Last week, after overcoming a painful attack of writer's block, I just kept on writing and writing, merely following whatever the inspiration of the moment was telling me. Without realizing it, I had written two chapters: yeah! Still, when I re-read them, I realized the story had took a turn of events I wasn't even thinking of when I first started writing it. Like, I started writing a sci-fi story and ended up mixing in it fantasy elements. It's not like I don't like how the mix works, but I was wondering if it's fine, for a space opera to contain fantasy elements such as: -projection beings -weird psychic powers -angel-and-demon-like creatures. So I thought I would stop writing for a moment and ask for another's opinion.
What kind of opinion are you looking for? That it works? That it's a good idea? Because you're going to get the same answer everyone else gets: it's all about how you write it. If you like it, go for it. But as far as your idea changing part of the way through, that's what makes writing so great. I've never written anything that didn't change at least somewhat as I was writing it. Just think of your writing as a living thing that adapts to the ideas and circumstances around it. And if that's frustrating, don't let it be. It's what makes writing so fun.
Any seemingly ridiculous idea can work as long as you make it so. Take a look at some of Ray Bradbury's Short stories. (I Sing the Body Electric, The Illustrated Man, The Martian Chronicles) Often, when you read some of his ideas out loud they seem rather silly, but when you're actually reading the story, it doesn't seem silly at all. It absolutely can work. Another good example would be C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy with emphasis on Out of the Silent Planet. Happy writing!
It's all up to you really. Our opinions won't help you because this is your story, not ours. Plots have a habit of carving themselves out. This is a natural process. If you feel it fits in with the story then that's all there is to it. What elements you use in your story really doesn't matter as long as you write well.
I have found that, for me, what others might call writer's block is my subconscious mind telling me I am trying to take a story in a direction it doesn't want to go. In my current, general fiction WIP I had firm ideas about who wore the white hat and who wore the black. I kept getting real resistance and writing a lot of crap that was only worthy of a trip to the recycling bin. When I finally embraced the idea that my MC was not the "good" one, but actually quite bug**** crazy, the story began to flow again. Be open to outcome.
DUCK! I hear Cog's incoming cut'n paste! And, as usual, he's right. The final result will be as good or as bad as the quality of the writing. One of my favorite movies is Flash Gordon, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek sci-fi/fantasy comedy with some outstanding music. While it borders on being almost silly, I really like it for its deviation from the routine, stereotype sci-fi or fantasy. Another classic that successfully blends such genre-specific elements is Star Wars...the "force" will be with you, Yoda and a host of other fantasy creatures. Both those stories would have been terrible without good writing.
Nope, the template doesn't apply here. This is a legitimate question, when a storyline just refuses to follow the course you had intended. I tend to look at things from a perspective of objects and forces - the scientist in me never hoes away. If the story just refuses to move in the right direction, you need to look at the forces that ARE moving it. That where it is important to distinguish between plot and storyline. A plot consists of an actor and a goal, a motivation and an opposition. The motivation is a fa\orce driving the actor toward the goal, the opposition drives the actor away from the goal. If your story is moving in some other direction, you need to identify the forces driving it in that direction. It may be that the logic of the plots means the storyline has to follow an indirect path, and you may have to introduce additional plots along the way to correct the course, or remove plots if they create to great a distraction. But in any case, you will need to analyze what plots are acting upon your characters to send them along their current trajectory. You may even find the new path is even more fascinating that what you had originally envisioned.
This seems to be the real question from the way you worded it, so that's what I'll address. Of course it's fine for a space opera to have fantasy elements. Star Wars is a space opera, yet it has magic/psychic powers (the Force), fantastical creatures (Yoda, space slugs, etc.), impossible physics (hyperspace = a titanic "Screw you!" to the theory of relativity). It more or less is a fantasy story set in a sci-fi-type environment. And then there's Star Trek, which has telepathy, fantastical creatures, several beings who are virtually omnipotent (Q), etc. And these are just two examples.
I think you are asking if space operas mixed with fantasy have worked before. Star Wars. Dune. Final Fantasy. Stranger in a Strange Land.
Thanks for all of your replies. I think I kinda got dizzy because those ideas came to my mind so fast and they deviated so much from the original (intended) plot, I just felt a little lost all of a sudden. But, you're right, there's plenty of examples out there, of sci-fi mixed with fantasy, it just might work and work way better than my original idea. All right, writing time for me!
Writing is sometimes a bumpy road filled with distractions and obstactles but it is the journey that matters not the destination. Maybe...
