Mythcreants
@mythcreants.bsky.social
An online publication for speculative fiction storytellers. To better understand and tell the stories we love, we analyze popular works, theorize on storytelling craft, and explore the technical aspects of writing.
The new Frankenstein movie kept the part about Victor being a man of high passions, but they switched the passions around. In the movie, he’s full of righteous anger at the world. In the book, he freaks out and needs a nap when his experiment goes as expected.
November 12, 2025 at 3:47 PM
The new Frankenstein movie kept the part about Victor being a man of high passions, but they switched the passions around. In the movie, he’s full of righteous anger at the world. In the book, he freaks out and needs a nap when his experiment goes as expected.
Howitzer does imply the existence of whyitzer, but that is sadly noncannon
November 11, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Howitzer does imply the existence of whyitzer, but that is sadly noncannon
Imagine you’re Captain Anderson, and this Frankenstein guy is about to tell you about the monster that attacked your ship, but instead he launches into an anecdote about the time he hit on his brother’s fiance by pretending to be a priest.
November 10, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Imagine you’re Captain Anderson, and this Frankenstein guy is about to tell you about the monster that attacked your ship, but instead he launches into an anecdote about the time he hit on his brother’s fiance by pretending to be a priest.
"For some reason, I just got a hankering for some crispy potato chips."
mythcreants.com/blog/lessons...
mythcreants.com/blog/lessons...
Lessons From the Verbose Writing of The Sun Eater
Copying your favorite writer may do more harm than good.
mythcreants.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:38 PM
"For some reason, I just got a hankering for some crispy potato chips."
mythcreants.com/blog/lessons...
mythcreants.com/blog/lessons...
The Medieval period implies the existence of the Highevil and Lowevil periods
November 6, 2025 at 3:36 PM
The Medieval period implies the existence of the Highevil and Lowevil periods
We’ve all read books that describe the heroine like “she was too skinny, her eyes were tooo big, her hair was tooooooo luscious.” Is there a guy equivalent? Any books out there about how the hero has too many muscles, too chiseled a jaw?
November 5, 2025 at 4:26 PM
We’ve all read books that describe the heroine like “she was too skinny, her eyes were tooo big, her hair was tooooooo luscious.” Is there a guy equivalent? Any books out there about how the hero has too many muscles, too chiseled a jaw?
Ever wondered about the historical equivalent of “the US is a republic, not a democracy”?
It’s “kings aren’t inherently anti-democratic, sometimes they’re elected by a dozen or so princes.”
It’s “kings aren’t inherently anti-democratic, sometimes they’re elected by a dozen or so princes.”
November 4, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Ever wondered about the historical equivalent of “the US is a republic, not a democracy”?
It’s “kings aren’t inherently anti-democratic, sometimes they’re elected by a dozen or so princes.”
It’s “kings aren’t inherently anti-democratic, sometimes they’re elected by a dozen or so princes.”
D&D 5E’s darkness rules are so bad they have even infected Baldur’s Gate 3, where the vast majority of darkvision abilities do not let you see through magical darkness, only regular darkness, something you will almost never encounter because someone has politely scattered torches all over Faerûn.
November 3, 2025 at 4:06 PM
D&D 5E’s darkness rules are so bad they have even infected Baldur’s Gate 3, where the vast majority of darkvision abilities do not let you see through magical darkness, only regular darkness, something you will almost never encounter because someone has politely scattered torches all over Faerûn.
560 – The Questionably Supernatural
Could it be magic? (yes)
mythcreants.com
November 2, 2025 at 4:44 PM
"I’m not saying there’s no place for abstract philosophizing about war, but Star Trek has a habit of getting up its own ass on such topics"
mythcreants.com/blog/the-bes...
mythcreants.com/blog/the-bes...
The Best and Worst of Strange New Worlds Season Two
Imagine Star Trek that is good. What a concept!
mythcreants.com
November 1, 2025 at 6:52 PM
"I’m not saying there’s no place for abstract philosophizing about war, but Star Trek has a habit of getting up its own ass on such topics"
mythcreants.com/blog/the-bes...
mythcreants.com/blog/the-bes...
"Surely once they create their miracle cure, the hero will realize all of those unethical experiments were worth it!"
mythcreants.com/blog/nine-re...
mythcreants.com/blog/nine-re...
Nine Reasons for a Villain to Spare the Hero
"I want to break their spirit" doesn't cut it.
mythcreants.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:30 PM
"Surely once they create their miracle cure, the hero will realize all of those unethical experiments were worth it!"
mythcreants.com/blog/nine-re...
mythcreants.com/blog/nine-re...
Internet is currently full of AI generated clips that are advertised as future of TV or gaming, and they all look like absolute ass. Really curious if this is some kind of psyop by anti-AI people or if the complete lack of taste and judgement on display is genuine.
October 30, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Internet is currently full of AI generated clips that are advertised as future of TV or gaming, and they all look like absolute ass. Really curious if this is some kind of psyop by anti-AI people or if the complete lack of taste and judgement on display is genuine.
Language is unfair. We all acknowledge that “spook” can refer to a mysterious government agent, and yet copy editors keep saying it’s wrong when I use “spooky” to mean “full of spies.”
October 29, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Language is unfair. We all acknowledge that “spook” can refer to a mysterious government agent, and yet copy editors keep saying it’s wrong when I use “spooky” to mean “full of spies.”
Nearly every unhinged literary take we encounter is built on the unprovable assumption that books are worse now than they used to be. We’d have so much more productive discussions if we could just stop idolizing the past.
October 28, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Nearly every unhinged literary take we encounter is built on the unprovable assumption that books are worse now than they used to be. We’d have so much more productive discussions if we could just stop idolizing the past.
Dune’s weird and inconsistent politics make sense once you realize Frank Herbert was a libertarian with weird and inconsistent politics. The man wrote his books while gripped with terror of a charismatic Democrat.
October 27, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Dune’s weird and inconsistent politics make sense once you realize Frank Herbert was a libertarian with weird and inconsistent politics. The man wrote his books while gripped with terror of a charismatic Democrat.
"S-H-A-E-P-E. The sheeAPEshifter."
mythcreants.com/blog/podcast...
mythcreants.com/blog/podcast...
559 – Unreliable Allies
Can you trust us? Yes. Probably.
mythcreants.com
October 26, 2025 at 4:22 PM
"S-H-A-E-P-E. The sheeAPEshifter."
mythcreants.com/blog/podcast...
mythcreants.com/blog/podcast...
The Best and Worst of Strange New Worlds Season One
How will each Star Trek episode rank?
mythcreants.com
October 25, 2025 at 4:07 PM
"If they are supposed to kill the hero, for instance, they probably have numerous opportunities to poison the hero’s food or stab the hero in their sleep."
mythcreants.com/blog/designi...
mythcreants.com/blog/designi...
Designing a Surprise Villain for Your Story
Villain reveals never get old, but they can be tricky.
mythcreants.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:28 PM
"If they are supposed to kill the hero, for instance, they probably have numerous opportunities to poison the hero’s food or stab the hero in their sleep."
mythcreants.com/blog/designi...
mythcreants.com/blog/designi...
It’s funny to read fantasy airship novels and see how the ships are described, because on the cover it’s always either Zeppelins or flying tallships. Can’t be messing with the public perception of what an airship looks like, it would be chaos!
October 23, 2025 at 3:52 PM
It’s funny to read fantasy airship novels and see how the ships are described, because on the cover it’s always either Zeppelins or flying tallships. Can’t be messing with the public perception of what an airship looks like, it would be chaos!
You might think it’s difficult to prove that your personal bogeyman is ruining literature (and/or other media), but actually all you need is a single example where something kinda didn’t work great, and a whole lot of righteous fury. Honestly, the example is optional.
October 22, 2025 at 4:35 PM
You might think it’s difficult to prove that your personal bogeyman is ruining literature (and/or other media), but actually all you need is a single example where something kinda didn’t work great, and a whole lot of righteous fury. Honestly, the example is optional.
Recently had someone tell us that it’s unrealistic to have more than one dark skinned character in a fantasy novel because people would never travel large distances in groups, if you’re wondering what the state of that particular discourse is.
October 21, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Recently had someone tell us that it’s unrealistic to have more than one dark skinned character in a fantasy novel because people would never travel large distances in groups, if you’re wondering what the state of that particular discourse is.
Once you do a little digging into how military vehicles are designed, you realize that strict classification systems are impossible because no one follows a standardized format. Every tank or battleship was conceived and engineered by weird little gremlins with no respect for anyone.
October 20, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Once you do a little digging into how military vehicles are designed, you realize that strict classification systems are impossible because no one follows a standardized format. Every tank or battleship was conceived and engineered by weird little gremlins with no respect for anyone.
"the essential Name of the Wind-ness that it is using is the idea of a super famous guy who did something bad telling you his memoir"
mythcreants.com/blog/podcast...
mythcreants.com/blog/podcast...
558 – Passing Time in Fiction
When you really want to be writing a memoir.
mythcreants.com
October 19, 2025 at 6:26 PM
"the essential Name of the Wind-ness that it is using is the idea of a super famous guy who did something bad telling you his memoir"
mythcreants.com/blog/podcast...
mythcreants.com/blog/podcast...
"It’s a D&D world, but the hero runs an inn. It’s a D&D world, but the monsters are edible. You get the idea."
mythcreants.com/blog/who-win...
mythcreants.com/blog/who-win...
Who Wins: Legends and Lattes, Irregular Witches, or The Spellshop?
It’s a battle, but a cozy one.
mythcreants.com
October 18, 2025 at 3:30 PM
"It’s a D&D world, but the hero runs an inn. It’s a D&D world, but the monsters are edible. You get the idea."
mythcreants.com/blog/who-win...
mythcreants.com/blog/who-win...