tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11690971.post4885133693664753457..comments2023-05-24T16:56:03.032-05:00Comments on Bryan Davis Author Blog: The Boundaries of "What If?"Bryan Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10871857864446371127noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11690971.post-35645054585625542412012-09-01T15:41:00.722-05:002012-09-01T15:41:00.722-05:00I agree. Write with care but not with fear.I agree. Write with care but not with fear.Bryan Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10871857864446371127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11690971.post-66820126352680722332012-09-01T15:39:03.497-05:002012-09-01T15:39:03.497-05:00Yes, that's a good point. I guess perhaps it ...Yes, that's a good point. I guess perhaps it comes down to the line between being careful and being afraid. We should always be prayerfully careful, but never make a decision in our writing out of fear. :)J. Grace Penningtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03915315846850951354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11690971.post-45915875393290752942012-08-27T20:06:49.118-05:002012-08-27T20:06:49.118-05:00Good question, J. Grace. I lean toward writing a s...Good question, J. Grace. I lean toward writing a story even if some elements might confuse readers. If we balk at writing a story just because some readers might become confused about what is real and what is not, then no stories would ever be written, because someone out there will be confused, no matter what.Bryan Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10871857864446371127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11690971.post-30305343711825915822012-08-27T20:02:07.478-05:002012-08-27T20:02:07.478-05:00I agree overall with what you said, however, I'...I agree overall with what you said, however, I'm also cautious about writing things that are reasonably likely to confuse readers -- such as the presence of aliens or ghosts. However, that doesn't mean I won't read such things, or that I'll condemn another writer for writing them -- they aren't inherently wrong. It's just my personal conviction. For example, I would not write multiple dimensions because I think it messes too much with Creation and human souls, but I absolutely love the Echoes From the Edge series (so far!) and don't think it wrong that you wrote it.<br /><br />I hope that makes sense, and I thank you for an excellent article!J. Grace Penningtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03915315846850951354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11690971.post-89572617690999369462012-04-17T08:38:15.661-05:002012-04-17T08:38:15.661-05:00Exactly right, bminor. Well stated.Exactly right, bminor. Well stated.Bryan Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10871857864446371127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11690971.post-71109477621662397202012-04-17T08:33:33.796-05:002012-04-17T08:33:33.796-05:00Thank you for this post, Bryan--very insightful an...Thank you for this post, Bryan--very insightful and important. It is so disheartening to the writers of Christian Spec-Fic for folks to look down their noses at us and say, "That's not able to be supported by scripture! It's wrong." It's our job as speculative fiction writers to speculate. Asking "what if" doesn't mean we are beginning to believe our own imaginings are true!RebeccaPMinorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06433599770860270767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11690971.post-18522233225365710482012-03-30T10:44:15.531-05:002012-03-30T10:44:15.531-05:00If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity in the s...If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity in the same way in which Giant Despair represents Despair, he would be an allegorical figure. In reality however he is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, "What might Christ become like if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?" This is not allegory at all… This…works out a supposition.<br /><br />Allegory and such supposals differ because they mix the real and the unreal in different ways. Bunyan’s picture of Giant Despair does not start from supposal at all. It is not a supposition but a fact that despair can capture and imprison a human soul. What is unreal (fictional) is the giant, the castle, and the dungeon. The Incarnation of Christ in another world is mere supposal: but granted the supposition, He would really have been a physical object in that world as He was in Palestine and His death on the Stone Table would have been a physical event no less than his death on Calvary.<br /><br />-C.S Lewis, 1958Bruce Dockerynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11690971.post-87015172977209160032012-03-22T19:33:48.133-05:002012-03-22T19:33:48.133-05:00If someone had asked me previously whether or not ...If someone had asked me previously whether or not I would read something with ghosts in it, I would have said no. Such books usually strike me as horrific and demonic. You have definitely changed my perspective Mr. Davis. I am not saying I will go around reading every book that contains spirits to make a point, but if an author I trust puts out a book about ghosts I will give it a chance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11690971.post-28381969932633400722012-03-21T21:45:19.072-05:002012-03-21T21:45:19.072-05:00Very interesting!!! I will definetly look at books...Very interesting!!! I will definetly look at books in a different light now!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11690971.post-75484640058661457782012-03-19T16:47:37.957-05:002012-03-19T16:47:37.957-05:00I am reminded of an essay by George MacDonald abou...I am reminded of an essay by George MacDonald about the imagination. He makes a rather good case that, in fantasy, the author may change natural laws, but not moral ones. Thus, Dickens did not err in using ghosts; he presented evil as evil and good as good. Also, in The Great Divorce, Lewis did not err when he gave his ghosts the chance to stay in Heaven, even though no such choice is offered in reality. <br /><br />I see no inherent issue with incorporating ghosts into stories.Arakenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02159085503154184232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11690971.post-42072907201248195242012-03-18T15:53:58.872-05:002012-03-18T15:53:58.872-05:00Intriguing post, Mr. Davis. I agree with you, and...Intriguing post, Mr. Davis. I agree with you, and it has made related issues clearer to me. Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11690971.post-54128969836108329042012-03-18T15:20:36.023-05:002012-03-18T15:20:36.023-05:00I love this post! It's so well-said. The way y...I love this post! It's so well-said. The way you put it is perfect--that there is a difference between asking "what if this event were true?" and writing fiction in which God's character is changed. THAT, to me, is the core of the whole thing. Saying, "what if we could travel by portal" or "what if aliens landed on Noah's ark" is just story-telling and playing with ideas. As long as we don't claim those things to have actually happened and we don't characterize God differently--as someone who goes back on His promises or who can be tempted by evil, etc.--then we're not doing anything wrong.Kat Heckenbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17690721679155795038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11690971.post-47091605988333532562012-03-18T15:15:32.828-05:002012-03-18T15:15:32.828-05:00I would love a ghost story bring on the spooks
**...I would love a ghost story bring on the spooks<br /><br />**SAPPHIRA**Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11690971.post-76552102947343728332012-03-18T14:31:00.500-05:002012-03-18T14:31:00.500-05:00Very interesting concept. I believe much the same...Very interesting concept. I believe much the same as you do, and I also agree with you about authors; we never claim that our stories are true, but rather ask what would happen if certain elements of the story were true, even though we know they are not.<br /><br />Personally, I have one story concept I've been ruminating on that has to do with ghosts... sort of. Basically, one of my characters' abilities messes with time and somehow, if I remember correctly (it's been a while since I worked on the concept, you see) it rends the barriers between time, therefore bringing back "ghosts" of people that once were. <br /><br />It's confusing, but like I said, it's only in concept stage.<br /><br />In answer to your question though, yes, I would read books with ghosts in them, and have before. It's not that I believe in "ghosts" so much, but I enjoy a good read, and if the book doesn't brazenly go against anything I believe in as a Christian, then I might look at it, if not read it, and perhaps I might even enjoy it. ^_^Star-Dreamerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14298850366884374226noreply@blogger.com