 Fantasy: February 12, 2013 Issue [#5510] |
  Fantasy
This week: Going Under Edited by: Robert Waltz  
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There's nothing wrong with enjoying looking at the surface of the ocean itself, except that when you finally see what goes on underwater,you realize that you've been missing the whole point of the ocean. Staying on the surface all the time is like going to the circus and staring at the outside of the tent.
-Dave Barry
What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep without dreams.
-Werner Herzog
Writers fish for the right words like fishermen fish for, um, whatever those aquatic creatures with fins and gills are called.
-Jarod Kintz |
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Next week, while most of you will be huddled around space heaters and reverting to the last Ice Age while the gales blow drifts of snow across your windows, you can take comfort in the fact that I'll be in warm, sunny St. Thomas, learning how to scuba.
It occurred to me while taking the online scuba training course that in all my years of editing this newsletter, I've talked about a lot of far-off locales and settings, other worlds and other dimensions - and never said anything about oceans. (Of course, this is the first time I've considered going into one rather than floating above it or watching it from a beach like a normal person.)
And yet, the ocean is one of the most exotic locales imaginable.
If you're looking for a fantasy locale with different rules, strange life forms, and surprises around every turn, you might want to try underwater.
However.
The best fantasy, as I've noted before, has some grounding in reality. Sure, Middle-Earth is a fascinating place with interesting life-forms and looks a lot like New Zealand, but there's still gravity and an ecosystem.
Water, though, is truly an alien world. Not only is everything happening in 3D (and I don't just mean the 3D version of Finding Nemo), but a lot of the pesky physics involving volume/weight ratios go right out the porthole. See, on land, we can fantasize all we want about giants and flying dragons and whatnot, but those remain in the realm of fantasy because the weight of such things, without magical assistance, prevents it. But weight's not as much of an issue in the ocean, so you get things like blue whales and giant freaking squids.
And then there's pressure. Unbelievable, unbearable pressure. It doesn't take long, as you descend, to get to pressure zones that land animals simply are not meant to withstand. At 10 meters, you get two atmospheres of pressure. At 20, you get three. And so on. So remember that if you're going to have the Lost City of Lemuria or some such.
I should also mention light. Water is vaguely transparent, and eyes adjust to dim light situations, but it doesn't take long, depth-wise, to get to a point where the color is leached out of everything. Add light, though, and the colors come back - in amazing force.
Or so I've been told. I haven't actually gone under, yet.
In any event, don't neglect underwater settings if your fantasy calls for it - just remember to at least give reality a passing glance if you do. |
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Last time, in "Fantasy Newsletter (January 15, 2013)" , I talked about what fantasy is.
Creeper Of The Realm  : Great newsletter! I do agree with you. Any fiction is fantasy. Most people want to read something other than real life drama, which is still made up, but fits with reality. I may write non-fiction, but I prefer reading fantasy and most books are exactly that. There is a reason why movies and shows such as Lord of the Rings, True Blood, Game of Thrones(just as an example) are so loved. They are anything but realistic.
Glad I signed up for this newsletter again. 
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. Fantasy helps us step out of our constraints for a while.
Princess Megan Snow Rose  : Hi: I enjoyed reading your Fantasy Newsletter. Some good story ideas. I can picture dragons in the Post Office. We had a nasty lady working in the Post Office who deserved a visit from dragons. You chose some nice items to review as well. Nice job! Megan
Thank you - Now I want to read The Dragon Goes Postal (after it's written, of course).
Quick-Quill  : I am sorry to disagree with your interpretation of a fantasy. Your explanation lead me astray. If one had never read a fantasy I don't think they would have the correct impression. Fantasy is a story made up of distorted humans and mythical beings. The main plot is good vs. evil with conflicts thrown in by magical elements. All Fantasy books I have read do not include HUMANS in the sense of Earthlings. They have many characteristics because as writer we write what we know. Most of us are not Tolkien.
Thanks for the feedback, and you're always welcome to disagree! I just think that fantasy is broader than that - what you're describing is, I believe, known as "high fantasy" and certainly overwhelms the genre. But writers like Charles deLint and Neil Gaiman, just to name two, specialize in writing fantasy that takes place in familiar settings - Earth, late 20th/early 21st century, and happens to include mythical and/or magical elements. That's fantasy, too, often labeled "urban fantasy" or "modern fantasy." And often, fantasy engages in themes other than good vs. evil. In any event, most fantasy does involve humans - at the very least, one character to whom the readers can relate because he or she has characteristics in common with them. There's debate, too, over whether something like Star Wars is science fiction or fantasy. The argument for science fiction rests on that there's spaceships and warp drive and the like. The argument for fantasy - which I support - is that because it does deal with the epic conflict of good vs. evil, and most of the "science" in it (lightsabers, the Force, warp drive) is so unrealistic that it might as well be magic, it is fantasy with science fiction props.
In the end, though, genre is little more than a marketing tool, and discussing its nuances is a lot like discussing whether Superman or Hulk would win in a fair fight. Which is an argument that I may or may not have had.
And that's it for me for February! Until next time, stay warm, stay dry and
DREAM ON!!! |
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