The Art of Subcreation

Happy New Year!
I know it has been a while since my last post, but I have been brainstorming on this topic for a while.
It builds on the idea of being creative in the fact that last post I said that humans, by their very nature, are creative. I also mentioned that I believe that to use that creativity can be as holy of a work as being a pastor or a missionary.

However, I do not want to leave open the idea that simply being creative is a divine work. There are many examples of humans in history creating or imagining ideas, technologies and art forms that certainly could not be considered holy or divinely inspired. I am certain you can list a few.

That being said, I wanted to express an idea about how to be creative without having to be religious sounding.You see, I used to believe that, as a Christian, in order to be glorifying God was to always have some sort of Christian reference. This attitude could often come across as "holier-than-thou" in my choices with regards to movies, TV shows, and other kinds of media. I even debated giving up on Star Wars because of this attitude.

My writing would probably not be the way that it is now if it were not for my reading a letter my J.R.R. Tolkien regarding his creation of "Lord of the Rings." In that letter Tolkien expressed a simple attitude that he called "sub-creation," where a writer or other artist seeks to explore other avenues by which God could have created the world. To paraphrase one statement, he said that reincarnation may be bad theology in this world, but in Middle-Earth that is part of the world.

I hope you follow what I mean. Tolkien is not suggesting that writers create something outside of what God would allow; God's nature is not changing in this idea. However, since God is an infinite being, He has at his disposal, infinite ideas. Certainly the variety of plants and animals are examples of that. The idea of sub-creation then is exploring that potential and that variety. In Middle-Earth, Elves are immortal because that is how the Creator made them, not because of some magical power on their part.

With this freedom comes the ability for Christian writers to express divine ideas in a variety of ways. We can explore imagined worlds, fanciful and far away, because the Creator has given us the ability to imagine within His creation, His infinite variety.

I look forward to your comments!

God bless you!

Being creative

calvin, hobbes, creative, bored, snowman

Why is man creative? Is it an expression of how to understand the world around us? Or maybe it is a means of communication, reminiscent of drawings on stone tablets to share knowledge.

More importantly, do you consider yourself creative? If so, why do you create?

Now, I bring all these questions up for a simple reason-if we are talking about writing and imagining worlds beyond our own, should we not consider the purpose behind such imaginings?

For instance, if I take a purely survivalist and evolutionary perspective on creativity, you could run into some problems. While I will agree that being able to think creatively to escape a predator or to create new tools is an advantage, the ability to draw may be useful to communicate those ideas. However, one can also see the disadvantage of drawing on a stone tablet inside a cave as the bear comes out.

You could also take a more religious perspective too. I'm not talking purely a Christian one, but just the idea that a god created humanity and they were placed on the Earth for a purpose. What purpose would being creative serve? If you take it to a religious extreme, you would probably end up in a Middle Ages mode, where commissioned artwork is that of religious themes but more secular work is shunned or avoided.

Of course, there are other perspectives, but I wanted to address to the two more extreme ones before coming to what I believe is a biblically sound approach to creativity. In order to do so, I will be citing two passages, both from the Book of Genesis, that will give insight into why man creates, and how that creativity can best be used.

The first verse is taken from Genesis 1 and states that God made man in His own image. "26Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; (NASB)."

Now, there are several spiritual implications in that verse, and whole books have been written about man being made in God's image. Some take it as man being made a spiritual, as well as physical beings, thus differentiating man from animals. Others have pointed out that it makes man a moral creature, capable of making moral choices and decisions.

All of these points are interesting, and deserving of their own discussion. But, the focus I want to make is about man being in God's image implies that man shares some of God's attributes, such as being a spiritual being, being a moral agent and capable of choosing. There is one other attribute of God that I believe man shares; that of being creative. In Genesis 1, verse 1, we read, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (emphasis added)."

In the very first words of the Bible we are given the image of a God who creates, a God who designs the world and all the life on the Earth in a variety of ways. God, by His very nature is creative, and I would submit that man, being created in God's image, is naturally a creative being.

Why do you think you are creative?

I thank God everyday, remembering you in my prayers

If you have ever read any of Paul's letters in the Bible, then you will know that at the end of every letter there was a list of people that took up a whole chapter that Paul wanted to greet or thank.
This is what this post is intended to do-thank those who contributed to my writing and my life.
To some, it may not matter, but to me, I don't take the time to say, "Thank you," often enough. So, in a small way here is to the following people:

The people I know personally:

My Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who saved me and brought me back into fellowship with the living God through His death on the cross. He created this world, and I hope that my writings might express His glory in one way or another.

My wife, Amanda, for encouraging me to be myself, even when I think my ideas are quite odd, and for agreeing to share the rest of our lives together.

My parents-for allowing me to be myself and giving me powerful examples of faith to emulate, to ask questions of and raising me to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Also, my dad introduced me to Star Trek and Star Wars early which led me to an interest in both those shows and science fiction in general.

Grandpa Longpre-although I did not know him long, his influence on my dad has continued to influence me, specifically in a love of science fiction. Dad always said his dad would be fascinated by the technology of today, and was a big Star Trek fan.

Mom-mom and Pop-pop-the other set of grandparents who also provide a powerful role model of faith and Christian living.

Uncle John-probably the second most important person as far as introducing me to science fiction. Not only did he introduce me to authors like Heinlien, Herbert, Weber and many others. Also, he took me to many science fiction conventions as well as being a hero to myself and others.

Marie-a friend of mine who also encourages me in both my faith and to be myself. Probably the one person who knows how crazy I can be (besides my wife) and as stuck by me through many difficult circumstances. She also has been a fun person to debate about various topics from theology to politics.

Spencer-you probably never realized what all our talks about fiction, computers game and weapons were actually influencing my writing. I enjoyed our talks because it gave me insight in things that I had never before considered.

Phil Thompson-well, he taught me more things with regards to life, construction and logging than can be recorded here. Suffice to say that this man influenced me more in spiritual things and how to make my faith more real and day to day.

Barney Corbin-a man who deserves a lot of recognition as a quiet leader and example of faith. I learned a lot about how to think about my faith and some good military tactics too.
John-my partner in crime for the longest time, as far as writing and creativity goes. John is a change agent, someone who creates ideas and then discussed them with me. This led to where I am right now as far as story ideas go. He also taught me the importance of good design, and purposeful effects versus just pretty.

Mrs. Heather Solsvick-not many teachers will give a student an A on a paper that ended up being 56 pages long for an 8-10 page assignment. But, she did and that is what motivated me to continue writing Christian sci-fi.

Mr. Ivan Benson-The teacher who knew pretty much everything and you could talk to about everything. He also encouraged me through the tough times to be myself (or blue, as we called it).

RJ, Brad and Will Brown-tried and true friends who show the meaning of faithful brothers regardless of circumstances.

Stan-helped me to understand the importance of the filming process as well as listening to my crazy ideas about films. I am sure he disagreed with me more often than not.

William H-a smart man and a good cook who is fun for a debate on any topic as well as a challenging opponent in those intellectual debates.


To those I know and are not listed-thank you because everyone I have known as touched me in some way.

People I do not know personally but still influence my writing:

J.R.R. Tolkein-if there is one man who influences my style it would Mr. Lord of the Rings himself. I am sure I am not the first to be inspired by Middle Earth, but it is Tolkein's attitude towards writing and creativity and God that influences me the most and pushes me towards in depth creation.

C.S. Lewis-a close friend of Tolkein's, Lewis helped me to understand the idea of a "supposal", creating a supposed world and how would God intervene in that world.

George Lucas-of course, many people could probably cite Lucas as an influence, but what I have appreciated most about Lucas' work is his creativity and originality. He also took the idea of fantasy and scifi and created a bit of a blend.

Cael-that isn't even his real name, but this computer programmer never met me, and I never met him. He did teach me that nothing should be done without a purpose when it came to designing video games. The same applies to writing too.

To you-I may not know you in person, but I appreciate your interest and comments.

Thanks for reading!

Laying down the rules

"In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets. " Matthew 7:12


This post is the one that I will refer people to if they would like to know what rules I will be enforcing on this blog. These are in addition to the Terms of Service as enforced by Google, the owners of this website. If any of them need clarification please post questions here.

1. As the verse says, treats others as you would want to be treated. This means that there are to be NO personal attacks. This forum is intended to promote intelligent and thoughtful discussion about writing and spirituality. These topics can prompt personal feelings, but keep the discussion on topic and not at person.

2. Do not post any adult oriented material, specifically pictures, links, videos or promotional material.

3. No banners, advertisements or other solicitations are allowed to be posted. Such posts will be removed, regardless of material. If you wish for a cause to be promoted here, please let me know.

4. All copyrighted material posted or referred to in any postings are the property of the original copyright holder and no copyright violations are implied or intended.

5. Other material that is not copyrighted is the intellectual property of the original poster and should not be reprinted without request.

6. All ideas expressed here by the owner of the blog is my own ideas based on both outside and original ideas. Please refrain from reposting them anywhere without prior permission.

7. All characters and concepts here expressed are fictional and are not meant to recreate any people real or fictional. Any similarity to people, real or fictional, is purely coincidental.

8. No swearing and/or adult language. Despite the fact that the majority of the readers of this blog will be adults, no swearing will be allowed and will be censored by the owner. The reasons behind this are simple-swearing tends to detract from your point and can easily get offensive or turn into personal attacks. Please make more point without colorful language.

9. The owner of this blog reserves the right to amend these rules at his discretion.

Thanks for reading and abiding by these rules.

The First Post-An introduction to the Blog

class="MsoNormal">Hi there!

If you are reading this it means I probably sent you an invitation or you came across it because you are interested in writing, science fiction, or just wondering what this page was all about. Here in this post, I will tell you and let you know what you are getting yourself into. First, I quick introduction about the author and the subject matter of this blog you will be reading.

My name is Erich, though my internet handle on this blog will be fireproof78. I am currently 25 years old (as of writing this) and have a wife and a daughter who I love spending time with in various activities. So, if there are times when this blog doesn’t get updated it is because my time is taken up elsewhere and I will get back to writing as soon as possible.

My interests and hobbies include writing, reading, and various outdoor sports, including tennis, sword fighting, swimming and bike riding. I have enjoyed most of these activities for many years, especially writing, which I can remember writing my first scifi story in 4^th grade, as well as reading as much about Star Trek as I possibly could.

Star Trek was probably my first introduction to science fiction, and my uncle, John, contributed more by giving me other books to read, such as Robert Heinlein’s Tunnel in the Sky, which is an excellent book, and Heinlein is one of my favorite authors in the genre. I have also enjoyed Ben Bova, Rick Shelly and many others as time allows to read new books that don’t have to do with school work.

I currently have a Bachelor’s degree in psychology, and enjoy understanding how things work and why people do what they do, and what their motivations are. In that regard, I can come across as kind of dependent on other’s opinions because I like to find out what other people think before voicing my own opinion. However, I have found that people often have a reason for why they do what they do, and understanding that helps me understand myself a little better.

That leads me to the purpose of this blog. This isn’t just a blog about writing. The title of it is, The Cross, the Pen, and the Galaxy. I chose those three elements to represent three different reference points that will frame the subject material I write about. The cross represents my personal belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and Creator of all things including my ability to create and be creative. Through discoveries in the creative process of writing, I have actually come to understand God a little better, and will share some of those insights here.

The pen represents the writing process, discussing aspects such as world building, different genres and themes, as well as character development and design. There are some discoveries in the process of writing and growing that I think will benefit others, and hopefully help other writers avoid some of my mistakes.

The galaxy is for science fiction, one of my interests and the subject of my current writing project. I chose the galaxy to represent scifi because of the vast size of it, and the infinite possibilities there are in it to explore. My possible explorations and inventions that I create are only a tiny speck with the universe God has created.

These are the three categories which will the majority of topics be written about on this blog. I hope to not only share insights of mine, but encourage others to explore their more creative sides.

Until next time…