 Fantasy: October 21, 2015 Issue [#7277] |
  Fantasy
This week: The Wizard Edited by: Robert Waltz  
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In a way, we are magicians. We are alchemists, sorcerers and wizards. We are a very strange bunch. But there is great fun in being a wizard.
-Billy Joel
Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.
-J.R.R. Tolkien
No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style.
-Steven Brust
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While The Warrior is primarily about martial prowess, The Wizard, as an archetype, embodies dedication to pursuits of the mind.
The classic fantasy portrayal of a wizard is one who uses magic. Gandalf, obviously, falls into this category, as do most high-fantasy wizards.
But the archetype isn't limited to classic high fantasy. The Wizard shows up consistently in contemporary fantasy, urban fantasy, and even in science fiction. Not as a magic-user, usually - so we have to broaden the definition of wizard to a character who achieves his or her goals through application of intelligence and knowledge.
So we're not just talking about the faculty and students at Hogwarts, here; the Wizard has a far broader reach in literature. Look for the ones who have knowledge of things not generally accessible to the average denizen of the setting. In contemporary settings, this may be a hacker or scientist. In something set in earlier times, it may be someone who's mastered the use of electricity or steam (Nikola Tesla was a real-life wizard, for instance). In futuristic tales, perhaps it's someone who's learned the secrets of an alien race, or the Ancients, when such knowledge isn't available to most others.
The Wizard complements The Warrior nicely, as they represent two of the basic attributes of being: mind and body.
This is not to say that a Wizard can't fight, or that a Warrior can't think - after all, the Warrior's abilities can be seen as a kind of wizardry, especially if they've learned obscure martial arts or acquired a rare and powerful weapon. And, in fact, it's entirely possible to combine the two (Batman is one example of this). But as archetypes, the Wizard uses knowledge, intelligence, trickery, and planning to get out of a tight situation, while the Warrior is more likely to take a more direct approach against antagonists.
Perhaps my favorite example of the Wizard archetype in modern writing is the Doctor, from Doctor Who. The Doctor is about as true to the archetype as it is possible to get, and Gallifreyan technology is certainly so far advanced compared to ours that it's, as Clarke put it, indistinguishable from magic. He embodies all the qualities you find in a Wizard: curiosity, advanced intelligence, deep and broad knowledge, an aversion to direct physical confrontation, and access to arcane magics (or, well, technology, but like I said, at that level, there's no real difference).
For a writer, the Wizard is probably trickier to script, especially if you're trying to be consistent with his or her powers and abilities. Just as a Warrior who wins every battle isn't believable, a Wizard who always gets the upper hand is a sure sign of wish fulfillment on the part of the writer. If your Wizard is a mad scientist, for example, maybe she's really good at biology, using living things to achieve her goals, but that could mean that her knowledge of quantum physics is limited. Or vice-versa. No one in the real world can be an expert at everything, and any fictional character who is quickly becomes boring.
Bottom line here is: don't make the mistake of thinking that the Wizard archetype is limited to magic and high fantasy. That type of character transcends limits of time and place. Which is, of course, what makes it an archetype. |
Some fantasy for you on this fine October:
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Last time, in "The Warrior" , I began this series on archetypes by highlighting The Warrior.
Second of Nine  : Archetypes are fascinating to me, especially when you start figuring out what archetype you and the people near you would be fit into. The interesting thing about the warrior is how close it gets to the zealot ... both tend to think in absolutes. Absolutely right, absolutely wrong, with no grey area between or holding back anything of themselves when they believe in something. Heroes and zealots are both usually warriors, its just the hero is the good guy and the zealot is the bad guy in most stories. Opposite sides of the warrior coin, you could say. Anyway, thanks for the article!
The Warrior - all archetypes, really - can be good or evil. And sometimes, it's hard to tell the difference. The trope isn't about what the character accomplishes; it's about what tools they use, and what skill set.
Quick-Quill  : In LOTR the two friends meri and Peri had no fighting experience. they held the sword all wrong and most of the time the armor was bigger then they were. We rooted for them because they had heart and courage. No matter what your MC or supporting characters do, give them heart and courage to step up to the job. Even if they arent big players in your story, they have a story and a character chart. use it.
All Warriors start out with no skills. Part of the fun - and this is portrayed quite often in role-playing games - is seeing the character develop over time. And yes, good advice.
That's all for me for October - see you next month! Until then,
DREAM ON!!!
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