 Fantasy: December 27, 2006 Issue [#1451] |
  Fantasy
This week: Edited by: Feywriter  
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"An author in his book must be like God in the universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere." ~Gustave Flaubert
The world needs fantasy. It can be an escape from daily life, a means for finding the hero within, a landscape to inspire the imagination. Enter the world of Fantasy. In my newsletters you can expect thorough looks at different aspects of fantasy writing, and a publisher spotlight.
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When building a world, one thing to remember is a calendar. This is more important for novels that span several months or years than it is for short stories or novels that take place over a short period of time. You'll also want to decide if there is one general calendar, or if it is different for some cultures.
While creating a calendar, there are questions to ask yourself (or your muse).
Does your world follow Earth's seasons? Spring is followed by Summer, then Autumn, Winter. Or do special conditions create a world or area with one season all year? If you deviate from the logical order of seasons, you want to have a good explanation for it. Don't try to stretch your reader's disbelief too far without reason.
How long is a year? Is it designated by the planet's cycle around the sun, or some other annual event? Or perhaps you have an underground civilization that has need to measure time by other means.
How do they measure the passage of time?
 On a daily basis, do they have clocks, sundials, magic? Are time units named in hours, or some unique measurement?
How is the year divided? If you have months, determine how many there are, how long they last, and be sure to name them. Perhaps the people count by seasons (fifth week, second day of summer) or moon cycles (8th Moon, 7th Day).
Looking at a bigger picture, how is longer time measured? Options are to count years since creation, a historical or religious event, leader's reign, or great tragedy. If your civilization isn't that advanced or has no perspective of history, perhaps they only keep track of years since their own birth.
Once your general calendar is set, you can give your character's birth dates, plan future events, create holidays, and make a timeline.
I think every world needs a minimum of two holidays. People need days of rest, celebration, or remembrance. Here are some ideas to create holidays around:
 Seasonal – planting, harvest, winter and summer solstice
 Events – celebrate or remember a figure's birth or death, freedom from oppression, founding of a culture or city
 Other – festival celebrating everyone growing a year older, governmental traditions, individual birthdays, courtship, etc.
For an example, here is the calendar for the realm of Dashevona in the world created for my own work in progress.
There are 14 Moons (months) in a year. 392 days in a year. The year begins with Spring. Each Moon begins with the full moon. Each phase of the moon marks the beginning of a new week and also signals a day of rest. There are four major holidays (listed below), with smaller traditions and rituals for each of the other Moons.
Spring: 1-3
 Birth Moon
Flower Moon – Flower Fair: celebration of mothers and new life
Planting Moon
Summer: 4-7
Courtship Moon
Trader’s Moon
Fey Moon
Festival Moon – Earth Festival: honor Mother Earth, marriage, and change
Autumn: 8-10
Spider Moon
Harvest Moon
Blood Moon – The Harvest and the Hunt: food gathered and prepared for winter
Winter: 11-14
Storm Moon
Sleeping Moon
Frozen Moon – Winter Feast: large feast in central lodge, with plenty of dancing to keep warm
Death Moon
I'd love to see your own calendars. Good luck and have fun. One of the best things about writing fantasy is being a god or goddess, having complete control over the creation of a world.
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Publisher Spotlight
Publisher: DAW Books
Location: USA
Website: https://www.dawbooks.com
About: DAW Books is an imprint of Penguin Books, one of the largest trade publishers in America. They publish science fiction and fantasy.
Guidelines:
 Send entire manuscript with a cover letter.
 Number pages consecutively, and put the title of novel at the top of each page. Type your name, address, and phone number in upper right hand corner of the first page of manuscript. Right under this, put the word count of manuscript.
 A literary agent is not required.
 May require three months or more for editors to review submission and come to a decision.
 send manuscripts to Peter Stampfel; Submission Editor; DAW Books; 375 Hudson St; New York, NY 10014.
Be sure to read guidelines on website for further guidelines on formatting and submissions.
Length: 80,000+ words
Payscale: professional advance plus royalties
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Perhaps this listing of real world holidays will spark ideas for your own:
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Fantasy signatures for your viewing and purchasing pleasure:
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Here are some newer pieces that could use some reviews:
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Some holiday fantasy stories to entertain you this season:
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And last, but not least, a holiday ballad of my own:
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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A Few Questions for You:
Are there any parts of the calendar you'd like me to go more in depth on (holidays, timeline, measurement, etc.)? Does the use of a calendar benefit your own story?
Reader Comments (my responses are in green)
From Awake Now :
You snippit on catching dreams and banishing nightmares is really neat. I have struggled with a reoccuring nightmare since I was about six or seven and while I have not had a relapse now for quite some time, I am now prepared. Thanks.
I'm glad you found it helpful, though I hope you don't have to use it. 
From Izkata :
Another good way to remember dreams, if you do need to wake up with an alarm because of work or school, is to get one with a long sleep timer - mine is 10 minutes. I'll wake, hit it, then fall back asleep for a couple of those minutes, and either end up continuing the dream I was having, or starting a new one, that's easier to remember once the alarm goes off again.
Thanks for the suggestion.
From ehrydberg:
A very interesting letter on using dreams. You seem to have some very thorough dreams! I have had a few similar instances, although none nearly so detailed. I can recall dreaming only two complete scenes, one a horror I wrote down for future use and one a sci-fi that seemed to fit into a story idea I was already contemplating. Apart from that, I have dreamed the title to a book (and saw the finished product) and the other was a crazy sci-fi/magical device which I jotted down and hope to find a story for.
I do agree strongly with your 'directed dreaming' technique. I used this method informally when studying for exams. I would always make sure the last thing I read before bed pertained to the subject I was studying. Hoping that my mind would subconciously think on that topic during the night. Who knows if it worked, but at least it didn't seem to hurt :)
Unfortunately, about 99.9% of the time I don't wake during my dreams and am thus unaware of them :(
Perhaps trying Izkata 's method would help you, or try setting an alarm an hour earlier than you usually wake up in an attempt to "catch" a dream.
From Breezy-E ~ In College :
The novel I'm currently working on offline is from a dream, too! Sometimes, though, I have a dream that doesn't have a beginning and/or has such intense emotions and possibly little speech, making it hard to reproduce on paper.
Breezy-E
It's a good thing that not ALL dreams have writing promise, or we'd have too many ideas to handle. 
From Strange Wulf
May I make one suggestion for mapmaking?
Study geography! It helps make things a little more real if you have even a small idea of how things work. Mountains produce fertile land on one side and parched wastelands on the other. The distance to the sea affects temperature and humidity. The geological history of a place affects what's found there, including minerals and ore.
You don't have to become a geologist to draw good maps. Yet I think that at least some knowledge in this area will help anyone create worlds that are far more realistic.
Great advice! Even the most fantastical world needs an element of realism and familiarity to make the reader comfortable.
  
Thank you for all the comments. Remember to leave feedback or ideas for future newsletters. We editors love to hear from you!
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