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The Flawed Hero: Shades of Morally Gray to Shades of Good
The Moral Evolution of the Flawed Hero Antiheroes are flawed heroes. One key characteristic of these flawed heroes, these antiheroes, is their potential for growth and change. As the story progresses, they may experience a moral evolution, navigating a path toward redemption or self-discovery. This journey can involve confronting their flaws, reconciling their conflicting motivations, or learning valuable…
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The Antihero: An Unexpected Hero
The Antihero: Everyone Loves a Good Bad Boy These charismatic bad boys are complex and unconventional protagonists who possess qualities that deviate from the traditional hero archetype. Unlike the typical hero, the antihero lacks the idealized attributes of bravery, selflessness, and unwavering morality. Instead, they often exhibit flawed characteristics, such as moral ambiguity, selfishness, cynicism, or a propensity for…
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Using Magic as a Metaphor: Exploring Symbolism and Allegory
Using Magic as a Metaphor: Symbolism and Allegory Using Magic as a Metaphor: Magic can be used as a metaphorical tool to explore deeper themes, ideas, or social issues. Using magic as a metaphor allows authors to represent abstract concepts, such as power, transformation, or the human condition, through the use of magical elements. By infusing magic with symbolic…
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Using Magic for Worldbuilding: Ten Impressive Examples in Fantasy Literature
The “Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling: The magical world of Harry Potter is an excellent example of using magic for worldbuilding in fantasy fiction. The Harry Potter literature is intricately woven with a rich magical system that includes spells, potions, magical creatures, and magical objects. The magic in this series is deeply integrated into the world and its various…
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Fantasy Worldbuilding: How To Create Magical Worlds Readers Love
When creating fantasy fiction, one of the most fundamental elements is the fantasy world where readers will devote their time to get to know your characters. Worldbuilding in fantasy fiction creates fantastic worlds full of mythical creatures, enchanted objects, and otherworldly phenomena. Magic is a fundamental element in many works of fantasy fiction. The use of magical elements can serve…
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Genre Fiction versus Literary Fiction – Literary Fight Club
Literary Fiction Success Defined I recently read a blog post where the author was explaining her take on the difference between genre fiction and literary fiction and her definition of success for each genre. She describes readers of literary fiction like this: “Lovers of literary fiction fall deeply in love with the idea of the work and the internal…
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Book Review: The Awakening – Before True Light
Book Review for: The Awakening – Before True Light is a Young Adult Fantasy novel by Sarah Buchynski Amazon Synopsis: The fate of the world is uncertain…A secret society, historical protectors of mankind and thought to have been lost for centuries, re-emerges in dire times. A young girl named Izanami, living as an orphan among the inhabitants of this society,…
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Kill The Girl! Women In Science Fiction And Fantasy
Women In Fantasy and Science Fiction – Why are women treated so differently than men? Updated April 2018—Over the last couple of weeks, I read several articles about gender disparity in SF/F. It all started with the article “I Hate Strong Female Characters” by Sophia McDougall published in The Statesmen. Pretty soon, I had also come across articles like “Sleeps…
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My Adventures With Google Plus Authorship
Google Plus Authorship, better known as Google+ Authorship is the next “Big New Shiny Thing.” But I’m here to tell you it isn’t always easy and I honestly wondering how long I’m going to try to get it done before I give up. Here’s the deal. I have two blogs, www.TLCoffeyWrites.com and www.AlchemicalWords.com where I discuss the Fantasy genre and…
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Defining High Fantasy
In a previous post, I talked about the definition of Low Fantasy. Today, I’m tackling defining High Fantasy. High Fantasy takes place in a purely fictional world which has its own unique physical properties and laws of nature. The time period is flexible and the story can be in the present, the distant past or some time in the future.…