How many of you have wished that you were half-horse? Or half-bull? Oh, come on. You can admit it! Okay, neither have I. But for those who have no choice and were born as centaurs or minotaurs, here’s a blog post to help the rest of us humans understand why they are the way they are: Minotaurs Minotaurs also come from Greek mythology. There was one main minotaur who was trapped in the center of Daedalus’s labyrinth as punishment for being the offspring of Daedalus’s wife. Prior to some classic fantasy, “the minotaur” was just one creature from Greek mythology. They weren’t really …
Mythological Creatures: Elves & Dwarves
The final Hobbit movie released, so this month we’re going to tackle the mythological creatures of elves and dwarves. Elves There are numerous forms of elves: tall, lithe, “High Elves” (Lord of the Rings), cliche tiny singing elves (Santa), house-elves (Harry Potter), etc. We can’t tackle them all in one post, but it’s important to understand that the defining characteristics of elves differ depending on which country’s folklore we look at. Norse mythology: These tall, majestic elves are called Alfar and are benevolent (Light Elves) or sinister and powerful (Dark Elves.) English and Scottish folklore: These human-sized elves torment and harm humans. They would torment people as …
Mythological Creatures: Phoenix vs. Thunderbird
Fantasy is filled with mythological creatures. But how well do we really know them? Who, off the top of their head, can define the difference between phoenix and a thunderbird? . No one? Okay, then let’s start a new blog series on . . . you guessed it. Mythological creatures! . Phoenix If you’ve read Harry Potter, then you have a good idea what a phoenix is. This mythological bird regenerates from its own ashes every time it dies. According to greek mythology, it’s associated with the sun and fire. The phoenix could be as large as an eagle and generally has scarlet …
Maps and Fiction
Excerpt from Storyworld First by Jill Williamson. Ever pick up a fantasy novel and flip to the front to see if there’s a map? I do. Every time. When there’s no map, I confess, I get a little grouchy. I’m obsessed with fictional maps. I love looking at them, and once I come to love the story that takes place in that world, I’m even more enthralled. So when I started to brainstorm my Blood of Kings trilogy, one of the first things I did was draw a map. Now, you may not be an artist, and that’s okay. …
Spec-Fic Subgenres: Time Travel & Alternate History
A bittersweet good-bye is upon us. This is the last of the subgenre blogs. We’ve covered most of the big ones over the last year: Dystopia & Utopia Space Opera & Hard Sci-Fi The Fantasies Steampunk & Cyberpunk Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic Alternate Reality & Virtual Reality Superheroes & Fairy Tales Paranormal & Supernatural Today we’ll be covering Time Travel and Alternate History. Strap yourselves in and let’s step into the Tardis. Time Travel In time travel stories the protagonist will move forward or backward to different points of time. This doesn’t always require a time machine — those are so old-fashioned. Haven’t you seen …
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We are all Zombies
I watched an episode of The Walking Dead the other night. The story was absolutely intriguing: what would the world be like if a disease turned almost everyone into zombies? The problem was, I couldn’t stomach the head shots or the body parts trailing behind the corpses. So I only ended up watching one and a half episodes. But it made me start thinking: All of us are zombies. Huh? I work with junior high boys and we always end up talking about interesting things (surprising, right?). One night we talked about this verse: “And you were dead in your …
Imaginary Friends or Fictional Characters?
I grew up with Sherwood Forest in my backyard—not the supposedly real Sherwood Forest that folks claim is in the UK, but the actual “real” one known only to a few and located in the middle-of-nowhere, Texas. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of it. You see, I was blessed to have a big sis with an enormous imagination and an insatiable appetite for reading. We spent hours in the backyard running through Sherwood Forest at the heels of Robin Hood, escaping on horseback from the evil Duke’s soldiers, sailing with pirates in search of buried treasure, and digging our way …
Spec-Fic Subgenres: Paranormal & Supernatural
Paranormal. Supernatural. They’re the same thing, right? I don’t want to say a flat-out no but…no, not really. Often times these terms are used interchangeably, but they are different. Paranormal Paranormal refers to things that are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding, like telekinesis or telepathy. The word paranormal means, essentially, “something that exists outside of what we consider to be normal.” Talk about a broad subgenre. The thing that grounds paranormal fiction are the subjects and creatures — werewolves, vampires, ghosts, aliens, time travelers, etc. Anything out of the ordinary that can’t be explained by science and doesn’t fit the conventional expectations …
Spec-Fic Subgenres: Superheroes & Fairy Tales
There are heroes…and then there are superheroes. There are tales…and then there are fairy tales. What do superheroes and fairy tales have in common? They’re both awesome subgenres of speculative fiction, of course! And we’re going to dig into them today. Superheroes The subgenre of superhero fiction falls under the fantasy side of speculative fiction, but it can really flit into the science-fiction genre depending on the world in which it takes place. Superheroes took off in the comic book world. Actually, they originated there and then bled into novels. Characteristics of superhero fiction: the superhero is usually a human and almost always has a special power …