Brianna da Silva

Category: Writing

Brianna da Silva written by Brianna da Silva
August 1, 2021 1

Mental Health in Fantasy: A Conversation With Lucy McLaren

Mental health and trauma are often represented poorly in fiction, particularly in the fantasy genre. And particularly when dealing with female characters and sexual assault.

I wrote an article earlier this year expressing many of my frustrations with this issue. Today, fellow fantasy author Lucy McLaren and I decided to dive even deeper into the topic of mental health in fantasy, in a two-part interview series on both of our blogs.

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Brianna da Silva written by Brianna da Silva
May 12, 2021 1

Where #OwnVoices Went Wrong

In 2015, Corinne Duyvis created the now-popular #ownvoices tag on Twitter as a way to highlight books where the author shared a marginalized identity with the protagonist. For example, if a lesbian author wrote a story with a lesbian protagonist, that would be considered “own voices” for “lesbian representation.”

This term and hashtag started as an innocent way to highlight books that weren’t getting enough attention and support. But its usage has spiraled out of control into something rather toxic in the publishing industry.

Here’s where #ownvoices went wrong.

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Brianna da Silva written by Brianna da Silva
January 26, 2019 383

Merlin’s ending: A lesson for storytellers

I recently finished BBC’s Merlin series. It’s a wonderful TV show with a passionate fan base, but here’s the thing: It has a godawful ending.

As a storyteller, I think this series offers a valuable lesson that any writer — especially one who wants to craft emotionally-stirring, character-driven tales — should pay close attention to.

Here’s my personal diagnosis for why the ending of Merlin failed, and how writers can avoid The Merlin Problem in their own stories.

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Brianna da Silva written by Brianna da Silva
July 17, 2017 1

Why epic fantasy needs to ditch the patriarchy

The epic fantasy genre is loaded with patriarchy. Just take a look around. You’ll see it in novels, movies, games, and art.

Patriarchy overwhelms epic storytelling, as all the important characters – including the protagonist, antagonist, and mentor – traditionally tend to be male. Female characters are usually resigned to the role of love interest or sexualized background warrior.

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