 Fantasy: February 18, 2015 Issue [#6834] |
  Fantasy
This week: EPIC! Edited by: Storm Machine  
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“A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you'll know the debt is paid. - Tyrion”
― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings
“till suddenly his hand met what felt like a tiny ring of cold metal lying on the floor of the tunnel. It was a turning-point in his career, but he did not know it. He put the ring in his pocket almost without thinking; certainly, it did not seem of any use at the moment.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit |
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Fantasy epics span several books with the same characters or different characters within the same world. Do we ever think of a stand-alone fantasy book? Sure, rarely, but there are so many stories told within different areas of that world. As writers we find more to explore, more to show to the readers.
Tolkien started a phenomenon with Lord of the Rings. It isn't just the elves and dwarves and other creatures, but also the stories that stretch through several books. Many times we can hardly think of a fantasy story without creating a trilogy or longer string of novels to dangle each reader through a thousand pages as they learn the greatest secrets and attain the highest accolades.
George RR Martin - Game of Thrones
Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
So what other reasons do we have to create so many stories that are drawn through different novels? A sagging middle can be a bigger problem in a trilogy than a stand-alone novel, because not only do you have three books to that each have middle parts you also have created a middle within the trilogy. You might quote Empire Strikes Back, but what about all the other middle books out there? How about all the epic wannabes that petered out somewhere within the first book's middle?
With your epic fantasies, make certain you can keep up with your middles. Each book needs an arc of its own to take the protagonist(s) through some sort of transformation. Even if a middle book includes setbacks, there is still a goal, a staging ground, some territory (mental or physical) to be reached in order to be ready to get to the final stage.
So while you're plotting out that epic, think about the overall arc as well as the conflict that will be resolved for that single book. Find the points that will take the characters from the beginning of book one, through the climax and ready for book two, then through to the staging ground for book three, and to the final climax. Don't be afraid to go through and fill in the necessary details for each book's specific plot, too. At times they might conflict or offer contradictory places for your characters to be, and those will need to be adjusted for each plot point to become the stepping stone needed to build from the beginning to the end.
Also, don't confuse a series with an epic. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher qualifies here, because each book stands on its own. Characters recur, the history becomes richer, but each installment will wrap up its major plot conflict.
The hard part to also take into account is that not everything needs to be an epic. Sometimes a stand-alone novel is enough to impart the wisdom to the reader. Only the author can know, and we ought to remember how hard it is to finish one novel, much less a handful.
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Callie hears Angels these days 
I loved your article. I think a major problem might be that we (writers) are so eager to get the story that has been bubbling around in our brains that we don't stop to do the proper research regarding language, manners. Etc. since I am easily distracted, I do have a sticky note that reminds me what I am looking for and why pasted to my screen. Thanks for your timely reminder. Pun intended but thanks still heartfelt.
Easily distracted is tough to overcome. Good luck.
BIG BAD WOLF is Howling 
The thing about writing a Historically-themed story is this - The person who writes it is from another time themselves - even with research, there's bound to be errors. Of course, some errors are done on purpose, like if one is poking fun at other stories set in that time period, but have certain flaws, like a certain John Wayne movie set in 1840's Texas, but the characters use weapons, and talk about places, that won't be around for several decades - Comancheroes.
Wouldn't it be fun to visit the future and see what those writers create of our time?
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