1. Emily Everheart

    Emily Everheart New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2016
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    1

    The introduction to the secondary/fantasy world

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by Emily Everheart, Oct 1, 2016.

    Alright, so I was trying to write a story of star crossed lovers. Each day they would meat on a hill and spend the sunset together. One day, a dark event happens and the next thing either of them know they are in a fantasy world. The boy a lowly bum on the streets, and the girl taken in by a strong guild. They take separate paths, unable to remember anything about the world they come from or their time together. They each remember one thing though. He remembers her smile, and she remembers his eyes. Eventually they would meat together, torn down separate paths as the man must do a number of things to survive that are not traditional fantasy ideas of the gallant hero of justice.

    Now, my problem is this. A good reason or no reason as to how they end up in this world together. If I go with a reason, it would have to do with multiple worlds and the dark event that happened in their original world. I have been considering not giving a reason though, to focus in on the lovers and their separate journeys that continually meet. I'm not sure what would be better for the story though.

    The simple question is this: Should I try and come up with a plot reason for the people to be here, or should I simply focus on the characters and their journeys.
     
  2. NoGoodNobu

    NoGoodNobu Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2016
    Messages:
    1,392
    Likes Received:
    1,975
    As a reader, you have to give some kind of reason; I would be looking for it & be puzzling over it the entire book, and it would leave me unsatisified.

    I don't really care if it's a simple, common, cliche, stereotypical reason that isn't dwelt on at any length. The reason doesn't have to the be the focus of the book, but it has to provided in some capacity for me to go "oh okay" and then just play along with the rest of the story.

    It can be "this is a normal thing, anyone can do it."

    It can be "certain moons were in alignment & the thousand years of the last cycle has concluded."

    It can be "these two's souls have ties to this land" or "from the destructive incident on world A the two were jolted into their other carnations on world B that had simultaneously existed and now are trying to make sense of their new names & world, or forgetting their old existence on world A altogether--with the exception that their previous bond was so strong that details bled through like smiles & eyes & such"

    If your story is compelling enough, I don't much care what the reason is. But there does need to be a reason (however flimsy or overdone)
     
    IHaveNoName and halisme like this.
  3. Emily Everheart

    Emily Everheart New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2016
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    1
    Thank you.
     
  4. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2013
    Messages:
    3,406
    Likes Received:
    2,931
    Or at the very least, have people in the fantasy world recognize that they don't know the reason for what happened, and then have them react accordingly. Even if they never find out the reason for what happened, we should at least see a bit of evidence that they're trying to.
     
  5. Emily Everheart

    Emily Everheart New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2016
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    1
    That's about what I had planned out if I went with a no reason path. thanks.
     
  6. Safety Turtle

    Safety Turtle Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2016
    Messages:
    316
    Likes Received:
    233
    Location:
    Vanløse, Copenhagen, Denmark.
    I think this is one of those "as many answers as there are readers".
    Personally I wouldn't care...actually think I would prefer it to not be explained.
    I love a story being left open where not everything is explained.
     
  7. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2016
    Messages:
    22,537
    Likes Received:
    25,864
    Location:
    East devon/somerset border
    I'd think there has to be some sort of explanation otherwise the reader is going to find it a bit overly convenient "one day bob woke up and the world was different" is a cop out akin to 'then i woke up' as a story end

    btw its "meet" - meat is the stuff you eat
     
  8. Spencer1990

    Spencer1990 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2016
    Messages:
    2,429
    Likes Received:
    3,389
    I was just reading about this kind of argument. What you're talking about is "closure of questions" vs "closure of expectations". And there is no right answer as @Safety Turtle has already mentioned. Some people will answer you ardently one way or the other but the fact is that "closure of questions" is not a defining point in the success of a narrative.

    It's been done both ways successfully. What you'll have to do is decide what your vision is and stick to it.

    I would argue that it is not akin to "and then I woke up" ending. Because this change isn't the end of a story and what happens with the "and then I woke up" ending is that it is a breach of the "closure of expectations" (not in the good way). This is not a breach of "closure of expectations" because, in the beginning of a story, you haven't developed much in the way of expectations.

    There is no right answer here. You will find numerous examples of narratives that have no closure of questions and equal quantities that have deep closure of questions.
     
    Sifunkle likes this.
  9. Emily Everheart

    Emily Everheart New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2016
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    1
    Thank you. I was having a tough time deciding and I think you've helped a lot, but I will have to look into closure of questions vs closure of expectations for myself.
     
    Spencer1990 likes this.
  10. Spencer1990

    Spencer1990 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2016
    Messages:
    2,429
    Likes Received:
    3,389
    I absolutely encourage you to look into it. I read it in The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative by H. Porter Abbott. This book is really wonderful if you're interested in the study of narrative.
     
  11. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2016
    Messages:
    22,537
    Likes Received:
    25,864
    Location:
    East devon/somerset border
    It may not be exactly comparable , but for me at least a switch to a fantasy world without at least some explanation of how they got there is going to give the reader the same sort of WTAF moment, because it feels like saying 'i can't be bothered to explain so i'll just hand wave and expect you to accept it"

    It has been done successfully in the past, but in most cases there is at least some context to the transition - like with Cs Lewis , its not adequately explained why there is a gateway to Narnia at the back of the wardrobe , but there is at least the acceptance that there is so the reader at least knows they are going through a gateway to a magical realm ... if you remove the wardrobe scene entirely, so in one scene they are playing hide and seek and in the next they are battling the ice queen acompanied by a magical lion , the book would make much less sense
     
  12. Spencer1990

    Spencer1990 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2016
    Messages:
    2,429
    Likes Received:
    3,389
    The argument could be made either way. The point I was trying to make is that neither argument is wrong. That said, it won't hurt anything to give some texture to the shift in worlds. It can be minute, but texture would help.
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice