, being a writer can be the most miserable thing ever. If you’ve written for a consider amount of time, you’ve probably experienced this. Flying…then falling. Having the most amazing writing day ever only to hit rock bottom the next morning. Or, worse, to be having the time of your life one moment, then the next, become incredibly depressed and discouraged about your writing. Even before I became a serious writer, I still had those ups and downs—days when inspiration came, and days when writing was a joyless task. Last year proved to be especially like that, and for days I wondered if writing was even worth it anymore if I counted how much I stressed about it and loathed sitting at a keyboard to get words down. I’ll just say it: Sometimes writers really...