 Fantasy: March 09, 2011 Issue [#4280] |
  Fantasy
This week: Fantasy: Believe it or Not! Edited by: Fyn-elf  
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“The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.”~~Albert Einstein
"All fantasy should have a solid base in reality."~~Max Beerbohm
"Although it is a fantasy film, it's as real as it can be. You have to imagine that an audience will buy their ticket to a cinema and get on a first-class flight and journey to Middle Earth."~~Orlando Bloom
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For a fantasy to really work, your reader must, first and foremost, believe in the reality of the story. The reader must be put in a place where they want to believe that the place and the happenings could happen. Consider the Hobbits of Middle Earth, the Na'vi, the Dragon-riders of Pern, Aslan or the Gelflings. The reader accepts and wants to believe they could (or do) exist--somewhere.
When playing Peter Pan eons ago, strapped into the most uncomfortable rigging known to man, I had to convince the audience that not only was I 'flying,' but that, if they believed hard enough, and thought happy thoughts, that they could too. During the fist intermission of Peter Pan with Mary Martin, I remember believing that I, too, could fly away to Neverland. I believed.
As a child talking to King Author after the play Camelot, I had the chance to meet my all time (now) favorite actress, Julie Andrews. As a six year old, she was the Queen that made King Author cry, and I didn't want anything to do with her. I believed.
Delving into any of the numerous Pern books, I envision what it would be like to be aback a dragon soaring over Pern and fighting Thread. I believe.
Yet, fantasy is more than creating a magical world. It is the ability to put your readers into a place, walking alongside your characters, having them peer over a character's shoulder, or be in the character's head. I like to think that Fantasy is a part of every story in that we create a place and characters. Every bit as much as those characters become real to us, the author, so too must those characters become real to to the reader. Whether creating a scene in Paris, or creating the world of Alyndoria, I have to use the words to convey my vision of those places to the reader, or it doesn't work! I must make them envision the places I send my characters; I must make them believe.
Whether we send our readers to another world, shrink them down to the size of a gnat or have them living above the deli down the street, that world of the character must become a reality. The first person who must believe in that reality is the author, for if he doesn't, no one else ever will. And we do that with the language we use, with the words we employ to make the imagined a concrete thing in the reader's mind. It is in the descriptions and the details that make these places breathe, that allow the reader to literally smell a flavorful brew of Parisian coffee or touch and pet Fizzgig or ride on the back of a Luck Dragon.
Have you ever written something and had reviews in which responders make comments about how real what you wrote was, where they assumed what you wrote was real? Have you reviews or emails where folks commented on similar occurrences in their lives or they reacted by relating how
their emotions were touched by your words, when in truth, you 'made the whole thing up?' This happens because you made them believe in your words, scenario, or action. You did this by using the language that fit, and descriptions that allowed them to see or hear or feel and that made the story, poem or scene become believable! They believe.
There's a song in the movie, 'The Polar Express' sung by Josh Groban that I simply love. I don't care that it has been declared a 'Christmas' song. I'll listen to it year round. The refrain in the song says a lot to me about reading and writing.
Believe in what your heart is saying,
Hear the melody that's playing
There's no time to waste,
There so much to celebrate.
Believe in what you feel inside,
And give your dreams the wings to fly.
You have everything you need, if you just Believe.~~Believe from 'Polar Express'
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Though my last fantasy newsie was back in December, here are the thoughts people sent!
cookie_writer wrote:, Thank you for the wonderful read in your NL.
I enjoyed the journey through the magic that is special in your life. It has raised my spirits and brought a smile to my heart.
dejavu_BIG computerprobs  added: What a wonderful Newsletter, Fyn ! I cannot find words to say how much joy it brought me to read your words !
May there always be 'purple Christmas magic' in your home and heart !
LJPC - the tortoise noted: Hi Fyn! What a beautiful anecdote for Christmas! Thanks so much for sharing; you've brightened my day. 
Always makes me feel good to bring someone a smile!! Thanks all! |
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