 Fantasy: August 24, 2005 Issue [#568] |
  Fantasy
This week: Edited by: rose_shadow
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"It is our choices Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
-Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets |
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Before we get into the nitty-gritty, I think I owe a little explanation of my user name to clear whatever confusion I may have caused. After some deliberation, I've decided to drop my much used pseudonym "Moira." I started using that name as a teenager who was uncomfortable using my real name online, but I'm rather tired of it now so to my real name it is. I considered changing it a long time ago, but didn't when I thought of the confusion it might cause. I'm going to leave my handle saying "Moira =Erin" for awhile so hopefully everyone gets the idea.
Well... a new name for me so... let's start the introductions shall we?
Hi everyone, I'm Erin, amateur author. Nice to meet you! 
That stuff aside, let's get to the main course.
So many of you enjoyed my posting of Limyaael's fantasy "rant" that I've decided to use another one which I found very interesting as it addresses a topic that fantasy writers are fond of using.
Again, as with the last rant, consider everything in green quoted material. The only editing I've done is for non-E words and examples, and that was only one or two instances.
::Prophecy and Destiny::
1) For the love of whatever deity you believe in, make your prophecy short, obscure, and not automatically pointing out the hero. To return to the Bad Example Book of the moment, The Wayfarer Redemption: Here we have a prophecy that tells us exactly who to cheer for, reveals many key events, and goes on for a page and a half.
No no no.
Your heroes should have something that makes them cheer-worthy outside being Chosen (see below). Having a long and clear prophecy destroys all the suspense, since rare indeed are the authors who introduce the idea that destiny could be wrong. Most of all, I feel when I read a prophecy like this that I'm being forced into agreeing that of course everything in the prophecy needs to happen, when I'm much happier figuring that out on my own.
Nothing like a prophecy to try and excuse lazy plotting and bad coincidences (oh boy, am I ever talking to you, Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind).
2) Make your heroes heroes because they are, not because destiny says so. Another Bad Example Book: Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy. Long before the savior, Jaenelle, does anything heroic, the other characters are mooning over her because she's the Chosen One, Witch.
If you listen hard enough, you can hear me screaming.
I don't want to be told that I should cheer for someone just because a bad piece of poetry recited a few hundred years ago refers to her. I don't like being told that of course this twelve-year-old would make the best queen, just because she has the right blood flowing in her veins and destiny hanging all over her.
In other words: Show us characters who could reasonably assume the throne even if destriny wasn't present. If others stare at them in stricken awe just because of the prophecy, you're trying to use destiny to excuse character development again.
3) Consider what the consequences of the prophecy say about destiny's philosophy. Yet Another Bad Example Book: Lynn Flewelling's The Bone Doll's Twin. The land has suffered under a mad queen, and when she dies, it suffers again even though her son is sane, becuase only a woman can inherit the throne.
So having a woman on the throne is more important than having a sane ruler, even if he's male? What a nice philosophy. That book frustrated me to no end because of the characters nodding and mouthing about prophecies, and caring for the hidden monarch, Tobin, to the point of being willing to create a sacrificial lamb just so she wouldn't be lonely, the poor widdle thing.
If nobody matters next to your monarch...
If it's somehow all right that everyone suffers for generations until the 'right' person comes along...
If otherwise good rulers are disqualified just because they don't have the right blood or the right bad piece of poetry...
Think what that says about Destiny. The forces of good are going to come off looking sadistic. "Suffering is fine, as long as The Prophecy is fulfilled!"
Pardon me while I cheer for the bad guys, who are at least fighting this sadistic force.
4) Don't automatically punish the irreverent characters. So many times, those who scoff at prophecies in fantasy are shown as being simply stupid, which is stupid in and of itself. Who in the world would have a reason to believe this old man and teenager turning up on their doorstep and claiming to be the saviors of the world? A little doubt is at least normal.
But most characters are never allowed that doubt. The old man or woman shuts them up immediately, and the child proceeds to be "special" in some stupid way, and the doubting character is silenced.
To turn to a Good Example: Storm Constantine's Sea Dragon Heir, which I'm reading at the moment, has the main character being amused when she first learns of her hidden heritage, and thinking all these piously mouthing women are a bit weird. She does change her mind, but she was allowed that moment of doubt, and she is also allowed to touch the Not Nice side of the powers her people once worshipped, which makes this book so different from any others I've read recently that you could listen hard and hear my shrieks of relief.
5) No royal heirs raised as peasants. This is the plotline I hate most in all the world. It should be tied out in the desert, covered with honey, and left for ants to find.
How do I hate it? Let me count the ways:
a) Used by every author from here to beyond, and I think I've read only two books that convinced me it could work.
b) It insinuates that no one of peasant stock could actually do things on his or her own, that the royal blood is the "reason" for the heroic deeds. Way to turn back the clock and clout down independence.
c) How in the world would someone who had grown up in a sheltered village all her life be prepared for the complexities of politics and ruling a nation? Usually, the fantasy journey is supposed to teach her that, but I have yet to see a fantasy journey that does. It's all about "growing inside yourself" and "fleeing from enemies" and "finding the Quest Object."
Excuse me, but how do any of those make a good monarch?
d) It's used as an excuse for angst. "Waaah! I am adopted! Waaah! I am deprived of my heritage! Waaah! How evil the usurper is..."
And then Limyaael smothers the whiny royal heir with a blanket.
e) It makes the evil people look incompetent. What, they managed to kill all the other members of the royal line but somehow missed this one?
I want this plotline dead, dead, dead. Stupid thing.
6) Consider having something go wrong. Another problem with the destiny plotline, especially in amateur fantasy fiction, is how few losses the destined character actually suffers. Yes, she could have her magic go out of control or her family die, but have you noticed how rarely that actually happens? Her family turns out to be alive, she gets the training in time to control her magic, and she takes the throne, la-da-dee-dee-DIE-DIE.
Some authors go the other way (Lynn Flewelling, again), and have EVERYTHING bad happen to the destined character. This makes the character look passive, and smacks of author manipulation. "But, oh look, she suffers! You must feel sorry for her now!"
Sorry, I don't. I just want to smack the whiner and tell her to grow up and get a life.
As always, if you must use destiny, try to avoid the extremes. The character shouldn't have a charmed life, but neither should she sit around uselessly and get angst dumped on her.
-Limyaael
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 This week's question: No question this month. I'm running a little behind schedule. *worried*
From: E. Ericson  
Today's edition made me squirm. One of your rants, number 3 to be exact has now made me uncertain about my own story ["Invalid Item" ]. The primary focus is memories and flashbacks. Do you believe it is really the best that I avoid them?
I took a glance at the beginning of your story and I would have to say, in response to your quesiton, yes. Or use them in moderation at least. Small chunks here and there, and one large one if you can't avoid it. The little paragraph at the beginning (starting with "Memories are what...") is well written, but the prologue is too much of an info dump for a reader unfamilar with your world. I found myself skipping it. Sorry if that's too harsh, but it seemed as if you wanted an honest answer . But don't worry. What are our stories for except constant revising in the quest to make them better? 
From: billwilcox
Limyaael is so write on! Thanks for sharing a very interesting article,
W.D.
You're very welcome, Bill. I'm pretty sure I'll be using some of her articles again so keep an eye out.
From: nexuscommand
You have produced a wonderful newsletter this week!
I completely agree with Limyaael's rants, and plan on checking out more of them in the future. They are all good, strong points that I, at least, had never really thought upon. Although my writings here thus far do not include fantasy, I do plan on writing some in the future (I have way back in the past), and will definitely keep these insights in mind.
Thank you for a wonderful newsletter! And thank you for sharing Limyaael's wonderful rants with us!
(Of course, thank you Limyaael for articulating these points!)
Thanks for the feedback
From: dusktildawn
Well I must admit that I have been guilty of a few of the above, though through the magic of "revision", I've tried to mainstream my writing to be more concise, detailed, and above all else, as informative as I can be in as little words as I can (again, gotta love revisions). I have found that some readers actually prefer the "detailed" points of view of a writer(detailed description of a room, the anguish of a past, flashbacks, etc.). Point in mind, Tolkien was infamous for this. I mean, he's one of my favorite authors of all time, but there were pages upon pages of The Hobbit that gave so much "detailed information" you just wanted skip over it.
Fantasy is my favorite writing genre, and through this Newsletter I did indeed learn a few things. Thanks so much!
DusktilDawn
Older authors got away with a lot more exposition than we do now . Of course, Tolkien can be excused not only for that reason but also because no one had written anything quite like that before. It's probable that the editors were hesitant about cutting anything that might help the reader understand the world more.
From: shadowdawn
Hi! I enjoyed her fantasy rant on beginnings. Maybe she mentions this in another rant, but my personal problem with fantasy, are the authors who chuck suspension of disbelief out the window. I expect certain laws of physics to enforced. The most recent thing I read, was in the first book of the Pendragon series by D J MacHale, The Merchant of Death. In one scene, the hero is on a new world where the suns (2 or 3) raise from opposite points on the horizon and meet directly overhead. How???? Planets revolve around suns, not the opposite. Please, keep the settings believable. Just because it's fantasy, doesn't mean write whatever you want. It must be fundamentally believable. Sorry, had to get that off my chest.
Thanks,
ShadowDawn
Fantasy and sci-fi are genres that are a lot more complicated than some people realize. For example, if the world an author creates is a smidgen closer to that solar system's sun than Earth is, that messes with the weather in a big way. Earth is so perfectly balanced that to knock it one way closer or farther away would have big consequences on weather, seasons, and more. Or what if you add another moon, or no moon? The possibilities for tweaking are endless .
From: BlueGrass Girlie
Wonderful newsletter on the beginnings of Fantasy novels. Here I am, in one day, to begin my first full length epic fantasy novel, and this lovely little gem lands in my inbox! I am so very appreciative of the timing and proud to say, that so far, with the original planning for the opening scene and first chapter, I think none of these issue will rear their ugly heads. Thanks for the insight, and I'll let you know if I find anything in particular that works for me!
Good luck!
From: PEBKAC
Hello,
Overall, this month was a very good read. I would disagree with point #5 (Having no discernible POV. This POV floats from character head to character head...) to a certain extent.
I agree that it can be a problem that I've seen many times myself. But it can also be done very well. The series, "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George RR Martin (A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast of Crows) change the POV with each chapter. It's done in a very masterful way, and the books are great reads.
It does take a talented author to do it though! I tend to agree with Limyaael here because I've seen many authors try and just end up confusing me by their abrupt switches. |
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