Monthly Archives: September 2013

Great First Lines

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Brenton Dickieson

Anyone who writes knows how hard we work on the first line. It’s not that we are trying to live up to all the great first lines. It doesn’t matter how many best of times-worst of times stories we write, … Continue reading →

Posted in Memorable Quotes, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged books, C.S. Lewis, Charles Dickens, children's literature, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, kurt vonnegut jr, Lemony Snicket, literature, Narnia, Neil Gaiman, The Time Machine, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, writing | 25 Comments

C.S. Lewis’ 1st SciFi Fan Letters, from Evelyn Underhill and Roger Lancelyn Green

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Brenton Dickieson

I have received two fan letters in my writing life thus far. I know! Impressive, isn’t it? I had published a little piece called “On Being Fat and Running” in Geez, a socially-engaged Christian magazine in the tradition of Adbusters. … Continue reading →

Posted in Letters, Lewis Biography | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Evelyn Underhill, fan letters, fantasy, Geez, Obama, Out of the Silent Planet, Ransom Trilogy, Roger Lancelyn Green, Science Fiction, SciFi, Sr. Penelope, theology, Utne Reader, writing | 10 Comments

O Foolish Writer: The Living Reality of an Author’s Work

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Brenton Dickieson

I think some people think writers, as they build their fictional worlds, simply sit down and invent the details, putting together characters and places and storylines like someone puts together IKEA furniture. We’ll call that the Allen Key Approach to … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Writing, Fictional Worlds, Memorable Quotes | Tagged beer, brewing, C.S. Lewis, Carrie, Chloë Grace Moretz, Earthsea, fantasy, fictional worlds, Julianne Moore, Of Other Worlds, On Writing, Stephen King, ursula le guin, writing | 5 Comments

Let Folly Be Our Cloak: Tolkien on Power in Lord of the Rings

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Brenton Dickieson

While J.R.R. Tolkien did not write moralistic fantasies or allegorical tales, still the force of his worldview emerges in his writing. He wrote the Lord of the Rings over the fifteen year period through World War II and into the … Continue reading →

Posted in Memorable Quotes, Reflections | Tagged allegory, Bilbo Baggins, fantasy, Hitler, Lord of the Rings, Middle Earth, nuclear bomb, original sin, Peter Jackson, philosophy, power, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings | 44 Comments

WIP Wednesday: Ch. 1 of my 3 Day Novel, “Wish for a Stone”

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Brenton Dickieson

Since a number of 3 Day Novel Contestants are posting their first chapters–you can check out the Iambic Admonit blog where Sørina Higgins is blogging her writing group’s first chapters–I thought I would post mine for Work-in-Progress Wednesday. You can … Continue reading →