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Evangelical Christianity: Non-mainstream concepts
Aotearoa New Zealand elected an Evangelical Christian Prime Minister. Relying on stats a decade old, in 2013, there were only 15,000 evangelical Christians in a population of 4.4 million (~0.34%).
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Doubt 2008 Film Study
One of my favourite films of all time. The perfect story. I look at how ‘symbolism’ and ‘foreshadowing’ exist on a continuum and sometimes overlap.
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Aliens and UFOs in Storytelling
A brief history of aliens, UFOs and otherworldly creatures in art, literature and storytelling more generally.
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Women Without A Voice: In Fiction And In Life
For some characters, self-reliance and a refusal to silence their inner voices strengthen their public voices. For others, art provides a metaphorical expression of voice. Often characters recognise the dialogic nature of voice: their voices exist only in dialogues with other people. … They recover their voices because they recognise the power of language. … […]
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A Glossary of Genie and Djinn Words
Abu Al-Jann Father of the Jann. Aforetime God said he created the djinn ‘aforetime’. Stories of the djinn predate the Quran. The concept of the djinn is ancient. Aladdin Disney’s Aladdin is a presentation of a stereotypical genie as we view them in the West. Aladd in is only loosely based on the folklore of […]
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The Widow’s Broom by Chris Van Allsburg Picturebook Analysis
“The Widow’s Broom” is a 1992 picture book by American author illustrator Chris Van Allsburg. Like many of Van Allsburg’s books, this one remains popular with teachers, partly because this is a storyteller who requires the reader to do a little work. Students can practise their inference skills in class. Like all good stories which […]
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How To Write Like William Trevor
William Trevor didn’t like giving interviews. Part of the reason: Interviewers would try to get him to break down his process. But he considered the entire thing a mystery; he could never explain how he wrote. He worried that if he got too “academic” in his approach, he’d no longer be able to write. (He […]
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Narrative Structure of a Miracle Story
LITTLEWOOD’S LAW Around once per month, each of us experiences a “miracle” (an event with odds of one in a million). Across the world miracles are literally happening all the time, but because there are so many of them we perceive them as mundane. @G_S_Bhogal No luck was dumb because luck was just another name […]
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A Glossary of The Underworld
Since we’re all going to hell (by someone’s rules), here is a glossary of terms you may need before you get there. I’d provide a map, but that is coming. ACHERON One of the Five Rivers of the Realm of Hades, according to Ancient Greeks. This is an actual river located in northwest Greece. The […]
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Writing Activity: Describe A Church
A collection of churches for inspiration
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Symbolism of The Child
Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of merely a descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these are the marks of childhood and adolescence […] The modern […]
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Deals With The Devil In Storytelling
Humans have been making transactions with money for about 5000 years. Before that, our ancestors traded goods; before that, favours. We are a species highly attuned to swapping, making deals, owing favours and keeping stock. So it’s not surprising that we personify ‘fate’ or ‘life itself’ or God or whatever, and feel, deep down, that […]
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Definition of Anagnorisis and Other Similar Words
Anagnorisis is a moment in a work of fiction when a character makes a critical discovery. Even for plotters rather than pantsers, this is the part of writing that often emerges in the process of storycrafting.
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The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen
To a modern audience, The Little Match Girl is unbearably tragic. Perhaps, like me, you vividly recall reading your version of this story as a young kid and being profoundly affected. For me, it was probably the first time I considered the possibility of childhood death.
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Storytelling Tips from Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman
Northern Lights is a young adult story with broad appeal for adults. The plot follows mythic structure.
