When did early humans first understand their own consciousness? We understand that animals experience thoughts and feelings, along with the ability to communicate as if with language, b…

            The line between myth and history is thin, and it is a line that becomes thinner all the time as we learn more about the past and how stories have influenced cultures across the world. As long as language has existed, myths have existed. A form of storytelling meant to explain certain facets of reality, from why lighting strikes to why a culture may hold certain customs and beliefs.

            The world of fanfiction is vast and ancient, or at least ancient for the contemporary era. For as long as fandoms have existed, fanfiction has existed. From the modern emergence of Archive of Our Own, also known as Ao3, to the Kirk and Spock fanfiction in the immediate wake of the original Star Trek series, to the Icelandic translation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula which the translator took in a very different direction to the original text. For most of its history, fanfiction was both widely read and niche, existing in independent zines or message boards.

There are more approaches to how magic is portrayed within the fantasy genre that can be counted. Further, calling fantasy a genre is a bit of a misnomer. Like science-fiction, fantasy …

            What are commonly called traditional gender roles have never really been all that traditional. Gender roles have varied from culture to culture, transforming and changing over time based on socioeconomical conditions, religious conversions, and wars. As long as organized warfare has existed, women have served in the military, acted as strategists, and led armies. Gender roles are not, and have never been, static, and “traditional gender roles” as we currently know them are most often used to both oppress women under patriarchal systems and eliminate societal acceptance of genders and gender expression that do not conform to these roles.

            Building a community can be a lot of hard work, but sometimes allowing yourself to be accepted into one can be even harder. Community can take many shapes and forms; from close-knit family groups, to loving and accepting friends, to larger forms like queer or ethnic groups coming together and looking out for one another in a society where doing so is difficult. A community is not just bound by physical location, but by a shared ethos and understanding, a desire to care for every member of that community, and to accept care in return.

There are a few approaches authors take when writing a sequel to one of their stories. The most common is continuing the story following the same protagonists, furthering their characte…

            Nearly every story follows a similar narrative structure. While there are some variations, such as Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey and the three act structure commonly seen in film and stage, they can all be mapped out on the same chart. It begins with the exposition, where the reader is introduced to the characters, the setting, and aspects of the main conflict. This is then following by rising action, which includes the majority of the story. Rising action throws the main characters into the central conflict, escalating and escalating until the story finally reaches its climax.

            With every year, more and more cozy fantasy series enter the world of readers looking for a story that combines escapism with stories and characters that are simply pleasant. Cozy fantasy still has stakes, sometimes dire stakes, but every reader goes into these books with the understanding that everything will turn out alright by the end of it. That does not diminish the trials and tribulations that the characters undergo, but it does help readers stay invested in the narrative and characters. We like seeing the day-to-day lives of characters as they move throughout the world, meeting new people and doing things that make them happy.

Ending a story is always a daunting challenge for an author, balancing both the needs of the work and characters with the treatment of books as a business. A well-loved book series that…

Nearly every religion and culture in the world contains some tradition regarding an afterlife, and typically a part of that afterlife belief system includes an underworld. A place where…

Everyone desires a place to belong. It is as intrinsic to human nature as the need for connection, for community, for affection. We all desire a place where we feel comfort, like we fit…

No two stories have the same shape. Some novels tell a single, encompassing story within their pages, while others require duologi…

Over the last several years, the cozy fantasy has taken the literary world by storm. These are novels meant to make readers feel comfortable, prioritizing scenes of characters spending …

            All art is political, and few genres of literature are more political than hard science-fiction. With science-fiction, the author is typically presenting a vision of the future. Sometimes it is a future they would like to see, but more often it is a warning of a future they would like to approve. They show us a future where technology has evolved past our current level, and write about how that technology is integral to the story. How the characters use that technology, and how it interacts with the setting, is political.

"Our presence made a difference," one priest said, quoting an immigration lawyer saying their client was given more time to prepare for another hearing.