 Fantasy: October 26, 2011 Issue [#4683] |
  Fantasy
This week: Modern Fantasy Edited by: Robert Waltz  
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"That's sad. How plastic and artificial life has become. It gets harder and harder to find something...real." Nin interlocked his fingers, and stretched out his arms. "Real love, real friends, real body parts..."
― Jess C. Scott, The Other Side of Life
"Let the spirits guide you, but never let them take you."
― E.J. Stevens, Spirit Storm
"Paranoid? Probably. But just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face."
― Jim Butcher, Storm Front |
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Modern Fantasy
Last time I did NaNoWriMo, the story was science fiction. This year, the novel I'll be working on is set in contemporary times, but the focus is not on science but on the supernatural - putting the story square in the realm of fantasy.
The terms "urban fantasy" or "modern fantasy" are used to distinguish contemporary (or even future) stories with a strong supernatural component from those taking place in classical "fantasy" or mythological periods. I'm leaning away from the term "urban fantasy," because I'm not writing a vampire story.
That's right. I'm writing a modern fantasy story that doesn't involve vampires. How do I expect to sell it? Well, I don't. (Has anyone ever sold a novel that started out in NaNoWriMo? I'm not aware of any.)
Part of writing any novel, you see, involves having some idea of your expected audience - what demographic will you be targeting? Genre, I've been informed, isn't a straitjacket; it's a marketing tool. Readers use it more than authors do, to screen out stuff they think they'll hate. Some people, believe it or not, hate fantasy. Others hate science fiction. Some poor, benighted individuals stay away from both. Me, I hate vampire stories. (I used to merely dislike them until Twilight came out).
It's not, by the way, that I automatically don't like stories with vampires in them. Plenty of good books involve someone afflicted with that particular social disease. It's that I generally like stories where they get the staking they deserve, not ones where they're romanticized. (Exception: Jim Butcher, who handles this sort of thing exceptionally well - but then, at one point he has a guy riding a zombie T-Rex while playing polka, so I'm willing to give him wide swaths of latitude.)
The problem is that when researching (as part of the exercises in "October Novel Prep Challenge" [13+]) a target audience for my story, which involves only a few (but essential) supernatural elements, the only genre it fit in was "modern fantasy." Hypothetical people who would hypothetically read it on the basis of that alone will expect vampires, and I'd get hypothetical hate mail when not a single fang shows up. "Modern mythology" might be a better fit, but ever see that section in the bookstore? I haven't. It also has elements of the superhero genre, which is that strange blend of action/adventure, science fiction, fantasy, and others (about which I might need to devote a newsletter at some point).
So the conclusion I've come to is this: If you have an idea, write it. If a genre is obvious, fine. If not - write anyway. It's possible your story doesn't fit into established little boxes. That's okay, unless you're writing for a living. But I've never done that, so I can't say anything about it.
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Since it's October, a bit of darkness for everyone.
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Last time, in "Fantasy Newsletter (September 28, 2011)" , I talked about the role of cities in fantasy.
bertiebrite hoping for peace  : Taverns and civilization. I was a Dungeon Master too. Everybody met, ate, and practically lived in our tavern in between quests. There were very few cities in our world with lots of baddies in between to keep them busy and add points. Cities were the places for our characters to pick up gigs, meet contacts, purchase enchanted weapons or stock up on food. They were important plot vehicles. All fighting and no drinking makes Wilgar a dull boy.
Don't forget: cities themselves can also be fertile ground for quests. Ancient ruins buried beneath the feet of contemporary buildings; sewers; caverns, perhaps exposed by a sudden cave-in that unleashed something dripping and evil - no need to risk mosquito bites out in the wilderness when there's plenty of adventure right there in the city!
And that's it for me for October! Have a happy Halloween, and I'll see you next month. Until then,
DREAM ON!!!
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