Tag Archives: Middle Earth

The Land Where Oz is North of Middle-earth: Reflections of a Speculative Cosmographer (Throwback Thursday)

Posted on July 26, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

Over the next year, I am introducing an occasional feature I call “Throwback Thursday.” This is where I find a blog post from the past–raiding either my own vault or someone else’s–and throw it back out into the digital world. … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Writing, Fictional Worlds | Tagged C.S. Lewis, children's literature, fantasy, Fictional Universes, Harry Potter, Holly Black, imagination, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, literature, madeleine l engle, Madeleine L'Engle, maps, Middle Earth, Narnia, The Hobbit, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Winnie the Pooh | 19 Comments

Infodump and Identification: Thinking about Fantastic First Pages with Anne McCaffrey

Posted on August 15, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

I’m having trouble getting into the (sort of) second Dragonriders of Pern book, Dragonquest. I loved Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonsong, caught up by the protagonist’s heartsore struggle to express her creativity in a world of martial law. In dire threat of the biological terror of … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, On Writing, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Anne McCaffrey, Dragon Riders of Pern, Dragonflight, Dragonquest, Dragonsong, fantasy, feminism, Harry Potter, Madeleine L'Engle, Margaret Atwood, Middle Earth, Narnia, On Writing, Science Fiction, Suzy McKee Charnas, The Divine Comedy, Ursula K. Le Guin, writing | 8 Comments

Approaching “The Silmarillion” for the First Time

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

As brilliant as lovers of Middle Earth recognize that it is, there are few books as daunting as The Silmarillion. It is a dense and complex text of genealogies, places, and characters, each woven together with multiple names in multiple languages … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Andrew Lang, Arthuriana, C.S. Lewis, David Lindsay, Douglas A. Anderson, E. Nesbit, George MacDonald, H. Rider Haggard, J.R.R. Tolkien, literature, Lord of the Rings, Middle Earth, Narnia, On Fairy-Stories, The Silmarillion, William Morris | 50 Comments

Books Long Enough for Tea (a post about a lot of nothing)

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

One of the legendary sayings of C.S. Lewis is that he has never encountered a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit him. His brevity in writing is well known, yet his true love was … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged books, C.S. Lewis, David Foster Wallace, Dorothy L. Sayers, fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien, Leo Tolstoy, literature, Lord of the Rings, Middle Earth, Narnia, Reading, Stephen King | 43 Comments

Bandersnatch and Creative Collaboration by Diana Pavlac Glyer

Posted on September 28, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

I am a rapid writer, someone who works in fits and starts. I benefit from binges of work, closeted away to get down what’s been rolling around my chest for hours or days. It took a decade for me to … Continue reading →