Why so much Fantasy

Discussion in 'Fantasy' started by Steve Coombes, Jan 18, 2019.

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  1. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    C'mon Glen, you'll be okay. Can't a shower and a book read on a bed fix a couple of hours? All best.
     
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  2. Hammer

    Hammer Moderator Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Don't worry, you're not anatidaephobic... the ducks are watching!
     
  3. Stormburn

    Stormburn Contributor Contributor

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    Even though fantasy is its own genre, it really denotes the setting the story takes place in, and not the story itself. As you note there is a number of fantasy writers on this forum. I've recently beta read for one of those authors. The similarity in our books begin, and end with the fantastical setting.
    Often times fantasy books stories would fit in other genres if not for the setting.
    The beta read I did really knocked my socks off. I'm excited at the prospect of reading what some of the other writers are producing.
    Godspeed!
     
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  4. Matt E

    Matt E Ruler of the planet Omicron Persei 8 Contributor

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    A few factors I'd say:
    • Fantasy is fairly distinctive, so it stands out more.
    • It is a broad genre. Contemporary fantasy can seem quite similar to horror and other genres. Stephen King's The Green Mile being a good example.
    • Fantasy, Scifi, and forums trend more popular among the same demographics.
    • Fantasy has a lower perceived barrier to entry than many higher-brow genres such as historical fiction
    • Fantasy is one of the more popular genres by readership.
    Many of these factors also apply to other genres, which is why they are popular too. Preliminary results from BayView's poll indicate that scifi may actually be more popular. And a lot of these points apply to scifi as well, for example.
     
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  5. Lilith Fairen

    Lilith Fairen Member

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    ???
     
  6. Free Spirit

    Free Spirit Member

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    Well, why limit yourself with sticking to reality? You already live there. It is just not appealing.
     
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  7. J. J. Wilding

    J. J. Wilding Member

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    It came up first in google, so naturally I checked out this forum first. Coincidence for me but for others, I guess fantasy has the appeal of invention. Drama and romance restrict what the writer has access to, similarly YA restricts language and themes and other genres are too niche, like steampunk. Choosing fantasy as the groundwork allows you to encompass all of those genres without losing out on the broad scope fantasy allows. And it's really fun to write, my goodness it is!
     
  8. Glen Barrington

    Glen Barrington Senior Member

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    My life is great, on a personal level. But the world at large does seem to suck a lot! That might explain the interest in Fantasy. The good guys almost always win.

    But thanks for the concern!
     
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  9. Surtsey

    Surtsey Banned

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    I think the financial success of fantasy writers in recent is in part responsible for turning the bandwagon into a caravan. Personally, I think fantasy is easier to write than other genres. The writer has real world restrictions. e.g. A character can be strapped in, 30 seconds away from receiving a lethal injection for a crime he did not commit. The writer has to some how get him out of there - "beam me up" or "pixie dust" are not options.
     
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  10. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    How many highly popular and successful fantasy novels have you seen solve a major plot problem with pixie dust?
     
  11. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    Buck Rogers and the Pixie Dust. Do Androids Dream of Electric Pixies? (Dust trilogy). The Brave New Pixies' Dust.

    Try again...
     
  12. Bone2pick

    Bone2pick Conspicuously Conventional Contributor

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    It doesn't feel any easier when I'm outlining and writing it.
     
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2019
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  13. Surtsey

    Surtsey Banned

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    I'll try to provide a more comprehensive answer. There is an almost control-freak aspect to fantasy writing - your world, your rules. When writing other genres there is a partnership, the writer needs to be minded of what the reader may or may not know, and what conclusions they may reasonably come to based on their own experiences. For the full effect I should post the entire first chapter but I won't - I'll post a sample of sentences to show what the target reader may have gleaned. All the character does is walk from the train station to her place of work.

    1) Half-empty polystyrene cup in hand, Corrine Radman exited South Ferry station. Her Café Latte Grande was now little more than lukewarm. She discarded the cup into the trash, and chuckled whilst responding to a tweet.

    2) She grinned as she reminisced – only interns actually run.

    3) Feeling the pressure of time, she hitched up her skirt and broke into a trot, conscious of, and embarrassed by, the echo of the sharp tap-tap sound of the heels of her Prada ankle boots striking the concrete concourse.

    4) A keen-looking young man in his grey suit and a particularly rebellious, yellow and black striped tie looked over to her, smiling; an expectant expression on his face as his finger hovered over the buttons on the panel.
    "34 please!" she responded, offering the young intern her cutest girlie smile.
    "34?" He gulped.
    "Yes, 34, where the players play."

    Most of the characterisation is built on what the reader knows about this world - assumptions are derived from facts. She drinks externally purchased fancy coffee on the way to work. She used to be an intern but that was way back in the day. She earns good money because Prada is expensive. And in tall office buildings rents increase the closer you get to the top. The target reader will know all of this and treat their own conclusions as fact. Other readers without the pre-existing knowledge will be clueless. The writer needs to proceed aware that different readers are at different levels of comprehension.

    Ergo, what did the reader know, and when did the reader know it?

    See what I did there?

    Because we all live in different bubbles even a simple sentence reveals different information to different readers.

    "Thanks for stopping by," said Candice. "And if I don't see you before - have a great Thanksgiving."

    I'm sure I just told you this story was set in the US - but do US citizens and the people of India know this? Of course, if the story was set on the planet Zzod - you'd have to detail the nuances of local culture.
     
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  14. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Thanksgiving is celebrated in more than just the US...

    But more concretely... I don't see how any of this makes fantasy easier to write than other genres. Different? Sure, although not that different from historical or SF or anything written in a different culture than the expected readership. But harder/easier? I don't see that. Having to create a world from wholecloth and convey all the necessary information without using the shortcuts you've demonstrated isn't easier, is it? Just different.

    Really, I think the hardest thing for anyone to write is the genre in which they don't feel comfortable. I'd never be comfortable writing literary, so it's "hard" for me, but I've seen literary writers try to write romance because they think it'll be "easy" and it's a disaster. If someone has done a lot of reading in a certain genre and has trained their brain to write in the ways demanded by that genre, then it's probably an easy genre for them. But it might not be easy at all for someone else.
     
  15. Necronox

    Necronox Contributor Contributor

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    There is also those writers whom are hobbyist or the likes and writing in their particular genre simply because they like to - regardless on whether or not they wish to be successfull, prolific, professional or otherwise. This may actually affect how the genre are represented here on the forums. There might also probably be those that are here doing research for an idea that they may not have started already or are on their first story (and may subsequently change).

    Also as posted on another thread:
     
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  16. Bone2pick

    Bone2pick Conspicuously Conventional Contributor

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    Not the answer I expected considering your first post disparaged fantastical plot devices. By the way, assuming they're suppose to, I don't understand how these two criticisms connect?

    As @BayView has already brought to light, your point about characterizations built on what the reader knows about this world applies to historical fiction and science fiction, as well as fantasy. Just as importantly, I'm not convinced that not being able to develop a character with Starbucks and Twitter references is evidence that that genre is easier to write for.
     
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  17. Surtsey

    Surtsey Banned

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    Here's the thing . . . Hey, I'll even make a real-world comparison. I could bring several arguments to this debate. Bone2pick seems alarmed that I dare to bring more than one argument . . . I sense a real world pattern. I recall trying to explain something to a Trump supporter. I've learned from my mistakes.

    Fantasy writers are the best ever writers in the history of writing.
     
  18. Bone2pick

    Bone2pick Conspicuously Conventional Contributor

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    Well, that took a sharp turn for the worse. . .

    Edit: Silly me, it's "worse" not "worst."
     
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2019
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  19. Nariac

    Nariac Contributor Contributor

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    thatescalatedquickly.jpeg
     
  20. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    I think this is correct that every writer has their comfort zone and that is sort of what determines what is so-called easier and harder for each writer. I say so-called because I don't think writing is really all that easy. Sure, sometimes it flows and you feel like a natural and other times it's just hard no matter what genre you're working in. I write literary fiction, but because of some stuff talked about on this forum I've tried my hand at some genre. It wasn't any easier. I had to read a bit more to get a grasp of what's out there. I think maybe I thought it would be easier, but it wasn't. Not for me. And I was using light genre strokes in my writing, you could say. For me to successfully write genre, I would have to be more immersed in it than I really want to be at this point. And it was just hard to really think about how to write a story on a planet that's not earth. My story could have almost as easily taken place at a kitchen table as outer space. Again, I'll say it sure it didn't come easy for me. Still, I now have some guilty pleasures when it comes to genre. I love reading and writing zombie stories. But I've never sold a zombie story. I don't know if that's branching out. I'm probably or pretty much writing maybe a literary-genre mix maybe. But genre still isn't my main focus. Anyway, writing is hard work. It takes a commitment and dedication that's hard to maintain. It means trying and failing more times than we think we should have to. I hate that my work doesn't come out as clean as I want it to in a first draft. I hate myself for all those days I just don't feel like writing and don't do it. I don't think anyone from the hobbyist to the professional really thinks writing is easy. Maybe you have to try another genre to know how hard it is. Or maybe you'd luck out and find something you're even better at. I say you meaning anyone, not you personally. I'm glad I tested the waters of genre and play around with it here and there.

    I think this forum has a bunch of us that are really dedicated and serious and like to talk shop or help each other out. For most things discussed on here, I don't think genre matters. Or if it does, it might call you to test the waters or just think of things in new ways that still apply to your writing even if it's in a different genre.
     
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  21. The Bishop

    The Bishop Senior Member

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    I think fantasy is easiest to write because you can come up with literally everything in the world you write and don't have to follow any rules, that's probably why most people write it
     
  22. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    The only way to approach the sci-fi mags is to go oblique with what they categorise as ‘homor’ or ‘weird.’

    But I have had no success with those boys and girls as yet.

    Their audience is passionate on their subject. I mean they subscribe to a sci-fi mag so they must be pretty serious. They’re not gonna swallow our -

    ‘Geez, is that Venus, it looks so pretty. Who wants another drink?’ I said at the central control console of the rocket ship Eureka.’

    Well, maybe they will? I’ll keep trying.
     
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  23. Bone2pick

    Bone2pick Conspicuously Conventional Contributor

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    Maybe they find it rewarding to write the type of stories they prefer to read?
     
  24. Infel

    Infel Contributor Contributor

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    I don't know about that, my friend! I'd dare to say that creating something unique from scratch out of endless possibilities carries it's own set of problems with it. When you create a fantasy world, you're in charge of the entire history of human evolution and civilization, religion, technological advancements--and if you're a fantasy writer worth your salt, you'll make a world where all those things fit together logically. It's quite the task!
     
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  25. 123456789

    123456789 Contributor Contributor

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    I don't think that almost ever happens. That being said, making your story appear that way can be extra work. Even if you're basically just copying the world of the Lord of the Rings, you still have to make sure that your knockoff appears seamless throughout the story enough to compel the reader. I'll agree that in some ways, writing about a conflict between your next door neighbors is easier, because your reader doesn't have to be convinced at all of the world. I'd also argue it's easier to write when you the writer are convinced of your own world...
     

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