  Fantasy
This week: Edited by: Robert Waltz  
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February is a suitable month for dying. Everything around is dead, the trees black and frozen so
that the appearance of green shoots two months hence seems preposterous, the ground hard and
cold, the snow dirty, the winter hateful, hanging on too long.
- Anna Quindlen, One True Thing
The word February is believed to have derived from the name 'Februa' taken from the Roman
'Festival of Purification'. The root 'februo' meaning to 'I purify by sacrifice'. As part of the seasonal
calendar February is the time of the 'Ice Moon' according to Pagan beliefs, and the period described
as the 'Moon of the Dark Red Calf' by Black Elk. February has also been known as 'Sprout-kale'
by the Anglo-Saxons in relation to the time the kale and cabbage was edible.
- Mystical WWW
First we forgot where we'd planted those bulbs last year,
Then we forgot that we'd planted at all,
Then we forgot what plants are altogether,
and I blamed you for my freezing and forgetting and
The nights were long and cold and scary,
Can we live through February?
-Dar Williams, February
Winter is nature's way of saying, "Up yours."
- Robert Byrne |
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February
Indulge me for a moment.
Let's pretend, just for this editorial, that I'm not the joke-a-minute guy you know from over in the Comedy newsletter.
You with me so far? You with me still?
Good. Settle in here by the hearth. Outside the snow's blowing like the last breath of Ragnarok, but in here the fire's high and hot, and the rum toddies are steaming. Your gaze is fixed on the flapping flames, but the howling winds find every chink in the house's armor, and sometimes a stray chill draft tousles your hair like a hated uncle.
And you feel ice deep in your bones, a death of warmth that has little to do with the temperature; you experience the end of energy, a mournful emptiness that weights on you like the burden of every mean-spirited deed you have ever committed, every loss you've ever faced.
It is, after all, February.
It is the true end of the year.
Ever wonder why December, the twelfth and last month of the calendar, has a prefix meaning "ten?" November, "nine?" October, "eight?" September, "seven?" And only Caesar Augustus saved us from enduring "Sextilis" instead of August. Counting backwards, we come to March as the first month, which makes February... the end.
The calendar, of course, is a cycle, and as such could begin or end on any arbitrary date. There's some sense in ending/beginning near the Winter Solstice, but observing the days beginning to lengthen is cold comfort, at best, for those still buried under mountains of snow. And if December represents the hope and promise of winter, February is the embodiment of all that is foul and hateful about the dead season.
So now, in February, let us dig deep within our burrows and contemplate the emptiness of it all. Somewhere inside us, we know that spring approaches, but that knowledge floats on the mere surface of our ocean of winter.
And yet we risk the occasional glance out the window into the white-shrouded landscape, waiting and hoping for the snow to melt just enough to give us that first glimpse of green. |
The last gasp of winter's tales...
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Last time, in "Fantasy Newsletter (January 20, 2010)" , I wrote about various forms of government to play with in Fantasy writing.
Satuawany  : Never mind how hard it is to conceptualize high fantasy in a democratic state when writing---getting the reader out of seeing a castle and referring to everyone who lives there as "prince" and "princess" is the real pain in the brain. I don't know how many times I've heard in reviews, "That's not how it was back then." And I'm wondering why they think they're reading historical fiction. Now, I know this is work I need to do, to get it across. I'm just sayin'--breaking out of the feudal mode is one thing; getting the reader to break out of it with you is a-whole-nother. This newsletter has given me a few ideas on that, though. Thank you.
It seems to me that the source of the "That's not how it was back then" comment comes from a wish that things had been different - kind of like the SCA, resurrecting the past the way they think it should have been. And hey, if the past had central air, plumbing, and modern medicine, why not?
trepness  : Nicely put! Anakim was glad to put Darth to rest and be himself again. i do think there is a wider differece between tribalism and anarchy - as some tribes can exist quite peacefully, whereas with anarchy, everyone wants to be the leader. Our biggest problem is that we don't like the word "submission".
Keep it going!
Oh, I like the word "submission" - when it refers to sending in a story that might (cross my fingers) get published, or when it's used to describe the condition of the other person in the room with me. 
LJPC - the tortoise : Hi Robert! Great informative NL, as always. Wouldn't it be cool if governments in a fantasy story were chosen a new way - like at random? I loved the stories you featured. 
-- Laura
Thanks, Laura  And that's what I used to do when creating worlds for D&D. All of a sudden, my party would encounter the Democratic Republic of the Dark Elven Socialists or some such. Threw them off.
sarahreed: I have to admit that I fall into step with everyone else when it comes to conceptualizing government in Fantasy - always, always monarchy. It's what I've read and what I'm used to. But now that you bring up the point that it doesn't always have to be, I'm going to have to play with government next time I write a fantasy piece. Thanks for prompting me to think outside the box!
Thinking outside the box is good, as long as one knows what the box is. And as long as one thinks.
And we have one submitted item for your consideration this time. Podsixia writes:
"You may not want to include this, because when people read it, the urge to find out what happens next will be almost painful in its urgency. But I haven't written the next chapter yet. Just a warning...
I enjoy characters, so with this first chapter I tried to give a sound introduction to who my hero is on the inside as much as his physical appearance."
The item in question: "The Wanderers" [13+] - have at it if you will!
And that's it for me for February - tune in next time when I may or may not talk about St. Patrick's Day and/or the Spring Equinox!  Until then, stay warm and
DREAM ON!!! |
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Fantasy: February 17, 2010 Issue [#3560]
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