This week: Taxes: Government Finances in Fantasy Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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Fantasy Newsletter by Dawn
After doing my own taxes had some reflection thoughts over how government and finances could have influences in speculative fiction. |
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"Our new Constitution is now established, everything seems to promise it will be durable; but, in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes,” Franklin said. Also known by the shortened quote of "Nothing is certain in life except death and taxes." I have to admit something: even though I've been doing my own taxes for almost 20 years now... I still don't understand them at all. They never make sense to me. When I start a new job (doing that again soon), I always struggle with the form trying to remember if it's a 1 or a 0 that goes on the page. Either way, doesn't make sense when I file, see how much/little was made and how much/little is given back (or how unfortunately much is due). Like other aspects of economics, government taxes are mostly a question mark, which also makes it hard as a non-world builder fantasy writer.
Which brings me to this topic in the form of discussing fantasy and science fiction. Whether using our current world, ones from history or complete made up stuff, the idea of taxes or government control in the financial side of life can be an important topic to consider. They can seem like daunting subjects when it comes to figuring out the money of an entire world.
Some things to consider:
Do the characters in the world use money or a form of currency?
Does every country/location use the same type of currency?
Is there some place to exchange if there is a difference?
Can someone exchange labor for goods? Do they do a little work to get a sandwich?
Aside from the general topic of type of currency, if some type of money is used to pay for things, there are other factors to consider. Like that of taxes. How involved is the government in the economy?
Even in the worlds that have monarchy type structures where the higher ups of the kingdom are seen as owing everything, that take from the land because everything belongs to them... there are some thoughts one can put into the world building of said economy. How does the King tax the people? Are they even aware of what they take or the influence it has on different regions? Who has to pay for things? Who gets things from "birth right"? And so many other questions to consider.
If going with other random worlds, you could do many different things. And if you want to put an emphasis on government and taxes, you could even consider going into a dystopian tale or even something found in science fiction. Having a government influence that creates the conflict or at least has a part of cause in some troubles people experience can make for an interesting story to say the least.
On top of all this with the different economic options, one thing to consider is the main character will face or have to handle. While you may know everything (or very little) about the financial side of your fantasy world, the reader will only see what is relevant to the story through the eyes of the characters. I have a fantasy ready for a rewrite and more world development where the main character doesn't have any money or anything at the beginning of the story. While he's a prince, he doesn't know or remember some details, yet he also isn't used to paying for things because the setting at first is a school where everything is provided for every student. However, once he is out in the world and seeing other situations, he might start to wonder what he needs to do or how to get things on his own. It's in my thoughts, for sure. Developing the world with magic that changes hair colors and creates shadow dogs sounds a lot more fun than figuring out taxes or waiting for the government to accept the paperwork. lol
I'm going to do some world building and writing, hope you can be inspired to do the same. Maybe not about taxes but you never know. You might find a story in the numbers. Have fun!
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How do your characters handle finances? Is the government involved in how things work?
Last month, I discussed point of view for stories, mostly third and first person. Here are a couple comments sent over the topic:
Comment by Santeven Quokklaus 
Omniscient 3rd person PoV is what I use when things the characters don't know are needed. It is hard to pull off effectively, though. One of my books has that PoV, and some of the comments (on Amazon and Goodreads) have indicated that did make it awkwward for the reader at first, but they did get into it.
I think limited 3rd PoV (or 1st PoV) is more accepted because it makes the characters a little easier to relate to.
One publisher did help me, and indicated when using limited 3rd PoV, if you want to show something that the PoV character could not know, use it at the very end of a chapter or section, not in the middle and never at the start. It adds to some mystery, and does not draw the reader out of the story as much. I have done that since, and it does seem to work.
--- That is an interesting tip. Thank you for sharing.
Comment by Beholden 
Thank you very much for including my poem, Midnight, among your Editor's Picks.
As regards point of view, I will admit to very occasionally swapping briefly from one to another. It's something I try to avoid, however, as I think it can be quite confusing to the reader. There's nothing worse than halting the reader's flow with the thought, "Hang on a mo, just who is thinking this and how do they know this?"
The quotes regarding the nature of fantasy are interesting. Personally, I think fantasy is the lazy way to avoid all that tedious research to make sure you get your facts right. All you need for fantasy is to create an entire world over the course of years in which you've checked everything to make sure it works and doesn't contradict anything already decided, then create interesting characters from those you see inhabiting your fantasy world and give them lives that intertwine with the unfolding of events in that fantasy world. Quite easy really and it shouldn't take more than a lifetime to get it right.
--- Thanks for the comment. Yep, just a life time to create new worlds with all of intricate different elements involved to keep things from collapsing or confusing anyone. Maybe two life times. 
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Fantasy: April 19, 2023 Issue [#11917]
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