I’ve noticed recently that a lot of my favourite stories centre around gods or god-like beings, such as more or less all of mythology, Doctor Who, The Sandman. Discworld’s Death books, the RG Veda manga, the Oh My Goddess anime, the Haruhi Suzumiya anime, the Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid anime, Spirited Away, the Okami video game, the Persona series [especially Persona 3/PSP], and even Mary Poppins to some extent [which is one of my only favourite Disney movies, along with The Lion King, Fantasia, The Emperor’s New Groove, and Winnie the Pooh].
What I’m curious to know is: what makes those sorts of characters work in this context, and are there tips to applying it to my own writing without revolting levels of candy?
Three people with opinions recording a podcast, what a ridiculous notion! See what we did there? That’s called lampshading, or when a story deliberately draws your attention to some aspect of its production, usually a flaw. It’s often a great source of laughs, but is … read more »
Most governments in fantasy settings are authoritarian. From feudal hierarchies to autocratic empires, readers and authors alike are used to power being wielded by a select few through force of arms, divine right, or whoever has the fanciest hat. But those aren’t the only options … read more »
You asked me to critique The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, so here we are. What will win: this award-winning, best-selling, critically acclaimed book, or my dislike of practically everything? Read on to see! While I usually record my first reactions to a … read more »
Hi there! My story is divided into three parts. The first part takes place during my main character’s younger years. The second part jumps ahead several years. I’m worried that making such a large jump will make the reader feel as though they’ve missed out … read more »
An author’s voice is generally considered to be important; sometimes it’s even said to be the most important element of writing. But what is voice, exactly? Is it really that important? Does it change from book to book, and how is it different from character … read more »
Despite what some people may tell you, storytelling tropes are not inherently bad. They’re just something that gets repeated often enough for us to give it a name. Plenty of them are very helpful to writers of all skill levels. But then again, some of … read more »
Most authors listen to music while they write. But, as anyone who’s assembled a playlist knows, picking the right pieces can be tricky. There’s a whole world of songs to choose from, but when writing a particular scene, a composition with a particular mood or … read more »
Hello to everyone at Mythcreants, My question is about how to deal with semi-representative cultures – namely, those that deal with language. There are several countries in the world of my story whose people speak languages that are equivalent to real-life languages (The examples I … read more »
Why settle for just one god when you can have a bunch of them? That’s right, this week we’re talking about pantheons, the divine clubhouses where a bunch of different deities hang out. We discuss how pantheons often work in mythology and then talk about … read more »
