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3 Spiritual Upshots from the Death of Stars… Or… How You Shouldn’t Waste a Perfectly Good Supernova, at Least Philosophically

First off, let me be clear:  When I say the ‘death of stars,’ I’m talking about celestial fusion reactors that shine in the sky, not modern celebrities that smile or frown on supermarket tabloids.  Though the words ‘celestial’ and ‘celebrity’ would seem to have a common root (they don’t) and though the rise and fall of […]

Death of Stars
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Do You Find a Literary Prejudice against the Fantasy Genre?

Literary prejudice is an ugly thing. Years ago I took a night course on short story writing.  (And you may say that while I might have taken it, it didn’t take in my writing.  But whatever.) My teacher was very able.  (She would say, “Don’t use that word ‘very’ or have too many parenthetical asides.”  But […]

Literary Prejudice
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5 Essential Traits of Fantasy Heroes and Heroines… Or… How to Relate to Us Simple Humans

We fantasy readers want a champion we can root for, suffer with, struggle alongside, and ultimately cheer on.  If our fantasy heroes too wondrous, too cold, or too inhuman, we are apt to quickly lose interest.  And when you don’t care what happens to a story’s characters, the story’s sunk. Here are five traits with examples […]

Fantasy Hero
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7 Classic Fantasy Novels, Whether You Agree or Not

This is my list of essential fantasy novels.  Don’t like it – make your own list or leave a comment.  I like to hear from you and discuss the wonderful world of fantasy. Here we go: 1.  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe This book is the classic definition of fantasy.  It takes the […]

Classic Fantasy Drew Ellenwood
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Do Fantasy Characters Need to Floss? Or… Ordinary Needs in an Extraordinary World

Do fantasy characters need to floss? The short answer is yes, they need to floss.  That is, if they want to keep their teeth. Real world necessities.  Fantasy world necessities.  Whichever.  Necessities are… well, necessities. Watching Lord of the Rings I believe it’s no wonder the orcs are so cruel and cranky.  I mean, have […]

Fantasy World Necessities
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Fantasy Theology: Would a Fantasy World Need a Jesus? Or… 4 Theological States of Inhabitable Planets

I wonder about the question of universal redemption from evil.  It’s the question that started me writing my science fantasy Curious Origins of a Restless World.  Here’s my thoughts on the purely theoretical question of fantasy theology… Or is it theoretical? 1.  Non-Sentient Let’s first consider a planet with life but no life that has […]

Fantasy Theology
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