This article is by Grace Robinson. People sometimes ask me how I come up with names for my fantasy stories – names of characters, as well as names of creatures, places, and things. I don’t have a standard formula for inventing names, but after doing some thinking, I realized that there are three main methods I … Read more
This article is by Michael Cairns. Fantasy is an expansive genre in which the reader can be transported to far-off lands. Urban fantasy does something quite different, laying the fantastical world over the one in which we live. This can be a tricky thing to get right. Too much fantasy and the realism can be … Read more
Labelled by TIME as “The Dean of Harry Potter Scholars,” John Granger is a pioneer. When many were dismissing the significance of the Hogwarts Saga, or condemning the books for “promoting witchcraft,” John was the first literary critic to explain how they carry on the tradition of English fantasy literature. His book, How Harry Cast … Read more
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. … Read more
Ten years ago I began writing a fantasy epic. I spent months building my own world, complete with fresh mythologies and exotic cultures. I had a great villain and an original plot. Everything appeared to be in place for me to write a first class novel. Sadly, a quarter of the way through a terrible … Read more
This article is by Brian Wood. The Harry Potter era is over. The final movie has entered theaters and I, for one, am more than a little bit sad. I figured there was no better time to talk about the genius of JK Rowling and the Harry Potter series. I have never read a series … Read more
For a fantasy story to be truly great, it needs a memorable villain. In some cases the villain is so compelling that he or she overshadows the hero. That’s not always a bad thing. During my childhood every boy on the block wanted to dress as Darth Vader for Halloween. No one wanted to be … Read more
Like many writers of my generation, my first exposure to the fantasy genre was through films. I’ve previously told the story of how my father took me to see Conan the Barbarian when I was underage, and how this brought about an epiphany in my life. Ever since that first encounter, fantasy movies have helped … Read more
When the first Harry Potter books were published I didn’t bother to read them. I saw the films, but they didn’t strike me as especially significant. Yes, they were full of magic and wonder. But I failed to perceive anything of lasting substance. I dismissed Harry Potter as a fad. Yet as the series progressed, … Read more