The Problem with Arranged Marriages in YA Fiction

The Problem with Arranged Marriages in YA Fiction

Posted on by R.M. Archer

This post is part of a collaboration with several bloggers to discuss romance tropes and the philosophy behind them. Stay to the end to check out the other participating authors’ posts!

I have a problem with the arranged marriage trope in YA and NA fiction, and it’s not the issue you might think. I have no objection to portraying arranged marriages in fiction, even to portraying them to a (reasonably) young audience. In fact, my problem with arranged marriage in YA fiction is that it is almost always portrayed in a negative light.

Before you get too worked up, allow me to say that I don’t think arranged marriage is necessarily the ideal these days, and it can be problematic. I don’t believe Continue reading “The Problem with Arranged Marriages in YA Fiction” →

2022 Wrap-Up and Goals for 2023

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Another year has come and gone, and boy… what a year it has been. Parts of this year feel like they belonged to last year, and in many ways this year has felt very long. How could so much have happened all in one year?? But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s take a look at how this year stacked up against my expectations.

2022: An Overview

I split last year into three parts relative to my camp job, and I’m tempted to Continue reading “2022 Wrap-Up and Goals for 2023” →

Book Review: The Bridge of Little Jeremy by Indrajit Garai

Book Review: The Bridge of Little Jeremy by Indrajit Garai

Posted on by R.M. Archer

I must confess that this review is long overdue. It’s taken me four months to get through The Bridge of Little Jeremy to review it. But here we are, hopefully better late than never.

What is The Bridge of Little Jeremy about?

The adventure of a young Parisian artist and his dog. A novel of action and reflection; of fidelity and trust; of resilience, love, and the power of art:

Jeremy’s mother is about to go to prison for their debt to the State. He is trying everything within his means to save her, but his options are running out fast. Then Jeremy discovers a treasure under Paris. This discovery may save his mother, but it doesn’t come for free. And he has to ride over several obstacles for his plan to work.

Meanwhile, something else is limiting his time…

Review

This is a long book. It’s nearly Continue reading “Book Review: The Bridge of Little Jeremy by Indrajit Garai” →

Worldbuilding for a First Draft

Worldbuilding for a First Draft

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Worldbuilding can present a number of challenges—often different for each author—but one that seems to be a universal struggle is the challenge of knowing how much worldbuilding to do before you start a writing project. Whether you’re an author who gets sucked into the worldbuilding and has trouble getting into the actual writing process, or an author who leans into the writing process and finds later that their worlds don’t have as much depth as intended, hopefully this post will be a help and encouragement on the subject of worldbuilding for the sake of drafting.

Enough is Enough

You don’t need to know everything before you start writing.

Those of you who prefer to dive into Continue reading “Worldbuilding for a First Draft” →

How Should Christians Write About… Magic?

How Should Christians Write About… Magic?

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Magic can be a hot-button topic in Christian fantasy circles. Is magic ever okay? What is the difference between the magic in Lord of the Rings and the magic in Harry Potter? Should we just avoid it all? Does the faith of the author make a difference?

As with the other topics addressed in this series, magic in fiction is a matter of personal conviction and the intention of these posts is not to tell you what to think but rather to pose food for thought and my personal understanding of the topic based on what I see in Scripture.

To start with, I want to highlight a few different categories of “magic,” because I think a lot of conflict arises when we’re unclear about what we mean by “magic.”

I tend to see Continue reading “How Should Christians Write About… Magic?” →