Miscellaneous – Page 6 – Mythic Scribes Test Site

LGBT Characters in Sci-Fi and Fantasy

This article is by Marc Davies.

If you have watched television, read a newspaper, seen a play or been to a movie in the last couple of years, there’s no doubt that you would have been exposed to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people and their issues.

The only way you could avoid it is by living under a rock, and even then you’d probably discover said Rock has a penchant for designer clothes and an obsession with maintaining its rocky skin in fabulous condition.

Whatever your personal views, LGBT people have been readily accepted by much of mainstream media. There are popular movies and sit-coms with gay characters. Literary fiction has embraced gay characters and gay issues. If you go to see the ballet or a musical, you can bet half the cast is probably gay. And pop music embraced gay performers and music long before Elton John and Queen became best sellers.

Should Christians Write Fantasy?

by Test Administrator

Is it wrong for Christians to write about magic, wizards and otherworldly beings?

Surprisingly, some people believe so.

Over a decade ago a fundamentalist church not far from my home made headlines by having a Harry Potter bonfire. Christians from the surrounding area were invited to bring their Harry Potter books to a public burning. The fact that this event conjured images of Nazi Germany didn’t deter the organizers, as they were determined to rid the world (or at least the greater Pittsburgh area) of the influence of J.K. Rowling and her supposed promotion of witchcraft.

Recently this question has arisen in our writing forums, and this has led to a thought-provoking discussion. One of our members eloquently expressed the crux of the issue:

Why I Don’t Write About Evil

by Featured Author

King Joffrey - Game of Thrones — Completely, undoubtedly, irredeemably evil?

This article is by Martin White.

Every epic needs an opposing force, and in most high and heroic fantasy, that opposing force is evil. Sometimes, it’s literal Evil with a capital E, embodied in an army of twisted champions. Other times, it’s the sort of evil that kicks puppies and kidnaps damsels. Either way, it contains within it the author’s conception of the things that humanity would be better off without.

I don’t typically write about evil people. Many of my characters, both protagonists and antagonists, have traits that could be called evil, but I’ll never have more than one character per story who’s completely, undoubtedly, irredeemably evil. More often, the concept shows up only in first-person perspectives, and it’s called into question whenever the accuracy of those perspectives becomes questionable. In this essay, I aim to show why.

Medieval Armor – A Primer for Writers

by Codey Amprim

Your character stands on the edge of the battlefield, where the fate of the world will be decided. He prepares to lead the charge that will change history forever. But as he raises his banner high, something is amiss; there’s laughter all around! A sudden gust of icy wind sends a shocking realization to the character—he’s naked.

Now, obviously your characters aren’t going to jump into the fray with their birthday suits on. That is, of course, unless you intend for them to do so. But chances are, without decent protection, your characters will die. So you’ve got a nude warrior against the world… now what?

Unless streaking is an ancient rite for summoning powerful forces to your character’s aid, you’re going to want to suit them up. But before you choose an armor type for your characters and armies, there are multiple factors that should be considered.

Final Fantasy Reimagined: J-RPG+Western RPG=Awesome?

by Philip Overby

With some fans thinking the uber-popular Japanese RPG staple Final Fantasy (hereafter referred to as FF) to be on the decline, more players are turning to the tighter stories and open-ended worlds of games like Dragon Age and the Elder Scrolls series (Oblivion, Skyrim, etc.)

Some complain that these Western games all follow the same tired tropes of fantasy though. Generic monsters, a world that needs to be saved, variations of the same classes and skills.

I personally love both types of games, so I wonder what they’d be like if combined? Would they be like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup? Or more like a fried pickle sundae?

In regards to possible complaints from both sides of the pond, I’d like to propose a type of game that would appeal to both types of fantasy gamers.

eBooks – Taking the Plunge

by Test Administrator

I love books. I love the way that they feel in my hands. I love how they smell. To me, every book is a treasure.

Hence, when the eBook craze began I was a doubter. In fact, I was a fairly vocal critic of the movement. I couldn’t imagine why anyone would choose to download and read a digital manuscript when they had the option of reading a real book.

Slowly, my resistance has been melting away.

First, my sister-in-law showed me her NOOK eReader. At first glance, the screen looked like paper. I was amazed by the E Ink technology, and just how easy it is on my eyes.

Second, I’m running out of space in my home and office. Since my wife and I became parents, space has been at a premium. Our home bookshelves are filled with rows of books, one layer piled upon another. My office bookshelves are also at maximum capacity. I love to buy and read books, but I’m simply out of space.

6 Disappointing Fantasy Movies

by Test Administrator

We’ve previously discussed some of the best fantasy movies of all time. Now we’re going to look at the opposite side of the spectrum.

The following films are not necessarily the “worst” of their kind, but they are major disappointments. In other words, these are fantasy films that had the potential to be great, but went bad somewhere along the way. I went into each film expecting something wonderful, and was left with a feeling of having been cheated.

In no particular order, they are:

Imaginative Realism – Interview with Marc Fishman, Illustrator of A Dance with Dragons

by Nathan Lauffer

Divine Hammer: Kingpriest Trilogy, Volume Two (Cover)

Imaginative Realism is the art of painting or drawing what doesn’t exist. It’s the act of bringing visual life to fantasy, often based on the words of fantasy authors.

Several months ago I knew Marc Fishman to be an amazing artist and an insightful human being, and A Song of Ice and Fire was just a series of books that people kept pestering me to read. Then an HBO series (Game of Thrones) based on the books came along, and I decided to live tweet during it for Mythic Scribes. I read the first book, watched the series and was hooked.

Shortly thereafter I learned that Marc was illustrating a limited edition version of George R.R. Martin’s A Dance with Dragons.