  Fantasy
This week: Realistic fantasy Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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| "Fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind. It might not take you anywhere, but it tones up the muscles that can. Of course, I could be wrong."~ Terry Pratchett |
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Hello, I am Arakun the twisted raccoon and I will be your guest editor for this issue of the Fantasy Newsletter.
Many people believe that writing fantasy is easy, because anything can happen. Fantasy authors may not be bound by the rules of the real world, but they still need to create realistic characters, events, and settings. A shapeshifting witch and her pet unicorn must be as believable as a cowboy and his horse.
You probably know that in order to construct a believable story, you need to place obstacles in your main character's way. Even though fantasy characters have magic at their disposal, they still need to encounter obstacles. An elf who never runs out of arrows is just as unrealistic as a cop who never runs out of bullets.
It might be tempting to give your protagonist or villain unlimited power, but magic and super powers are more interesting if they have limits. Even Superman has to deal with Kryptonite. The Harry Potter series might have ended with the fourth book if Harry and Lord Voldemort's wands had not cancelled each other out.
Occasionally, a fantasy writer may create a magical object that gives unlimited power, such as the ring in "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings." Since unlimited power comes with a price, these devices are more realistic if the user pays a great cost. The ring gave its users unlimited power, but it stole a part of them each time they used it.
Recurrent characters in traditional fantasy, such as elves, dwarves, and fairies, have almost become cliches. In urban fantasy, vampires, werewolves, and zombies have also been done to death  in recent years. If you write about any of these characters, make sure they are original, not clones of their kind in other stories. Who says elves have to have pointy ears or that all fairies look like Tinkerbelle?
In fantasy or sci-fi stories set in other worlds, setting and character development require some extra thought. "Worldbuilding" takes time and imagination, but it is also lots of fun. Even if you don't consider yourself an artist, drawing or painting pictures of your setting and characters will help you bring them to life with words.
In most stories, it doesn't matter much if you name your main character Bill or Steve, but names are a little more important for fantasy characters. If your characters are of a nation or species that you have created, make sure their names sound like they all are from the same language.
Something to try:
Imagine one of your fantasy characters as a real world character with a similar problem. For example, if your character is a vampire hunter, imagine him as a detective hunting a serial killer. Developing his personality as a real world character might help you make him more believable as a fantasy character. Or it could give you an idea for a completely different story!
Thanks for reading!
Arakun the twisted raccoon
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Fantasy: April 18, 2012 Issue [#4991]
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