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.
Thank you to Chelsie Elaine, our newest patron! Your support is another elf warrior to help us in this fantasy siege which isn’t realistic but is very exciting. Would you prefer everyone camping out until one side runs out of food? Didn’t think so.
October 7, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Thank you to Chelsie Elaine, our newest patron! Your support is another elf warrior to help us in this fantasy siege which isn’t realistic but is very exciting. Would you prefer everyone camping out until one side runs out of food? Didn’t think so.
Listening to the new Old Man’s War book, The Shattering Peace. It’s too early to judge the story, but the audio narrator, Tavia Gilbert, is really good. She does a bunch of distinctive voices for the various characters, both humans and aliens, without ever sounding exaggerated.
October 1, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Listening to the new Old Man’s War book, The Shattering Peace. It’s too early to judge the story, but the audio narrator, Tavia Gilbert, is really good. She does a bunch of distinctive voices for the various characters, both humans and aliens, without ever sounding exaggerated.
An evergreen debate for scifi fans is whether walking combat vehicles have any real advantages over traditional treads or wheels. One supposed advantage is an easier time over rough terrain, which seems drawn from the fact that humans or horses can sometimes cross ground that tanks can’t.
September 25, 2025 at 2:30 PM
An evergreen debate for scifi fans is whether walking combat vehicles have any real advantages over traditional treads or wheels. One supposed advantage is an easier time over rough terrain, which seems drawn from the fact that humans or horses can sometimes cross ground that tanks can’t.
There’s a classic “prank” people like to talk about pulling on agents and/or acquisitions editors, where you send them an existing, award winning book but pretend you wrote it. If they pass on the book, it shows they have no taste and you get to do a big brain flex. 1/9
September 16, 2025 at 2:43 PM
There’s a classic “prank” people like to talk about pulling on agents and/or acquisitions editors, where you send them an existing, award winning book but pretend you wrote it. If they pass on the book, it shows they have no taste and you get to do a big brain flex. 1/9
A big thank you to Lichen, our latest supporter! They join our fleet of writing advice starships on the way to do battle with the Dominion of algorithms and LLMs that have decided to strangle our traffic. A fleet of Federation ships from Deep Space Nine.
August 28, 2025 at 2:52 PM
A big thank you to Lichen, our latest supporter! They join our fleet of writing advice starships on the way to do battle with the Dominion of algorithms and LLMs that have decided to strangle our traffic. A fleet of Federation ships from Deep Space Nine.
Queen’s Gambit is a very important show that explores what it’s like to morph from a child actor into Anya Taylor-Joy while everyone around you stays exactly the same.
August 19, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Queen’s Gambit is a very important show that explores what it’s like to morph from a child actor into Anya Taylor-Joy while everyone around you stays exactly the same.
Diane listening to the weird messages Cooper keeps leaving her or something, I dunno I don’t watch Warehouse 13
August 18, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Diane listening to the weird messages Cooper keeps leaving her or something, I dunno I don’t watch Warehouse 13
Name a non LOTR character who could resist the one ring
August 18, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Name a non LOTR character who could resist the one ring
Overall, the Murderbot TV show was quite good. We’re not thrilled with the changes to Murderbot’s character, but we understand why they did it. Mensa is as great, just like the books. The real triumph is Gurathin though. In the book, he’s a flat hero hater. In the show, he and deeply compelling.
July 14, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Overall, the Murderbot TV show was quite good. We’re not thrilled with the changes to Murderbot’s character, but we understand why they did it. Mensa is as great, just like the books. The real triumph is Gurathin though. In the book, he’s a flat hero hater. In the show, he and deeply compelling.
Darrington Press, AKA Critical Role, has a bizarre clause in the license for what other developers can do with material from their games like Daggerheart. Behold: 1/7
July 9, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Darrington Press, AKA Critical Role, has a bizarre clause in the license for what other developers can do with material from their games like Daggerheart. Behold: 1/7
This is purely anecdotal, but we’ve been watching discussions of Andor in right wing spaces and it’s fascinating. The show is good enough that it has a lot of right wing fans, but its obvious lefty politics are causing some serious dissonance.
June 11, 2025 at 2:53 PM
This is purely anecdotal, but we’ve been watching discussions of Andor in right wing spaces and it’s fascinating. The show is good enough that it has a lot of right wing fans, but its obvious lefty politics are causing some serious dissonance.
When the book assures us that the love interest isn’t treating the heroine like shit because he’s an asshole but because she’s a stupid bitch who deserves it.
June 5, 2025 at 2:34 PM
When the book assures us that the love interest isn’t treating the heroine like shit because he’s an asshole but because she’s a stupid bitch who deserves it.
Many thanks to Jessi, our newest patron! With their help, we’ll soon have this very cool and not at all rebel-linked antique shop all stocked and ready to go. Speaking of which, does anyone know where we can get our hands on a new dodecahedron? They really bring the room together.
May 5, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Many thanks to Jessi, our newest patron! With their help, we’ll soon have this very cool and not at all rebel-linked antique shop all stocked and ready to go. Speaking of which, does anyone know where we can get our hands on a new dodecahedron? They really bring the room together.
Sinners has some of the best music we’ve ever encountered in a movie. Well worth the price of admission all on its own.
April 28, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Sinners has some of the best music we’ve ever encountered in a movie. Well worth the price of admission all on its own.
A big thank you to a returning patron of ours, 3 Bumblebees In A Trench Coat! If they had been in charge of making The Bee Movie, it might have been good!
April 15, 2025 at 2:35 PM
A big thank you to a returning patron of ours, 3 Bumblebees In A Trench Coat! If they had been in charge of making The Bee Movie, it might have been good!
You can practice for years writing sarcastic characters and it will never match Owen’s “Like you trained his father?” line from the Kenobi show. Not fair!
March 27, 2025 at 2:53 PM
You can practice for years writing sarcastic characters and it will never match Owen’s “Like you trained his father?” line from the Kenobi show. Not fair!
To clarify, because we see this in The Discourse, the problem with “Somehow Palpatine Returned” isn’t that it’s unexplained. 1/9
March 20, 2025 at 4:28 PM
To clarify, because we see this in The Discourse, the problem with “Somehow Palpatine Returned” isn’t that it’s unexplained. 1/9
gotta pick one up for the protagonist.
March 11, 2025 at 6:07 PM
gotta pick one up for the protagonist.
No more need to debate who is and is not a chosen one. We've solved it.
March 10, 2025 at 5:50 PM
No more need to debate who is and is not a chosen one. We've solved it.
Thank *you* for writing such a fun and sweet story. Also this cover art is just spectacular. We couldn't find the artist's name sadly but they did a great job.
March 5, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Thank *you* for writing such a fun and sweet story. Also this cover art is just spectacular. We couldn't find the artist's name sadly but they did a great job.
A comparison of Hurley’s The Light Brigade and Tchaikovsky’s Alien Clay. AKA: Why we prefer our political stories to have more story in them. Significant spoilers for both novels. 1/21
February 25, 2025 at 7:57 PM
A comparison of Hurley’s The Light Brigade and Tchaikovsky’s Alien Clay. AKA: Why we prefer our political stories to have more story in them. Significant spoilers for both novels. 1/21
So we got a new Avatar show announced over the weekend, and while it’s way too early for any real commentary, some people are using this as an excuse to dump on Korra. This isn’t real criticism and is a sign you shouldn’t pay attention to anything else they say.
February 24, 2025 at 6:59 PM
So we got a new Avatar show announced over the weekend, and while it’s way too early for any real commentary, some people are using this as an excuse to dump on Korra. This isn’t real criticism and is a sign you shouldn’t pay attention to anything else they say.
Travel stories must perform a careful balancing act when it comes to differentiating the various places your heroes visit. On the one hand, you really do not want it to seem like every locale in your world is the same. 1/10
February 5, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Travel stories must perform a careful balancing act when it comes to differentiating the various places your heroes visit. On the one hand, you really do not want it to seem like every locale in your world is the same. 1/10
We recently encountered a video essay describing Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers as having an “unconventional plot structure,” since it’s effectively divided in two. You’ve got the Frodo and Sam story in one section, and then everyone else in another. 1/3
February 4, 2025 at 4:14 PM
We recently encountered a video essay describing Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers as having an “unconventional plot structure,” since it’s effectively divided in two. You’ve got the Frodo and Sam story in one section, and then everyone else in another. 1/3
There’s a big concern among storytellers right now that streamers (mostly Netflix) are “dumbing down” their shows and movies to be “second screen content.” AKA, something we have on in the background while being zombies glued to our phones. 1/14
January 22, 2025 at 3:37 PM
There’s a big concern among storytellers right now that streamers (mostly Netflix) are “dumbing down” their shows and movies to be “second screen content.” AKA, something we have on in the background while being zombies glued to our phones. 1/14