{"id":29556,"date":"2015-07-08T06:30:16","date_gmt":"2015-07-07T18:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/?p=29556"},"modified":"2015-07-08T01:38:33","modified_gmt":"2015-07-07T13:38:33","slug":"keeping-fantasy-fresh-with-a-teaspoonful-of-luck-interesting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/2015\/07\/08\/keeping-fantasy-fresh-with-a-teaspoonful-of-luck-interesting\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Fantasy Fresh — & (With A Teaspoonful Of Luck!) Interesting"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Wall<\/a>

Wall storm<\/p><\/div>\n

Keeping storytelling fresh is always a challenge, simply because there are very few distinct stories: two people meet, a farm boy\/girl finds a destiny (Carnivale<\/em>, anyone?), families fall out and come together again, star-crossed love, an ordinary person is faced with an extraordinary challenge\u2026<\/p>\n

These are the stories that speak to us in every generation and not just in Fantasy. The difference in Fantasy is that we add magic\u2026(Then stir!)<\/p>\n

This is why I argue that the secret to great storytelling is not necessarily about finding the “new”, but about how we tell stories that are already—if not quite as old as time—at least as enduring as the human race. In short, it is about authenticity. And authenticity is about keeping it real.<\/p>\n

A big part of keeping it real in all fiction is developing authentic characters. It\u2019s even more vital with Fantasy because the characters operate in a fantastic setting, which may be completely \u201cother\u201d worlds, or our own world, but with magic added. To believe in the world, we first have to believe in the characters at an emotional level. Their hopes, dreams, and fears have to be real for us as readers.<\/p>\n

\"Jaransor;<\/a>

Jaransor; art by Peter Fitzpatrick – used with permission<\/p><\/div>\n

One way I strive to achieve that, as a writer, is to understand that no matter how large or small the part in the story, a character is always important to him or herself. Even the most minor of characters will have a history and a life that matters to them<\/em>, and as the writer I have to convey a sense of that, even if the reader will only ever catch the most fleeting glimpse of the character on the page.<\/p>\n

The second part of keeping Fantasy real (and fresh, and interesting) is developing those fantastic worlds\u2014which I believe is what distinguishes the SFF genre from any other form. Other literary genres are all bound to the world-as-we-know-it, whether in its contemporary or historical context. Perhaps all fiction asks \u201cwhat if?\u201d But speculative fiction asks, “What if a world could be like this, or this, or <\/em>that?”<\/em> While fantasy adds the coda, “What if there really were magic? How would that <\/em>work?”<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the infinite variety of possible \u201cwhat if\u2019s\u201d that keeps Fantasy exciting.<\/p>\n

The Wall Of Night series<\/a>—I’m currently copyediting the third book, Daughter Of Blood<\/em>—is set in a completely \u201cother\u201d world, that has been described by readers as a compelling \u2018character\u2019 in its own right. It\u2019s also a story of magic and adventure, roof top pursuits and tourneys, hidden identities and springtime love. The heart of the story, though, is always the characters: Malian, the Heir of Night, and her comrade-in-arms, Kalan, and their tale of honor, ambition, and duty, as well as responsibility: to each other, to the world in which they live, and to their families, whether of blood or friendship.<\/p>\n

I believe these are matters that not just speak to, but compel us in every generation. And you don\u2019t get any more interesting than that.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

*In the interests of copyedit progress, this post was adapted from a guest article \r\non Marianne De Pierres site, ca.2013.<\/pre>\n
 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Keeping storytelling fresh is always a challenge, simply because there are very few distinct stories: two people meet, a farm boy\/girl finds a destiny (Carnivale, anyone?), families fall out and come together again, star-crossed love, an ordinary person is faced with an extraordinary challenge\u2026 These are the stories that speak to us in every generation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,50,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-about-my-books","category-about-writing","category-epicfantasy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29556"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29564,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29556\/revisions\/29564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}