We know what happens usually in a fantasy book for children. Character gets teleported to a fantasy kingdom and is awed by what she sees. Well, what if it were the exact opposite? What if there were a book where a fantasy character (say an elf child) were transported to our world? I bet she'd be awed at the stuff we've got. Of course, the conflict will have to be dire and based off of our world, something we would dread having and could actually happen. (like maybe she's on a train barreling out of control and is about to go over a bridge that sits over a raging waterfall? So I'm just curious if the concept had been done before, that exact concept?
This happens in my story, it's an elf too xD It probably has but to give an accurate answer we'll have to look in the book ever created...
The movie "Enchanted" is the only thing that comes off the top of my head. That said, it isn't a genre that is saturated by a single production. Give it a go and see what happens. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enchanted_(film)
Damn, I need to do some research before I ask. XD Well, um... I suppose I could write something like that. Have to figure out how to make it unique though, like Cogito said.
It is my opinion that you can take any idea, no matter how many times it has been used before, and as long as what you write is good and you have your own special twist to it, it will work. Nothing is used so many times that excellence can't make it work again.
I totally agree with Tesgah. Just because a concept exists and has been used, it can still be original if you write well and write differently to what has been written before. I like the example of 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' from the Chronicles of Narnia which was based on one of the most famous biblical stories and yet can be read with or without religious reference. Lewis created and entire fanasy world that spun 7 novels (if I remember correctly) and in this particular novel used the resurrection of Christ as his storyline. Throughout other novels in the series he also borrowed from world mythology (has been a long while since I have read them so can't think of examples offhand). The upshot is though is that he created a magical world, still as popular and relevant today as it was in the 50's. But the basic premise to that nove in the series was already familiar to millions, he just made the story his own.
It's a very common theme in old fairy tales and legends. Been done many, many times through the eons and still being done. The reason is because it works. It's a great idea because it taps into our love of the novel and also our fear of being different. Go for it. Don't worry about whether it's "been done". Think of it this way - in the time it takes you to find out how original your idea is, you could just write it and be well on the way to your next. And that next would be all the better due to the fact that you would have more experience as a writer, having written the first story. -Frank
You are all right. =D Now I just need to figure out the stuff in the story. In my head now I'm getting an image of a nine-year-old elf girl living with a family in the UK in the year 1911. Something about train tracks too. :3
There was a lot going on, politically, in England at that time. Including the coronation of George V. This could mean next to nothing to your story, or it could play a big part in the lives of your human characters. Another thing to keep in mind is whether the reader ever known where she came from. I've seen it both ways, and it can work either way. Does your elf look human? If so, do people believe that she's elf and how do they know? If she does not look completely human, does that cause any problems? Trains are powerful images. The tracks lead away from small towns, to big cities. Vagrants and children steal rides on freight trains - did your elf come to the family via freight train? How did the hobos treat her? Did she see the stars steady as the countryside zipped by? Was she dirty and greasy after her trip - or clean and fresh still? Well, just some thoughts - gotta get home. Good luck. -Frank
Stephen King did it in his The Dark Tower series. Yet he made it refreshing and different from others I read. There's nothing wrong with going ahead with the concept if you write it differently, and add your own town and originality with it. It's a concept I've always had interest in, and others surely as well. Give it a shot!
Hi Link, I know that back in the day (not sure when exactly, but I'm sure 1911 would fit the bill just fine) they had "orphan trains" to ship orphaned kids to families looking to adopt. For more info on this, look up "Anne of Green Gables." So maybe your elf kid could show up -- I'm assuming that she's not showing up with her family, and she'd be unable to pay apartment rent and stuff as a 9-year-old kid -- and be sent to an orphanage. Then she could be put on an orphan train to an adoptive family, and this could be a part of a plot. It's also a way to incorporate train tracks.
Read some Edith Nesbit sounds like a cross between Five Children and It and the Railway Children she is a tad earlier but in a similar timeframe. Well except the Psamead (sp??) is grumpy and unplesant is probably not close to your image of your elf girl lol
That's a good idea. I think she looks human (except for the ears which look elvish, so she must cover it up). I also thought of her having magical powers that she either must hide or is laying dormat (but that might sound a bit too Harry Potter-ish). And her own world...I wonder what happened to it? I guess that's part of the mystery. Does she go back to her world?
A long time ago I read a book where a young elf gets transported from elf-world to this world to stop some evil elves who came here to start an evil drug ring; think it was crack. The magic crack caused suffering and fear in its human users, which the evil elves siphon off to get more magic powers. Can't remember the name of the book, though.
Go for it, Link. I think it's a great idea. Maybe your elf can't or something. Maybe there's trouble brewing in her own world and she must come to our world to get help. IKD, just a random thought
Excellent! =D I've already brainstormed ideas and even gave a name for the elf girl: Arroran (Though with humans, she's Ashley). Setting: Dover, Kent, England. :3
Will it take place in the Edwardian Era? (hee, hee) JK, will you still pursue a time of 1911? Some time ago, I started on this story of mine in and around 1910. I just liked the idea of it. But I eventually saw how insignificant the time would be to my scenario so I changed it to the present.
